Seven Ways to Make the Grade

Welcome to Fall 2018! Outside temperatures are cooling down just in time for new and returning students to settle into classes and hunker down to meet the demands of a busy college schedule.

It’s easy to get caught up with class activities and projects and roll right off the wellness track, so here are seven go-to strategies to help Jaguars feel better and do well this semester.

1. Go to class. “It seems simple,’’ GSU President Elaine Maimon told new and returning students at Convocation 2018. “Ninety-eight percent of success in life depends on showing up.’’ Listen to the president’s other advice here.

2. Go to the Student Success Commons. Students who need assistance with math and/or writing will find support in the Academic Resource Center housed in the Student Success Commons, right off the Hall of Governors in B1215. For support with papers, tutors are available for any or all parts of the process, says Jarrett Neal, Writing Center Coordinator. “Our mission is to impart skills to students to help them master their own writing and become independent learners.”

Visit the online scheduling center to set up an appointment for assistance with writing and math as early in the term as possible.

3. Go to GSU Star Student Success Network. “I tell students, ‘This is the central location of your success, where you communicate with every aspect of the university, ‘ ’’ says Amy Comparon, Executive Director, Student Resource Center. “It’s your connection to your resources, your connection to instructors and advisors. If you have an athletic coach or are a veteran, your connections are in GSU Star. This whole success network is tailored to their individual identity and lives in one centralized place.” Click on the GSU Star icon in your student portal.

4. Go to Office Hours. These are blocks of time set aside by professors to meet with students to discuss progress, concerns, and strategies. The best guidance a student can get about a course is directly from the source, says Comparon. “It’s just good to connect with your professors – even if students are just nervous about the class and want to know more about how to succeed.”

5. Go the GSU Café. Good nutrition helps to regulate the mind and body, starts the day right, and helps maintain high energy throughout the day. For an assortment of nutritious meals prepared with student performance in mind, visit the GSU Café in D-Building.​ “We take health and wellness very seriously, and offer a variety of lean protein options and daily vegetarian options,’’ says Therese Lathus, GSU Food Service Director. “We are also happy to work with guests to customize meals to suit individual nutritional goals.”

6. Go to the University Library. Not only is it a great place to study, but this semester the library also is hosting meditation sessions, says Maristela Zell, who coordinates the Holistic Social Work Practice specialization at GSU. Any meditative practice or mindfulness activity helps us to stay in the present moment and manage our thoughts, behaviors, and moods, and just 15 minutes a day can bring improvements, says Zell. Assistant Professor Timothy W. Pedigo, will co-lead sessions on Thursdays.

Sandy the Therapy dog is there on Tuesdays.

7. Go to the Health and Student Counseling Center. By October, the newness of college and freedom begins to wear off for most freshmen, and the pressures of school begin to build, says Erica Wade, Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center. Sometimes 18-and 19 -year olds don’t recognize the signs of stress. Wade encourages students to meet with a counselor or nurse practitioner in the Health and Student Counseling Center in A1120 who can assist with either physical and/or emotional wellbeing, as well as adjustments to the demands of college. “Come to us before it becomes a problem,’’ Wade says.