Loving to Learn Again

I consider myself a lifelong learner. In fact, I went back to school at age 45 to get a Ph.D., and in a few short days, I’ll finish my program and people will call me Dr. Jones. One thing I’ve discovered during this time of quarantine and crisis is that continuing to challenge myself and learn daily keeps me balanced and honestly, happier.

As the spring semester comes to a close, you may find yourself either relieved to be finished with classes or truly frightened to face the summer with even more time on your hands. In uncertain times we tend to cling to those things that give us structure. I know I have. I’ve written and rewritten my dissertation more times than I can count, but each time I learned something. No, I didn’t just learn how to cite an author or run statistics. I learned that commitment and determination aren’t intuitive; they are learned behaviors.

This summer discover or rediscover your love of learning. Find out what that process looks like for you. For me, it means reading books that help me develop as a person, watching videos that teach me how to get my puppy to stop dislocating my shoulder every time I take her for a walk, and that cooking healthy meals is nourishing in more than one way. I’ve learned that taking time for myself and my passions, fills my cup to the rim, allowing me to pour into others.

So what does that mean for you? I encourage you to self-reflect on what you are interested in or passionate about. Think about what you value and what can bring added value to your life. Write a list of the things that are important to you. Brainstorm and dream about where you want to be in a year. Imagine what a post-COVID19 life looks like. Then write it all down, create a vision board, or type up your ideas.

Next comes the research. Reach out to family and friends that are subject matter experts on your topics or passions. Get on the web and see what it takes to be a certified scuba diver, a published author, or a non-profit volunteer. Google it, because you know there is a website, an Instagram influencer, or YouTube video out there somewhere with more information.

When you have your idea and you’ve done your research, then comes the hard part. Doing the thing!

Pick up a guitar, read about quantum physics or the rain forests, write in the journal on your desk, or start training for that 5K. You are the only one standing in the way of your learning. So get out of your own way, find your passion, research your dream, and then make them a reality. Learning day by day is the art of personal development, and I want each of you to be your best selves. Think you have learned all you can in the classroom and from life? Well, a great philosopher named Tupac Shakur once said, “Even the genius asks questions.” So all you geniuses out there ask yourself the hard questions and commence with the learning.

By Dr. Wynde Jones - Wynde is the Assistant Vice President of Student Connections at The University of Southern Mississippi 

Graduate School Surprises and Successes

After four years of college in my hometown, Hattiesburg, I moved straight to Minnesota to start law school for an adventure in a new place. Cut to the first week of class and I was completely overwhelmed. Everyone had made friends during orientation week and seemed so much more on top of it than I was, academically and socially. I stumbled through answers to questions in class while other students provided eloquent, thorough answers. About a month in, my dream of city living and excelling in a competitive academic nightmare had turned into a nightmare. I was ready to give up. But I didn’t.

There were a couple of things that helped me. First, I finally found some people I could relate to, other out of state students who were lonely and though hard-working, intimidated by the demands of law school. They become my community. We ate together, studied together, and complained, very loudly and often, together.

I also went and met with one of my professors, one of the less scary ones. She sympathized with me about the demands of law school and helped me find some additional resources. I’ll admit going into the student support office for group tutoring sessions she recommended felt like defeat. I wasn’t used to needing additional help to be a good student and felt this weird stigma about asking for help. But, once I started attending regularly, I found my comprehension improving, along with my answers in class.

After finals, I said goodbye to my new friends and headed home, not entirely sure I would return to Minnesota for the new term. Finally, we got notification that grades were posted. I won’t keep you in suspense, I passed every class—it was one of the worst GPAs I’ve had in my life, but I was so happy. It was then that I realized the struggle was worth it. I knew I could do it and I knew I would go back for the spring term. And I know you can persist in this challenging time too.

This semester has thrown us many curve balls. We are learning and working in new ways. We miss personal connections. The news is scary. For our seniors, your final semester at Southern Miss has been different from any class before you. While many of you are feeling this loss, remember you have so much to look forward to in life. Let my experiences remind that no matter what you face, success is possible. It may look a little different and be harder than you expected, but you can do it. Take it from me; persisting when you thought you would fail is one of life’s greatest accomplishments.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay Learning-focused.

By Katie McBride - Katie is the Director of the Office of New Student and Retention Programs (NSRP) at The University of Southern Mississippi 

Resilience

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." – Albert Camus

Hey everyone! It’s me again, AJ. I wanted to take to the blog and do a quick check-in with everyone. It’s been a couple of weeks now, and the growing pains of our new normal might be starting to show. For me, there was a small burst of energy that came with my new lifestyle, I was exploring new ways to spend my time and catching up with people I hadn’t spoken to in a long time. As the days turned to weeks though, I felt that energy start to fade. The remote work, the stress of the pandemic, the loss of structure, the isolation from a lot of close friends, these all started weighing on me. I noticed this week I’d been feeling more worn out. Perhaps you’ve noticed a similar change within yourselves.

