Student Science & Math at Seattle Central

If something can be so bad that it is good. Can this post be so late that it is.....early?

2009-02-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

I sincerely apologize for the lack of posting lately. If your quarter is going anything like mine, you will understand completely.

Never the less! I have some exciting scholarship information to share with you.

The Morris K. Udall Foundation (government affiliated)is pleased to offer students the Morris K. Udall Scholarship. We only nominated one person from SCCC last year, which is rather sad. If you qualify for this scholarship, I urge you to apply! The process and requirements for applying follow below.

The Morris K. Udall Foundation offers 80 scholarships, in the amount of $5,000 each, to students who are:

1. Committed to a career related to the environment across the fields of science, education, engineering, or social sciences OR

2. Committed to a career in tribal public policy OR

3. Committed to a career in tribal health care
(Only Native Americans and Alaskan Natives may apply for the tribal scholarships)**

To be eligible a student must:

1. Have sophomore standing

2. Plan to complete at least two more years of full-time undergraduate study beginning in the fall of 2009

3. Have a minimum gpa of 3.0

4. Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. permanent resident

You must be nominated to be considered for these scholarships

Students may not apply to the Udall Foundation directly. They must be chosen and registered as nominees from the college. Each Udall Faculty Representative may nominate a maximum of six students for further consideration. All nominees must be officially registered by the Faculty Representative. In order to be considered as a Seattle Central nominee, interested students should:

• Go to the Udall Foundation website at www.Udall.gov and either download the PDF version of the application or complete the WORD version

• Submit the completed application, the required 800-word essay and three letters of recommendation to Nada Oakley , Udall Faculty Representative, by 2-20-09. Bring completed application materials to BE4106B by the February 20th deadline.

Additional questions? Contact Nada at noakle@sccd.ctc.edu or by phone at 587-2928.

**The Udall Foundation defines Native American or Alaska Native as an individual who is a member of an Indian tribe or band, as membership is defined by the tribe or band, including tribes or bands terminated since 1940 and any tribe recognized by the state in which the tribe or band resides. Students who are first or second degree descendants of a member of a tribe or band also qualify. Students who are considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose and those who are Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaskan Native may apply.

A Malaria Vaccine - Safe for Human Trials?

2009-01-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

SBRI (Seattle Biomedical Research Institute) will be hosting a public event where SBRI's Stefan Kappe, Ph.D. will be presenting his current research, which is "focused on moving a malaria vaccine candidate into human trials this year". A panel discussion will be initiated, followed by a networking ceremony after the discussion.

SBRI also has a Global Health College Intern Program, through which summer internships at the institute are offered. You can find out more about this program at http://www.sbri.org/Home/

UW Lecture Series Kickoff

2009-01-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

The UW (Department of) Molecular Medicine is providing a free lecture series that will run throughout the year. The poster for the first lecture can be found below.

I find that lectures are surprisingly enjoyable when I know that I will not be tested on the material (at least not in the near future). I have also found that attending lectures on different campuses is an efficient way to expand my current network.

Directions can be found here:
http://depts.washington.edu/molmed/seminars/directions.html

New Internship Opportunity for Environmental Science Majors

2009-01-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

The University of Washington, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) in the School of Public Health is pleased to offer an outstanding summer research opportunity for sophomores, juniors and non-graduated seniors who have strong science backgrounds and an interest in environmental health research.

The Environmental Health Research Experience Program (EH-REP) is a nine week research experience. Successful applicants are paired with DEOHS faculty and mentored through a research project that usually intersects ongoing faculty research projects. Each participant receives a $5200 stipend for the summer. The strongest applicants will have good grades in their biology and/or chemistry science courses and will have an interest in environmental factors that adversely affect human health.

You can learn more and apply online at www.ehrep.washington.edu If you have questions, feel free to email James Meadows at ehug@u.washington.edu or call me at 206-616-4177. Underrepresented students are strongly encouraged to apply!

Priority Application Deadline: February 2, 2009.
Dates: June 22 to August 21

What are you all waiting for!?

Bits and Pieces

2009-01-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

1. Rote Memorization
Some of you may find that you need to apply the wonderful skill of memorization for some concepts in science and math (especially A&P and for your language classes).

