Students made their resolutions and now it is time to keep them. Loyola offers many programs to help students succeed with their New Year’s resolutions, whether they be getting healthier, quitting smoking, landing a sweet job or internship, giving back or acing classes.
Resolution #1: Getting healthy
The commitment to becoming healthier is a common goal, and Loyola’s Wellness Center and Halas Sports Center can help.
Halas offers group workouts ranging from the high-impact Total Body Conditioning class and Zumba, a fast-paced workout that adds music and dancing, to the traditional yoga and Pilates.
Jena Eberly, a group fitness leader and personal trainer at Halas, stressed that the fitness instructors can modify a class so anyone, at any fitness level, can participate, but, “yoga and Pilates are perfect for beginners because of the low-impact intensity.”
To keep her clients motivated, Eberly reminds them that change begins from the inside.
“Just because someone isn’t seeing the results on the outside for a few weeks does not mean change isn’t happening.”
She emphasized that the longer someone works at making a habit out of exercising, the healthier they will become. Eberly also recommends to vary the workouts every week.
“Doing the same thing every day or every week can diminish someone’s motivation for exercising,” Eberly said. Eberly offers five tips for getting in shape:
- Drink plenty of water everyday.
- Eat raw vegetables daily. Replace one junk-food snack per day with vegetables or fruits and some protein.
- Set small goals. You do not have to work out for two hours everyday to get healthy.
- Do not rely too heavily on what number the scale is giving you. Muscle weighs more than fat.
- Smile. Having a good attitude is the number one key to keeping those New Year’s resolutions.
To find out more about fitness at Halas, go to http://www.luc.edu/campusrec and check out who Wellness Center’s tips for nutrition at http://luc.edu/wellness/nutrition.shtml.
Resolution #2: Ace your classes this semester
Achieving and maintaining a great GPA can be hard work, but Loyola offers many services to guarantee a student’s success in the classroom.
The Tutoring Center on the second floor of the Sullivan Center is a great place to start. The center offers four main tutoring opportunities. If working with a group of classmates is better for a student, the collaborative learning opportunities might be best. Course-specific tutoring matches up students in the same class and section for weekly tutoring sessions. The Tutoring Center also offers strategic studying groups for students taking multiple reading and writing intensive classes.
To brush up on your language skills, the center offers language-speaking groups that focus mainly on maintaining or improving language skills already acquired. Walk-in hours are posted on the Web site for those students who cannot commit to weekly meetings.
Classes are not all about reading textbooks or taking notes, and Jane Currie, a reference services librarian, is there to help with the writing aspect of the courses.
Visit the second floor of the Information Commons to get help with paper topics, scope and even research. If there is a long line or only a few minutes before that next class, students can set up an appointment to meet with a reference librarian again.
Currie said that to ace research papers, students should start early because pressure will never help. Second, remember that it’s okay to ask early and often for advice on what to do next for your paper. Students should also familiarize themselves with the library subject guides on the library Web site for his or her major or for the class that assigned the research paper.
Finally, students should always be conscious of the sources they’re using. If they become stuck, ask the reference librarians what to do or where to go.
“I’m not an expert at telling you where the commas should be and how the paragraph should flow,” said Currie, “but I can direct you to the writing center.”
The Writing Center, located on the second floor of the IC, can help students with any writing assignment at any stage of the process. “We believe that all writers — of all levels of ability — can benefit from having an experienced writer respond to their work,” the Web site says.
“It’s easy to have grand plans for success early on, but not have a tangible plan for yourself,” said Aubrey Videtto, Tutoring Center director. Loyola offers students ways to meet their goals whether they be academic or not.
For more information on the tutoring center, or to get schedules, go to http://www.luc.edu.edu/tutoring. For more information about reference services, go to http://libguides.luc.edu/needhelp.
For more information about The Writing Center, go to http://luc.edu/writing.
Resolution #3: Land a sweet job or internship
Getting a job or internship can be hard but Loyola’s Career Development Center in the Sullivan Center can help students with this task.
“The Career Development Center offers two full sets of services,” said Darby Scism, the director of the Career Development Center. The first set handles career development and exploration.
“It answers the question ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’ ” Scism said. The second set involves the actual job search. “After we have an understanding of the student’s skills and interests, we can then talk about writing a great résumé and cover letter.”
“The number one problem is that students are not selling their skills, abilities and experiences on their résumés,” Scism said. “Our students and many other students undersell themselves.” Scism recommends writing down a list of your skills and abilities to include on your cover letter and résumé that highlight favorable qualities.
Students can take advantage of the 15-minute walk-in sessions, or appointments can be scheduled with a career adviser to find out where to look to start the job search or to get a résumé critiqued.
After getting that résumé polished, next comes the actual job search. Scism gives five tips for landing a job or internship:
- Have your résumé critiqued.
- Reflect on what kind of job will make you happy.
- Think outside the limitis of your major and explore lesser known companies.
- Identify transferrable skills that can apply to any industry and put those on your résumé and cover letter.
- Get as much experience as possible while still in school.
For more information, visit http://luc.edu/career.
Resolution #4: Quit Smoking
Quitting smoking can be difficult, but Loyola’s Wellness Center offers multiple programs to help students wanting to quit.
Susan Cushman, the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Coordinator at the Wellness Center, understands how hard it is to quit.
“Nicotine is a powerful drug that raises mood, reduces anxiety and in those accustomed to it, increases alertness,” Cushman said. “ When they try to quit, they experience withdrawal symptoms including irritability, difficulty concentrating and cravings.”
Students can call The Wellness Center to make an appointment for individual consultations to talk about the decision to quit, to make a personal plan and to get support. There is also a free online program to help design an individual quit plan and get support from others who have made the choice to quit. Students can also get referrals to outside programs or information at the Wellness Center.
Cushman recommends telling your friends and family about plans to quit and ask that they don’t smoke or leave cigarettes out.
“It usually takes several tries to successfully quit smoking,” she said.
Cushman provides five steps for quitting:
- Get ready by identifying personal reasons for quitting. Set a quit date and get rid of all cigarettes.
- Get support from friends, family and coworkers.
- Learn new skills and behaviors. Find ways to distract yourself from the urge to smoke and try to reduce stress.
- Medications can more or less double your chances of quitting for good. Find out from your doctor if this is a good option for you.
- Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations.
For more information on quitting smoking, visit http://www.luc.edu/wellness/quit.shtml.
Resolution #5: Give Back
Loyola has multiple opportunities for students to get involved and give back to their community.
Loyola4Chicago (L4C) is a group at Loyola that pledges to volunteer four hours per week at various locations throughout the city. Each team of students goes to a site to work with children, teens, refugees, low-wage workers and the homeless, according to the Ministry Web site. L4C is accepting applications until the 29th of January.
First year students can also get involved with the St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen. Groups leave at three and four every Tuesday from the Simpson lobby and Friday from the Ministry Office in CFSU.
There are also many other groups around the community for Loyola students to get involved in. Michael Moore, a chaplain in the Ministry office, feels that students should first be a part of the community in which they live.
“If they want to help out with the community, they need to consider it their home and not just a temporary place that they hang out.”
Moore’s lists some ways to give back:
- Get to know the community.
- Shop locally. Instead of going to Dominick’s, students can go to Devon Market or Morse Market.
- Realize that Loyola is a community in itself, but it is also part of a bigger community and that student’s contribute by living in it.
- Get to know the needs of the community.
For a list of other community service opportunities in the area, students can visit Loyola’s ministry Web site at http://www.luc.edu/ministry
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