Category: Student Peer Advisors

Student Peer Advisors are Honors Students with the know-how to help you how-to the UHP!

UHP: How to Take Origins Like a Pro

Courses, General News, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

By UHP Peer Advisor Grace Truslow

 

Walking into one of your first college courses as a seminar style class with demanding philosophical readings can at first be overwhelming. However, origins classes offer the opportunity for you to strengthen your abilities in analysis, writing, and public speaking. Strengthening these skills in your first semester will set you up for success for the rest of your college career. Here are a few steps to make sure you can get the most out of the course and feel more confident in your work and class contributions.

  1. Readings/Class Discussions

One of the best ways to ensure that you are prepared to excel in class is to thoughtfully engage in your class readings and subsequently class discussions. The readings are meant to challenge you and can understandably be initially overwhelming. To make new text more digestible, you can at first give yourself a fixed amount of time to read through materials to get more comfortable with the language and overall structure. You can also utilize online resources to supplement, but not replace, your understanding of course readings and expose yourself to different viewpoints. These steps will make reading in more depth and note taking much easier as you will have a stronger basis of understanding. Starting readings early in the week or getting ahead if you are able to will give you more time to think through materials and hopefully alleviate some stress.

Readings are the basis of class discussion. If you are less comfortable participating, you can utilize them as a way to prepare for your contributions in class. When taking notes, instead of solely summarizing, you can start to identify questions, critiques, or connections and can then enter class with a set of potential viewpoints to share. Participating in class discussions is a culmination of the work you already did by completing the readings. You can start with a goal of contributing once in class and then increase your participation as you get more comfortable with public speaking.

  1. Papers

Another major component of Origins courses are the written requirements. The good news is that by completing readings and attending class, you already have begun to analyze your course’s major ideas. Depending on the flexibility of your prompt, you can view written work as an opportunity to delve deeper into a class topic that particularly interests you. While your first college papers may seem like daunting tasks, you can break an essay down into smaller pieces of brainstorming, research, outlining, drafts, and editing. Getting your ideas on paper through research and drafting will put you in a better position when you are editing and perfecting your writing. It is also a good idea to set an earlier deadline for yourself to build in extra time for finalization. At any stage in this process you can attend office hours to work through ideas with your professor and ensure you are on the right track.

  1. Utilize Your Resources

Origins classes give you the opportunity early in your college career to work one-on-one with your professor. If you have specific concerns about class participation, office hours are a great time to find a solution that will work best for you. Some professors also count office hours engagement as a form of class participation. Whether you are confused about a reading or working through an essay, office hours are an excellent opportunity for you to develop greater understanding and to show your professor the efforts you are putting into your course.

You can also talk through questions or ideas with your peers so long as you are not misconstruing others’ work as your own. While your classmates may have differing levels of exposure to philosophy and confidence in public speaking, origins is a challenging course for everyone. Creating support systems with your peers in the UHP will help you grow together as you all experience origins and college for the first time. You can also utilize resources outside of your class such as the GW Writing Center and your peer advisors who have successfully made it through their origins themselves.

________

As an honors student you are more than capable of excelling in origins. Engaging in the reading materials and written assignments will help you expand your perspectives and strengthen your analytical abilities. Additionally, navigating origins provides you with the opportunity to develop relationships with your professor and peers and start to utilize the resources available to you at GWU. Over the course of the semester you will develop skill sets that will set you up for success for the rest of your educational career.

Navigating Your First Year as an Introvert – By PA Grace Truslow!

Community Life, Featured, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

Entering college is a large life transition for everyone. As an introvert, it may seem as though many of the keys to integrating into this new and dynamic environment are held by those who are more naturally outgoing. However, you can have an incredible first year by defining goals based on your own strengths, taking small steps to be proactive, and taking advantage of your unique assets.

Choose What Makes You Happy

In transitioning to a new environment, it was very important to me that I was able to make my own definitions of what brought me joy. One of the benefits of college is that you have greater autonomy over your schedule and how you best spend your free time should be an individual decision. At a larger school like GWU and in a city like DC, there are a multitude of options available in how you spend your time. There is no right answer as to how to have fun, relax, and even how to best work! Academics can provide sufficient stress for anyone. It is important to dedicate your free time to things that you personally find stress free and fulfilling. When scheduling activities with my friends, I like to also ensure that I have sufficient buffer time for myself to recharge and reflect. Wherever you are on the scale of introvert or extervertedness, it is important to recognize that how you best spend your personal time is an individual decision.