If you wish to preserve paper and keep your apartment clean like I do, you can use an online flashcard website here.

I like this site for many reasons. I still have to make the flashcards so the encoding process still occurs and I can upload images and drawings if I want to supplement my cards. When using them I can either choose to answer each flashcard in a text box and get immediate feedback or I can just skip to the answer. You can also share your flashcards with your colleagues for them to use as practice test questions. As an additional bonus, the site is free and does not give me pop-ups or spam.

However, it can run slow sometimes and you are limited to characters in your response so it is better for things like nomenclature and definitions.

2. The Green Microgym
This 2,800 sq foot gym has just recently opened by a former school teacher. Based in Portland, Oregon, the gym runs completely on renewable energy. Solar powered and human powered energy (from workouts on the equipment) are the two resources of energy that the gym uses for their utilities.

I think this is pretty cool and wanted to share it. Apparently in Japan they are taking things one step further and have a nightclub which harvests energy from the dancers to use for lighting within the night club. I think it is important that entrepreneurs are starting to test this idea out, as nonrenewable energy resources are not going to be around forever.

More Transfer Talk

2009-01-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

If you are transferring for Fall 2009, chances are that you are wound pretty tight right now. If I have to fill out one more form with my name, address, and personal and academic goals I think I might start to drool. Why did I choose my major again? Let me revise for the sixteenth time why I deserve to go to your school. Blah blah passion blah blah academic excellence.......

My bitter rant aside, Annika Mertz at the SCCC Transfer Center has been very helpful in expediting this process. There are computers in the transfer center so you can just camp out there for a day filling out your awful, awful common application and its like having someone in your pocket to help you navigate through some of the more convoluted questions.

She is offering several college transfer workshops during this quarter as well. There is one in particular that I think every student should take called "How To Write Your Personal Statement". Check them out on the calender (scroll to the bottom of the page)! It has some nifty stuff on it aside from workshops.

You can browse any of the calender events simply by clicking on the link and asking for more details. Please do not hesitate to email me at samfeedback@gmail.com for any corrections in names, dates, etc.

Enjoy your first week of Winter Quarter!

SCCC Biotechnology Program = No more. Also, hello winter quarter

2009-01-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

Next year, instead of the 2 year Biotechnology program offered by SCCC, the school hopes to offer a two course series that will be transferable to four year colleges such as UW. This decision was made based on a student survey that was made available to biology students last quarter. Thanks to all the students that took a moment to take the survey!

In other news, school starts in 2 days! Be sure to check out the website calender (which I will admit, sorely needed updating) for upcoming events occurring throughout the quarter. See you on campus soon!

Annnndd we are in the home stretch people!

2008-12-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

So here we are, ready to enter the final week. There are many ways you can approach this final week, and the experience will be different for every student. When students ask me what I do for finals, I always tell them the same thing.

My finals week usually starts with tension that begins to drain away as the days go by. I find it true that the only antidote for student tension is to study. I study, berate myself when I'm not studying, feel guilty, study some more, agonize over concepts that I'm not sure that I understand, and then study some more. I force myself to go to bed and arise at reasonable times and forbid naps to regulate a good sleep schedule for finals week. I temporarily cut out sugar, caffeine, and alcohol from my diet and stick to foods that will be kind to my digestive system. Most importantly, I make time to play. I make a point of stopping the study process the night before my finals to do something silly like play Mario Party, watch some Law and Order, or mess with my cats (cats + blinky Christmas lights = awesome combination).

By the time I have entered the final I am alert and a little nervous but calm. As I write the exam, my tension that has been slowly decreasing fully drains away. By the time I write my last thought and re-read my last sentence, I am at peace with myself. I get up and shake the hand of my teacher, thanking them, and taking a moment to remind myself the purpose of this class and the reason why I am here and more importantly, the reason that they are here.

When I leave I don't look back, don't think about what was right, or what I got wrong. I know inside that I have done everything in my power to prepare. How everything turns out is no reflection of my ability to put forth effort anymore.

If you can leave your finals with a feeling of peace and confidence, then I think you probably have truly accomplished what you have set out to achieve this quarter. If you don't feel this way, be gentle with yourself. Remind yourself that the world is bigger then just you. If you would pick any time in your school life to mess up and do something truly horrible, this community college would be the best possible place to make that mistake.