That weariness is normal. Things are difficult now, and at times our resilience is tested. Whether it’s something I mentioned or something totally different, we may find ourselves asking, “How do I keep up with everything?”   

If you’re noticing thoughts like that, then I want to encourage you to practice some self-care. Deliberately make time for meaningful and fun activities. It takes a lot of internal resources to manage ourselves, and learning how to replenish those internal resources through enjoyable activities is so important.  

Sleep, proper nutrition and regular exercise gives us more internal resources to manage stress and cope better. So, let’s take a minute and reflect on the thought, “How have I been doing with this?” Maybe you could benefit from setting up a routine like talking to a friend and brushing your teeth (as one example) before bed. Maybe you could plan out more regular mealtimes to make sure you’re eating healthily. Maybe you could plan a zoom home workout with some friends to up your activity. Learning to establish routines like this will help.   

At the end of the day, so much is being asked of us in the midst of a moment that will reverberate throughout history. It’s tough, and to be resilient and continue our roles as learners will, at times, require a step back. Let’s take a look at ourselves so we can make sure we’re ok and learn to do something about it if we’re not.

By AJ Qureshi - AJ is a graduate student in the Counseling Psychology program and a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi 

Heightened Focus

We are now facing new challenges, such as social distancing, different learning environments, and lots of unexpected ONLINE CLASSES!. Yes, I know being an online student isn’t easy, but I think there’s something you can learn from my own first experiences with distant learning.

My transition from undergraduate courses to graduate courses involved going from being in a classroom five days a week to being in all online classes. I figured my focus was where it needed to be to complete grad school, so I changed nothing.  But then a few weeks into the semester I noticed a different kind of stress that created some major stress. At one point, I thought I was not smart enough for grad school. Something needed to change. I needed to improve my focus after all.

I completely switched up my routine and how I went about my day. Every Sunday, I would create a to-do list of the tasks I needed to complete for the week, along with daily exercises. I worked early mornings, so my workout would start around 1:30 pm. It became a priority to get a workout in to refuel my brain after a long day at work. If I did not work out, my body would be too tired from already working 8 hours with no energy to focus. 

Physical activity can lead to good mental health and improve learning skills. Harvard researcher, John J. Ratey. makes this argument as well. Being physically active will help us heighten our focus, especially during changes like the one we are experiencing currently. If you can increase your focus and stay on task, you will be able to finish this semester on a much higher performance academically. 

The path to success can sometimes be a difficult one. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light,”-Aristotle Onassis. We must be conscious and intentional when creating effective learning habits, setting limits, setting goals and most importantly taking care of the mind and body. One of the most common reasons we struggle to maintain focus is because we lack the clarity to maintain focus on what we need to do next.

By Londyn Thomas - Londyn is a graduate student in the Physical Education program and a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi. She also serves as a volunteer GA for the Southern Miss Women’s Basketball program.

Virtual Activation: Small Steps, Big Results

When I think back to my first time enrolling in online courses, I thought it would be easy, but I was wrong. Each week I felt stressed out trying to comprehend assignments while learning from a distance. Now that I was operating without a fixed schedule, I became a procrastinator, continually struggling to find my motivation to learn. It caused a lack of concentration, which made me reconsider why I applied for graduate school only to cause more stress.

After maybe six weeks in my second semester of graduate school, I recognized that something had to change. I decided to become physically active because I thought working out might help reduce my stress level and give me more confidence with my academics. This turns out to be true. A research brief sponsored by ActiveLivingResearch.org reviewed several dozen studies and concluded that “Physical activity can have both immediate and long-term benefits on academic performance”.  For me, I began working out for only 30-minutes a day, and before I knew it, I was up to an hour a day! Since I began this new healthy habit, every discussion, quiz, and research paper I completed was done with a purpose. I had a totally different mindset—it was as if I already knew I had made a good grade. My new confidence felt good and it most definitely showed in my grades.

Exercising a few minutes a day could be the first step to helping you maintain focus in your online classes. Those few minutes a day will eventually stimulate your brain, allowing you to study longer and complete difficult assignments. Eventually, you will be able to increase the amount of exercise as well. Don’t be surprised when you’re able to add 5 to 10 minutes each week. Before you know it, you’ll be going for 40 minutes a day.

After my workouts, I would dive straight into doing homework. My concentration was consistently improving after working out before hitting the books. I was more focused as I completed assignments days before the due dates. 

Becoming physically active can increase your concentration. You can go for a 20-minute jog, do resistance training or mind-body exercise before starting on an assignment. You can find lots of suggestions from the Campus Rec staff (here are some links to their videos and suggested workouts). This first step is critical to your success, so start with a gentle routine and build up to a more vigorous exercise. Eventually, these exercises will boost your memory, concentration, and focus that will give you the ability to complete assignments quicker. You can do it! 