Set Small Goals to be Proactive

Part of the college experience is being exposed to new ideas, people, experiences, and opportunities and being open to change. I still think it is very important to make the most or your college experience and therefore to challenge yourself to be proactive. I found it very helpful to set small, short term goals to become integrated into my new community. These can include attending an org fair, going to a general body meeting, going to office hours, or having impromptu conversations with your peers. The great thing about these small goals is that there is no additional pressure attached. If you really like an org or develop a friendship, that is great! If you go to an event and then want to leave, that is great too (so long as to take any freebies before you go). Giving yourself the time and space to explore your environment in your first semester will allow you to build a stronger foundation in the long run. It will also remove unnecessary pressure from these exploratory activities. For me some of these easy tasks have led to meaningful relationships and amazing opportunities. As long as you are taking these small steps to be proactive, you can explore the many possibilities that college has to offer while still protecting your boundaries.

The Introvert Advantage?

I also think it is important to recognize the many assets that introverts bring to both the college experience and to life. For me, being an introvert meant that I already knew how to structure my alone time going into college. I am can both spead quality time with my friends and be happy in my own company. I am also able to enjoy the peace that comes from the time that I need to dedicate to studying by myself. Being more observational and having the patience to assess new situations can enable you to make more informed decisions about to spend your sometimes limited time and energy. In the classroom setting, having strong listening skills has helped me to build greater perspectives and make quality contributions to discussions. Your listening abilities also help to build quality interpersonal relationships. While these might take some time to develop, they will likely be very fulfilling in the long run. Successfully navigating your first year as introvert does not mean changing the things that make you uniquely amazing, but rather understanding how you can use these attributes to your advantage.

For me, successfully navigating my first year as introvert meant challenging myself to engage in new experiences. Doing so with an understanding of the time and space I needed and the importance of my boundaries allowed me to find the friendships, activities, and opportunities that are most fulfilling for me. The beginning of the start of college can understandably be overwhelming for people who are more introverted. Yet through out my first year I found that I was actually able to tap into the many advantages of being an introvert. Give yourself the time and space you need to explore the opportunities that college has to offer, and I am confident that you will find a number of ways to the make the most of your year!

 

Advice from the (Peer) Advisors: New Year, New You? Me Too.

Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

With 2020 behind us and the new year just beginning, Peer Advisor Megan shares what’s on her mind and how she’s starting fresh in 2021.

—

I think it’s fair to say 2020 was not the year most people were hoping for. I had all these big plans, and nearly all of them were moved to the backburner or cancelled entirely. I completely understand that the difficulties we’ve been facing didn’t just go away when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s. However, I always feel like the new year is a natural turning point for me, and this new year I need it more than most. It’s a logical transition, I can let go of all the things that didn’t go according to plan last year and just start fresh. A blank slate. Here are a few things I’m doing to let go of 2020 and set myself up for success in 2021.