I wish you all a happy holidays and a prosperous finals week. Study hard!

Things We Wish We'd Known....

2008-11-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

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 .....

2008-11-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

- 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

2008-11-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T11:54:00.001-08:00

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.

Transfer Tips

2008-10-14T14:14:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, Seattle Central Community College acts like a springboard to many of its transfer students. Many students (including yourself) may be looking to transfer by Fall of 2009.

If this is the case, you need to start looking for schools NOW! February 15th is the due date for college applications at the University of Washington. This is an average deadline for most 4 year colleges.

1. How can you narrow your choices down?
Be specific! Make your perfect school in your mind. Does it have small classes or big ones? Does it support Greek life? Are the dorms co-ed? Is it a research school? Do the number of undergraduates dwarf the number of graduate students? Does it support living off campus? Are the cafeterias good? Do they have child care? Do you want to move? Do you want to stay in Seattle?

The more specific you are, the smaller the pool of colleges you will have to choose from. Knowing what your dream school has and why you want to be a part of it will also make writing your personal statement much easier.

2. What about money?
As community college students, lets me honest, it is all about the money. A free ride to one school may just be the deciding factor for you, regardless of criteria. Thus, when you file your FAFSA, you should state as many reasonable college options as possible.

Sure maybe you did want to be a "husky" but that all might change when Western offers you a $30,000/year financial aid package. You will never know what colleges have to offer until you ask, so make sure you are broad in your FAFSA specification.

In addition, now is a good time to get involved with college clubs or associations. Nothing looks worse on a college/scholarship application then a blank space in that box that asks about your contributions to your community.

3. Test Requirements & Transferring Credits
I can't stress how important it is to meet/communicate with transfer advisers at your potential schools as soon as you have made up your mind. You need to know what classes you should be taking to transfer effectively, and which classes will be a waste of money/time because you may have to retake them when you transfer anyway.

You should also make sure there are no other oddball requirements such as SAT testing (for those of us that did not grow up in the US), specific SAT subject tests, placement testing, or admissions tests such as essay writing. These are all good things to know about in advance so that you can start preparing.

The majority of transfer students at Seattle Central Community College will be transferring to the University of Washington, and because of that I have included some relevant links:

Click here for transfer sessions (note the special student to student meetings at the bottom)
Click here for directions to UW (its only one bus from SCCC)
Click here for new student information

I know most of you students should be finishing up the first of your mid-terms by the end of the week. Keep up the good work!

Life after Seattle Central

2008-10-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the following individuals that have successfully transferred from a community college to a 4 year college (and with a little bit of extra pocket change too)!

Academic Achievement in Business Scholarship
Fawziah Al-Hlaly

Associated Student Council Student Leadership Endowed Scholarship for Transfer Students
Fawziah Al-Hlaly
Darren Branning
Mohamed Hassan
Taylor Losey
Stephanie Pham
Linda Witkowski

Richard E. Baldwin/Windermere Transfer Scholarship
Thuy-An Nguyen

Broadway High School Alumni Foundation Endowment Scholarship for Transfer Students
Taylor Losey
Linda Witkowski

Broadway High School Alumni Foundation Endowment Scholarship for Transfer Students
(In Memory of William Wilton)
Stephanie Pham

Margaux "Tima" Manzon Memorial Scholarship
Kim Ton

Phi Theta Kappa-Alpha Chi Zeta Chapter Scholarship
Rina Thi

Seattle Central Opportunity Transfer Scholarship
Nicole Garner
Mohamed Hassan
Hoa Le
Feuy Saephan
Kajsa Söderlund
Iskender Suleimanov
Rina Thi

Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium Scholarship
Jack Vorhies
Kami Zhong

Polly Schulz Whitehead Memorial Transfer Scholarship
Jamal Ahmed
Darren Branning
Partia Naghibi

Some schools that these excellent students are going to include the University of Washington, Washington State University, UC Berkley, and UCLA.

Do you know any of these students? It might be a good idea to renew contact if you do, especially if you have plans to go to any of the schools above in the future!

