Things We Wish We'd Known....

On November 13th, Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) and the F.U.T.U.R.E.S Science Club held a joint presentation for new students where knowledge donated by old students was compiled and passed on to the new science student generation at SCCC.

All donations of information were kept anonymous, but I thought I would share this particularly great submission from a seasoned student that has been enrolled in college for over 4 years!

"My 2 cents" - A Student Submission

If you can easily manage 20 credit hours with A's, work, and have a life, then there is nothing I can advise.

If school is a struggle then consider the following (no particular order):

1) Time management is everything. Quarter system is busy. Touch everything every day. Avoid the trap of just putting out fires. Time, even if a little, must be given to everything everyday. The brain rewards this.
2) Schedule your day around the availability of resources, like tutor schedules and faculty office hours. Fast answers and clarifications save time.
3) Never get any sense of entitlement with regard to grades. Just because you studied all weekend doesn't entitle you to an A. Jimmy partied all weekend and got an A. So you ain't as smart as Jimmy, get over it. Find the routine that works for you.
4) Always have a sense of urgency but eliminate any emotions (good or bad) attached to any performance evaluation. Strong emotions buy you nothing.
5) If possible, study/review an hour or less just prior to exams in order to wake the brain.
6) Avoid distractions: friends, MySpace, YouTube, porn; that sort of thing while studying. It only makes for inefficient studying.
7) Sleep is king. This is the time that the brain updates its hard drive. Lack of it makes for inefficient studying, health problems, and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

The event was a success, and is going to be held next quarter for those that were unable to come. Keep your eyes peeled!

Seen & Heard Around SAM .....

- Biology teacher Mark Ainsworth and math teacher Bryan Johns buying a ton of Phi Theta Kappa bake sale goods from PTK members.

- Physics teacher Rainer Heller walking down Broadway, eating a Dicks hamburger, on his way to teach a class.

- Biology teacher John Wiseley letting students know that the Biotechnology program will be discontinued shortly, and that a replacement program will be influenced by STUDENT INPUT (take the student survey here)

- Chemistry teacher Dr. Wick leaving the school late around 6:30 PM on a Tuesday.

- A very large display of "I voted" stickers on campus around Tuesday. Well done students!

Student Involvement Fair

October 8 was the student involvement fair in BE1110. A deejay played music, and popcorn, candy, and cookies were distributed liberally. General chaos erupted towards noon, with students consuming candy in mass quantities, challenging each other to games of Wii tennis (courtesy of the Tennis Club), and playing chess with one of the psychology professors at SCCC. I think I can safely say that a great time was had by all.

PTK (Phi Theta Kappa) was in the house....

The new (and quite popular) table tennis club drew quite a crowd....

The WISE club was there making new friends....

A SCCC psychology teacher came down to show his support for our chess club...
Seattle Central Community College really has an active student community full of diverse interests and individuals. Attending college fairs are a great way to "shop around" for clubs without having to express any great deal of interest. A few notes on our college club fairs:

- They often occur ~ once a quarter.
- The college club fairs are organized by the SORC (Student Organizations Resource Council), one of the 6 departments at student leadership.
- The college fairs often occurs with little to no notice, so read the sandwich boards around campus!
- We have 51 clubs at SCCC and this number is growing.
- To start a club you need to go over and visit student leadership (beside the bookstore) to get the paperwork started and meet the awesome staff.
- A complete list of all clubs can be found here

The 30th Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony

The scholarship ceremony was a huge success. Friends, family, and fellow classmates packed into the upstairs gymnasium in Mitchell Activity Center to watch the event. There was an excellent piano solo by one student, and two excellent speeches were made by two others. The food was also surprisingly tasty, and people afterwords snacked on salmon, cheese, fruits, and assorted baked goodies.

Phi Theta Kappa took home some cash (pictured with Nada Oakley, PTK adviser, right):
Several girls from the W.I.S.E club received multiple scholarships:All of the donors were extremely generous, some giving scholarships to multiple students:


Our college foundation has done an amazing job finding funds for so many students. 173 students were awarded money this year for a grand total bill of almost $450,000.00. Well done Seattle Central!

Also, a big thank you to all the students from various student organizations who showed up to assist the foundation in holding this event.