  1. I’m starting a new journal! If you’ve never journalled before, I highly recommend it. For about two years, I’ve simply been writing down things that happen and how I feel about them. It’s really useful for me to explain my thoughts and get them down on paper. My journal is not especially pretty or Instagram-worthy, but that’s not the point for me. If you want to keep a journal, you have to find a format that feels right for you, or else it won’t work. Mine is like a conversation with myself, and when things get difficult, I always come back to my journal. Needless to say, it got quite full last year. In 2021, I’m starting a new one, both a metaphorical and physical blank page to write the story of the new year. Whether you journal or not, if you have a planner or specific pens for your schoolwork or something like that, I think getting yourself new tools can help you feel like things are moving forward, even if we’ve been sort of stuck in a rut for the past year. 
  2. I’m moving! Obviously, not everyone can just uproot their lives and move somewhere new. This step I’m taking took months of planning to make happen, and I’m not recommending you spontaneously move across the country. For me, it was important to create a new environment for myself, and the stars aligned for me to move in with a close friend who lives in Texas (yeehaw!). For others, this may mean painting your walls a different color, moving your furniture, or even just reorganizing your “school space” separate from your “personal space.” I spent a lot of 2020 feeling stagnant, so making obvious, visual changes to my life is important to me to jumpstart my personal growth again.
  3. I’m trying new things! When I was a freshman, some of the best advice I got was from one of my RAs. It was about this time of year, and I was explaining I didn’t feel like I’d found my “fit” yet at GW, the right people to hang out with or orgs to be involved in. She told me it was super normal to feel that way. There’s this expectation you’ll meet your best friends on the first day and you’ll be friends forever, but a lot of people she knew didn’t have that until second semester of freshman year, at least. And for me, she was completely right. I think that’s especially true for this year’s freshmen, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to try to find your “fit” at GW when you aren’t even physically at GW. So try new things, meet new people, join an org on GW Engage, attend virtual events, but most importantly, give yourself time to do all those things. That’s the other best advice I got as a freshman: no one actually knows what they’re doing, especially in D.C. So don’t worry, there’s no pressure to have it all figured out instantaneously, particularly in a pandemic.
  4. Most importantly, don’t hold 2020 against yourself. The things that went wrong for me last year weren’t my fault. My expectations for myself have always been my greatest enemy, often more than the expectations of others. I compare reality to the idea in my head of how things were “supposed” to be. But my “failure” to meet my own expectations isn’t a failure of my character, it was out of my hands. 2019 was really good for me, and I came into 2020 ready to build on that, whether that was academically, professionally, or personally. What happened was nowhere near the personal growth I’d anticipated, I feel like I’m worse off at the end of 2020 than I was at the end of 2019. But whenever you feel like was the last time you “had it all together,” just pick up from there, progress doesn’t have to be linear. Coming into 2021, I find I’m frequently reminding myself that none of this was my fault. There’s no goal I “failed” to meet, no version of myself that’s “supposed” to exist but doesn’t. There’s just the me that’s coming into 2021, ready to take on the world once again. 

As I write this, I can’t help but think about all my plans for 2020, the things I moved to the backburner or had to cancel. They’re all things I still want: courses I want to take, places I want to visit, people I want to spend time with. I will get to do those things, someday, but for now, I need to focus on getting to the part where that happens. So, study hard, wear your mask, stay safe, and raise high in 2021. With a bit of luck, hopefully things will be better before we know it.

Wishing you all the best!

Peer Advisor Megan
megangreenstein@gwu.edu

Hold on to your Holiday Spirit: Balancing Finals & Winter Festivities

Community Life, Student Peer Advisors

Check out Peer Advisor Emma Stopek’s tips on keeping up that good ol’ holiday spirit in the midst of at-home finals and the general malaise of 2020!

For as long as I can recall, December has evoked memories of sipping hot chocolate, watching Elf surrounded by family, and the cozy feeling of that first snowfall. However, this year, all I can manage to think about is COVID, blue light glasses, and how in the world I’m supposed to take finals while trapped inside my childhood home with nowhere to go due to a statewide lockdown. But fear not UHPers. Wherever you are, I have some tips on how to destress and hang onto that last thread of holiday spirit while balancing the craziness of COVID & finals!

Take a break and make some cookies!

We honors students are very prone to overworking ourselves, especially with the end of the semester approaching. So, what’s a better way to unplug and beat zoom fatigue than to whip up some cookies with your roommates or family members? I have linked here some of my favorite holiday cookie recipes, please try them and let me know how they turn out! Happy baking!  

Hershey kiss peanut butter cookies: https://www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/peanut-butter-blossoms.html

Sugar cookies:

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50502/basic-sugar-cookies-recipe/

Snickerdoodles:

https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/top-holiday-cookies/?slide=6a825517-3951-4906-b890-7cd95aa7a606#6a825517-3951-4906-b890-7cd95aa7a606

Treat yourself with an early holiday present 

After you finish that grueling final paper or click submit on your hardest final, why not reward yourself by checking something off your own holiday list? There are so many sales happening on the internet right now and it just seems like the perfect pick me up during these trying times. When you’re slumped over the computer in that 3rd zoom class of the day and are longing for an ounce of serotonin, treat yourself to that item that’s been on your Amazon wishlist for a month (that is just an example, remember to shop local <3).