And I thought that 2.0 was never going to go away....

2008-09-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you have the opportunity to replace a grade that you received in a class by retaking the class?

Students wishing to improve on a grade may opt to take a class over again for a better grade, but they must inform the office of registration that they wish for their new grade to take the place of the old grade. Otherwise, both grades will be averaged. But be careful the second time around! You are only allowed to replace a grade once per class.

On a more preemptive note, students wishing to keep knowledge current can also opt to informally audit a class that they have taken once already. This is particularly useful when a student is taking a 3 quarter sequence of classes, where all new content depends on old content.

A student wishing to informally audit should speak to a teacher before classes begin. Teachers might make stipulations to your audit (such as no grading of homework/assignments, no test taking, or mandatory attendance), but rehashed free education is still free education.

2008-09-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

The 30th Anniversary Scholarship Awards Ceremony will be happening on October the 8th. One hundred and fifty four students have won scholarships this year, and will be receiving recognition for their awards. This is a great opportunity to take a break from your classes, grab a bite of food, cheer on your fellow colleagues, and maybe even network a little.

Where: CMAC210 (also known as the Charles H. Mitchell Activity Center, AKA the gym across the street, AKA the big white building next to the bookstore).
When: October 8th, 4:30 - 6 PM

Want more info? Go Here

** Note: Students attending to receive awards WILL get their picture taken, so make sure you dress as you want to be remembered.

See you there!

A W.I.S.E move....

2008-09-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Studies have shown that students who are successful in academia, regardless of where they come from, all have a few things in common:

1. They have a healthy diet.
2. They exercise daily.
3. They have good time management, including the formation and evaluation of effective goals.
4. They are bounded by other students.

So..... go get bounded!

Some women who are majoring in science & engineering are forming a club called, well.... Women in Science & Engineering (WISE). If you are a student seeking a degree in any science, math, engineering, biology, or physics department, and you are interested in hanging out with people with similar interests, let them know!

They are currently meeting every Thursdays for half an hour at 3:30 PM in the Fine Arts Building (located next to the Egyptian theater). You can contact repressedgenius@gmail.com for more details, or just show up.

For more information on other clubs, check out the link on the right.

Science & Math Tutor Center

2008-09-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

The SAM tutor center is now open for business! Located on the 1st floor, next to the lobby, the SAM tutor center is open until 6 PM every day except Fridays (they close at 4 PM then).

You can stop in with any questions on a drop in basis, but it looked extremely busy when I was in there earlier today. You are eligible for 2 scheduled hours of tutoring per week for classes like biology, chemistry, math, and physics, so go and fill out an application right away because tutoring slots are filling FAST.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have someone to talk to about this stuff. Even if you do nothing during a tutor session except explain everything you (think) you know about the subject to the tutor, the session is still a great opportunity to build your confidence level.

28 Days...

2008-08-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

...until 2008 Fall quarter begins!

The science and math building (SAM) is excited to welcome this year's new students. Each year brings a broad spectrum of students through SAM's doors: the aspiring scientists, the exasperated liberal art majors, and everything in between.

Science and math are not strong subjects for many students. Mildred Ollee (pronounced Oh-lay), the president of SCCC, struggled learning math in college. As a result, SAM is strongly dedicated to helping all students achieve success in science and math, regardless of the chosen field of study.

There is a tutor center on the main floor where you can either schedule one on one time, or you can just drop to have help with any homework questions that are stumping you. There are also other tutor centers on other floors for specific classes such as A&P (Anatomy and Physiology) and MAT098 (Intermediate Algebra), you can visit the main tutor centre for further directions on these cohorts. Students wishing to retain information from classes may apply to work at the tutor center for pay or for credit.

In addition, SAM also houses some incredible teachers. Our teachers are passionate about teaching their discipline, and do so in small classes. Nearly one-third of the faculty hold doctorates in their fields. The rest hold a master's degree.

Learning science and math is a life long battle. Particularly math. It will show up everywhere in your college education regardless of what you are studying, and it will continue to show up throughout your college career. But if you embrace it, and engage yourself in the battle, I think you will find math truly useful and maybe even a little beautiful. Without further text, I welcome you to the school year. I wish you the best of luck in your battle.