Here is a college student holiday gift list for some inspiration: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-gift-ideas-college-students.html

Have a Holiday Movie Marathon

One of my favorite ways to destress is to close my laptop, turn off my phone, and binge some good-ol’ holiday movie classics. All you need is a fuzzy blanket, some popcorn, and hot cocoa (family and friends are optional). My recommendations are Elf, Home Alone, The Polar Express, The Grinch, A Christmas Story, and Love Actually. 

I hope these tips help in restoring a sense of holiday season normalcy in these unprecedented times. Although this is a lighthearted post, I really do understand how hard it can be and my only advice would be to take it one day at a time and do small things to make yourself happy! Also, the holidays are truly about showing the people you love how much you care about them, which can be so difficult in a socially-distanced world. So be sure to facetime that friend that you miss, email your favorite professor, and tell your family you love them! Have an amazing holiday season, and remember, “The best way to spread holiday cheer is for singing loud for all to hear.”

Advice from the (Peer) Advisors: Budgeting your Attention

Community Life, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

Check out Peer Advisor Parker Blackwell’s advice on budgeting your attention and how to stay productive in these unique times.

Throughout my experience with remote learning these last few months, I’ve found that without routine location changes, everything melds together. Snack breaks take over online lectures, and with finals approaching, my self-care has dwindled from regular yoga and meditation to the occasional deep breath between submitting assignments. Clearly, this is not a sustainable lifestyle.

As a reminder for myself and anyone else who, like me, finds themselves careening haphazardly between binging Netflix and laboring through coursework, I’m here to say, there is a better way! So here is some wisdom I’ve clung to over the years, collected from podcasts, proverbs, and good old fashioned experience, that I hope might be helpful in this trying time.

1. Budget your time!

Try thinking of time as a commodity: finite and valuable. Consider time-blocking. Ever notice how productive you are in the minute it takes to heat up food in a microwave? Set timers for certain tasks and challenge yourself to finish each one before the timer runs out. Time blocking can look like setting a realistic goal for getting a reading done, or it can look like leaving yourself thirty minutes to eat a solid lunch before class. This brings me to my next point…

2. Get your priorities straight!

Invest your time with intention. Try thinking of each day as an opportunity to make something happen. Spontaneous moments are wonderful, but sometimes you have to actively pursue things that spark joy. For me, writing To-Do Lists every morning helps me reserve time for things that bring me joy. Each day, I have the agency to decide what’s best for me. Some days, frontloading the hardest tasks and rewarding myself with TV is best. Other days, recognizing an impending burnout and taking time to rest takes priority. Either way, giving yourself agency is key!

3. Make it count!

When you do sit down to relax or study, make it count! Before college, I approached studying head-on, with no strategy or purpose. Sometimes, it worked, but other times it didn’t, and more often than not, the information I’d crammed for a Friday test would be gone at the end of a weekend. Knowing yourself is critical to ensuring that you utilize your time. Where and when do you study best? Be strategic with your study time. Do you know what kind of learner you are? Try taking this quiz to make sure your study habits are working for you. 

In my personal and academic life, it’s often too easy to robotically go through the motions. But, considering the value of my time and choosing what matters reminds me that I can choose to give my actions meaning. Hopefully, this comes as a reminder that, despite adversity, you can too. 

#HonorsProblems: How to Curb that Impostor Syndrome and Embrace Your Awesome

Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

Check out Peer Advisor Abby Guen’s tips on how to counteract impostor syndrome in your academics!

Let’s face it: this semester has been hard. This isn’t what any of us envisioned, and for those of you who are freshmen, this surely isn’t how you envisioned your introduction into college. I hope you’ve fallen into the swing of things with a little over 2 months under your belt, and while the hours staring at a screen may not be getting easier (in fact, they may be getting harder), you have made it this far and that is enough.

Speaking of being enough, let’s talk about something I’ve suffered from all throughout college: academic impostor syndrome. If you’re not familiar with the term, Harvard Business Review defines impostor syndrome as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. As a freshman and sophomore in the Elliott School, I felt this in my classes all the time – why didn’t I know the answers to any of the questions being asked during class? Why did it feel like my comments weren’t as insightful as other students? Was I not spending enough time outside of class reading up on general topics in international affairs? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that asking such broad questions of myself isn’t productive, and that there are several things I should keep in mind when inadvertently comparing myself to other students. Next time you’re feeling inadequate, think about these things:

You got into GW. You got into the Honors Program. You are more than smart enough to be here. I hope this is a given. You are going to take classes in many different departments while you’re at GW, and there is simply no way you will be well-informed about the subject matter for all of them. You will respond differently to each class’s material, each professor’s teaching style, and what’s going on in your life outside of your classes is constantly changing. Everyone’s definitions of success vary, and if you’re feeling inadequate, consider what you might be struggling with in your life, and how your ability to overcome it is just as important as your performance in school.

Everyone’s brains work differently. This is a big one for me. I had a propensity – especially in my origins classes – to think that if someone said something about a reading that I would never have thought of, it meant that I had missed something big. I also felt like my contributions didn’t sound as insightful as other students. Everyone’s brain processes literature differently, and we each prioritize information in distinct ways. Not seeing all the perspectives right away doesn’t immediately mean you missed something. What is obvious to one person’s brain might not have been obvious to you, and vice versa. It’s likely that someone will hear your contributions and think they was quite insightful, and that they had never thought about it that way. If you’re ever feeling lost in class, I can guarantee that you’re not the only one.

Knowledge does come with age, to an extent. Some people are naturally good at remembering things, or have great confidence speaking in class. Some people may also have a special interest in the subject matter being studied by your class, and therefore their knowledge may in fact be larger than yours (the example that comes to my mind is when I took History of American Foreign Policy as a sophomore and knew almost nothing about the Middle East or US military history, but half the class were ROTC students.) As a senior now, I feel much more confident in my knowledge and my reading abilities then I did even two years ago, when I was still a very capable student. Your knowledge and ability to synthesize information both improve as you move through college, and it is natural for impostor syndrome to feel like a big deal when you’re just starting out. Just know it gets better with time, and keep reminding yourself that you are awesome!

One final thing: remember there are many ways to showcase your capabilities. Class participation can come in form of emailing your professors after class to clarify something or talk about a topic that interested you, or going to office hours. In classes you really love, find ways to go above and beyond what is asked of you. But don’t stress if you’re not ready for any of that. You have time, and if 2020 has taught us anything it’s the importance of taking care of ourselves. You’ve shown resilience just by making it this far in the semester, but if you’re feeling inadequate at any point, your UHP family will always be here to remind you that you’re awesome.

 

Advice from the (Peer) Advisors: Tips from an Extrovert on Enjoying Time Spent Alone

Community Life, Student Peer Advisors

Check out Peer Advisor Claire Shelby’s tips on how to make the most of your alone time, even if you’re an extrovert!

Well, we’ve made it through half of our online semester (or a quarter of our online year if we’re being real)! I’m truly proud of us all, because this is NOT easy. This whole online thing can feel really lonely at times. Your Zoom meeting ends, you send a quick “Thank you” in the chat, and boom, silence. There’s no goodbyes to your classmates, no awkward after class questions with your professors, and no walking to lunch at Sweetgreen with your friends. As an extrovert living alone in a studio apartment in DC, I’m going to share a few tips on how to learn to enjoy time spent by yourself. 

Indulge. Whether this means baking cookies at 12am because you need a sweet treat or going to sleep early on a weeknight because your brain needs a break, take advantage of alone time to do what’s best for you. You’re not held back by what other people want you to do, so the world is your oyster!

Put down your phone. I know it’s tempting to grab your phone to feel like you’re connected to friends even when you aren’t physically with them. I’ve found through experience that this usually does nothing more than remind me how alone I am. Turn off your notifications, put on some calm music, and make yourself dinner or read a book. We’re trained to feel like we have to respond to people immediately—especially when we’re already online all day—but it is more than okay to not respond the second someone tries to contact you. You deserve a break.

Get outdoors. I often forget how important fresh air is for my well-being. Even if you step into the world for no more than a minute, it will freshen you up and brighten your day. Studying in parks or other outdoor spaces is a great, peaceful thing to do to break up the monotony of studying in one place for 12 hours.

Write. Instead of turning to your friend to share that random thought that comes into your head, write it down! Having a record of what your train of consciousness is up to is very fun to look back on, and it can clear your mind of jumbled thoughts.

Have a dance party! This goes hand in hand with Indulge, but turn up some good music and let loose. It feels so good to move your muscles and listen to your favorite bops while singing at the top of your lungs (or mouthing the words with excitement if you’re in an apartment like I am). 

Do 1 thing a day to seize the day. This changed my perspective on how much fun you can have even without friends. This can be something as small as cooking a meal, or as large as waking up at 4am to watch the sunrise. You don’t need other people to justify a fun adventure! Remind yourself that the world is a pretty cool place even with all of the chaos and stress. You can document it with a cheesy 1 second a day app, or you can cherish the memories in your own mind (which may be even better!). 

All of these things can help you get to know yourself and who you are without other personalities affecting you! I may not know you, but I’d put money on the fact that you’re a pretty cool person. And remember, if the loneliness does get too overwhelming, your friends and/or family are only a FaceTime call away. 

Sending love and positive vibes to you all <3

A Writ of Writing “Right”

Community Life, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices


Check out these writing tips from Peer Advisor Matthew Stauder!

Coming into college, I thought I was a great writer. I soon learned, however, that simply utilizing a number of words one would only find in a thesaurus plus sentences with 3 separate clauses was not what constituted “great writing.” And I will be honest—upon getting back my first ever writing assignment, I went back to my dorm room, laid on my bed, and cried. Since that first paper, I have been able to grow in my writing abilities, and with midterm papers and exams with short answer questions looming in the weeks ahead, I want to share some tips you may find helpful.

1. Create an outline. Outlines help you organize your initial thoughts to the prompt you have been given, and also help you recognize the main points you want to make, and the supporting details to those points. Most likely, your outline will start out very vague (even in timed exams, I would recommend writing out even a vague outline if you are having writer’s block. It is better to think about what to write on paper than in your mind where golden ideas may suddenly slip away out of memory!), but as you do research, you will be able to add more detail, and may even change what is in the outline. Which brings me to the next point…

2. Do not be afraid to change your thesis! Perhaps one of the greatest mistakes I have made writing research papers is “declaring” a thesis and sticking with it even as the research consistently debunked what I wanted to argue. Better yet, if it is not required to declare a thesis straight away, do some preliminary research first just to get an idea of what the data and scholars say.

3. Work out of order. This tip used to bug me. In fact, as a little kid doing word searches, I had to find and circle the words in the order they appeared on the bottom of the page. This made things difficult, especially as I tried to remember where that word was so I could circle it once I found all the other words before it! It is similar when writing a paper—the wonderful gift of technology
and word processors is that we can write above, below, and in between what we have. If a thought comes to mind, do not hesitate to write it down and write down everything you want to say about it. Furthermore, the introduction of all things should be the last part of the paper you write. Since it is meant to serve as a summary or foreshadowing of what is to come, it is easiest to write after you already know what is to come.

4. Be straightforward and concise. Believe it or not, writing long, “complex” sentences going in multiple directions is not a great way to keep the readers attention. Just because the literature you may read sounds complex and “heady” does not mean you need to be, especially when you do not understand what you are saying! Always err on the side of shorter sentences with one or two clauses.

5. Use strong verbs. This may seem as a given, but it is always a good idea to proofread for the number of times you have forms of “to be” or “to go” or “to do” in your papers. Replace when possible!

6. Avoid using the word “this.” This tip comes from the great Professor Winstead. As you can see from my writing so far, it is neither possible nor encouraged to fully eliminate using the word “this.” Instead, you should always eliminate its usage as a noun. In other words, specify what you mean by “this.” Notice above, I said “This tip comes from the great Professor Winstead” not “This comes from the great Professor Winstead.” This example may not seem to bring the point across too much. But trust me, when you are on the reading side of a long essay, it helps to have a reminder of what came in the last preceding sentences. Otherwise, this word “this” can be very confusing and cause your reader to backtrack and lose interest. If you still do not understand this point, try reading Zhuangzi and then get back to me.

7. Avoid passive voice. I was disappointed by my brain when I was told by it that I had to write this one. The passive voice was used many times by me in the past. But not anymore, because it only further complicates your readers’ understanding. Plus, it is easy to fix. Just flip the subject and the object of the preposition and conjugate the verb accordingly. If you are saying to yourself, “I was confused by this point,” then please stop. This point confused you.

8. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors, TAs, and the Writing Center. Check your syllabus for your professors’ and TAs’ office hours. I assure you, they will be happy to meet with you! If these types of meetings make you nervous, I would suggest finding one or two specific questions you may have or thinking of one or two specific things to bring up, just to give yourself that sense of structure. It is also a great idea to go to office hours after an assignment is graded, and ask questions about the professors’ comments about what you can do for next time! Secondly, the Writing Center is a great resource that you should be able to use for almost any class at GW. If you are unsure whether you are allowed to use it for a course, reach out to your professor. They typically offer one-to-one peer tutoring and maintain academic integrity.

Finding Community at GW

Community Life, Student Peer Advisors

Check out the following discourse about finding community, even in this virtual semester.

Like many incoming first year students, I struggled a lot in finding community within GW. My first year I shopped around with student organizations, met loads of fellow students, and became incredibly close with my roommates. But ultimately I was craving a deeper community to call home at GW. So, I joined an Alternative Greek fraternity in the second semester. Finally, I had found a group of like-minded people who could support me in my academic goals as well as become my group on campus! And while I still love my fraternity and am so glad I found it, I’ve changed a lot since then. My goals, identities, and needs have changed. The best thing about that organization is that the community I’ve built can grow with me.

A piece of advice my peer advisor gave me in the first semester of college is that your student organizations, academic groups, or community in your first-year dorm don’t have to be your best friends. While these spaces can bring about great friendships and community support, do not feel discouraged if you don’t initially find your place. For first-years out there, shop around with some student organizations! There are plenty looking to welcome new members when remote and there is truly a space for everyone. (There are 555 organizations registered on GW Engage !) Try to find a group that supports you in whatever your educational goals and values are. But, remember that this doesn’t have to be your one home on campus.

I’m now a senior and am still meeting new faces (socially distanced, of course) and finding my space in college. And while I’m still incredibly close with my roommates from first year (<3), many of my closest supporters now were met later in college. Ultimately, your community can come from many spaces. This doesn’t have to be one organization, one group of friends, or even the UHP. And while many people find their community outside of even student organizations, it’s a great place to start looking.

Painting with Bob Ross – and Claire and Mei!

Community Life, Events, Student Peer Advisors

UHPers, have you ever wanted to take up painting as a hobby? Well your chance is here! Join Peer Advisors Claire and Mei on Friday, September 18, at 6:30PM EST for a delightful evening of painting and Bob Ross. He’ll walk you all through all the steps to paint his Distant Mountains painting, all in his happy and soothing voice. And you don’t need to paint along if you don’t want to– if you’re just a fan of Bob Ross and enjoy watching him paint, you’re welcome to join regardless. Either way. sign up at the form below (past the materials list)!

Join the meeting here!

If you want to participate, you’ll need some materials! Here are the required materials for Distant Mountains:

  • Paints:
    • Liquid white
    • Titanium white
    • Phthalo green
    • Phthalo blue
    • Prussian blue
    • Midnight black
    • Dark sienna 
    • Van Dyke brown
    • Alizarin crimson
    • Sap green
    • Cadmium yellow
    • Yellow ochre
    • Indian yellow
    • Bright red
  • Brushes:
    • 2 inch brunch
    • Fan brush
      • 1 inch brush works too!
    • Mixing knife
  • Other:
    • Mixing plate/palette
    • Canvas 
    • Paint thinner

You can find most (but not all) of these materials in this art kit here. Also, check out your local art supply store! They’re sure to have everything you need.

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