By Londyn Thomas - Londyn is a graduate student in the Physical Education program and a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi. She also serves as a volunteer GA for the Southern Miss Women’s Basketball program.

The Art of Goal Setting

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso  

Hey everyone! It’s me, AJ again. I’m feeling pretty excited since I managed to get through this first week of classes, and I know I’ll have a bit more time on my hands this weekend (I think we probably all do). I plan on trying my hand at baking bread for the first time, mostly so I can learn something new.   

One thing we know is that goals help us stay focused throughout uncertain times. It gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning or stop scrolling through the endless pages of COVID-19 news; even if we don’t have a class, practice, or club meeting. Most days I try to give myself something that I can look forward to doing. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment like a good workout at the Payne Center or finishing a big class project would.   

For me, I knew that I liked reading and baking but with the mountain of other obligations I had, it became difficult to devote any real time to those hobbies. I’ve seen other friends playing instruments they haven’t touched since high school, practicing yoga, or catching up on their reading.   

So, for this week, act deliberately, and set a goal for yourself! It can be anything, whether it’s making sure to take a walk each day, learning to do something new, or even getting through the reading and assignments you’re being asked to finish for class. What’s important is to make the effort to devote specific parts of your week to complete these goals. Setting a time helps keep you accountable and gives some structure for you to build the rest of your day around.   

Being able to spend some time rediscovering an old hobby and setting new goals for yourself can be a blessing for us during the trying times of this pandemic, but beyond that, learning to deliberately set and accomplish goals will be a skill that helps us grow throughout our entire lives.   

By AJ Qureshi - AJ is a graduate student in the Counseling Psychology program and a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi 

Adaptive Learning

Over the past month, our lives have changed drastically and it seems like each day comes with more change. My name is AJ and I am a Graduate Student at The University of Southern Mississippi, and just like many students across the world, I am trying to figure things out during this unsettling time. Among other things, I’ve been researching adaptive learning habits and I think some of what I’ve learned may be useful to you as well.

For a lot of us the time we would’ve spent going to class, studying at the library, working out at the gym, or visiting friends- has largely turned into shelter-in-place orders. And probably as we’ve all realized by now that comes with a lot of challenges.

If you’re anything like me, a student trying to get through this crazy semester, one of the biggest challenges will be getting used to our new normal of transitioning to an online class structure. Viewing the updated syllabus for all my classes, trying to keep track of all the new discussion post due dates and video lectures has been overwhelming to say the least. Not everyone does their best learning in an online class, that’s a fact. It’s a lot to keep track of and it doesn’t have any of the structure we’ve gotten used to with our in-person classes. Thankfully, it’s also true that there’s always something we can do to help us learn better in any circumstance.

For instance, I’ve already started putting reminders in my calendar for all the discussion board posts. I have also made a schedule for each week and noted when I will watch my online lectures. I’m using that calendar to find myself with a bit of the structure I used to have so that it feels a bit easier to be productive each day. I recommend finding a planner, a calendar app, or really anything you might find useful, so you can keep track of what you want to accomplish each day. Setting those goals for yourself can start to help your days show a stronger resemblance to the structure we used to enjoy.

Winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, John Wooden, once said “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” Finding ways to be flexible in our learning is one of the key traits of being a successful student. Hopefully, as we try new things we discover what works best for us and we can continue to learn. Once the Coronavirus pandemic becomes a thing of the past we will have attained many new skills that will make us more adaptable to change and we will be much better off because of it. 

By AJ Qureshi - AJ is a graduate student in the Counseling Psychology program and a graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi 

Learning No Matter What

You possess the ability to learn and develop the skills needed to be successful. Yes, I mean YOU! In fact, all Southern Miss students have this ability, and it’s true regardless of how you define success. Better yet, this ability transcends the physical classroom and exists even in your living room as you work to complete this unforgettable Spring semester.  Your Southern Miss Division of Student Affairs believes in your ability as well, which is why we work every day to develop healthy, connected, and learning-focused students and communities—no matter what.

The departments that make up Student Affairs help keep you fit, healthy, safe, and mentally sound. They also help you get connected with new friends to create your own Southern Miss memories. I’m proud that my colleagues in these areas have continued to do this work, even today. We’re committed to this work because when this is your foundation, you’re poised to make this opportunity for a higher education all it’s worth and more.

Even though we’re not on campus together, even though we’re all trying to practice social distancing, and even though our plans have been forced to change, the opportunity to maximize our higher education experience surrounds us still. This fact motivates me to press forward, and I hope it does the same for you. 

Because we must continue this journey down your path, your destiny to earn a university-level degree, I’m inviting you to follow a brand-new blog we’re calling Learning In FOCUS. Join me, your peers, and other guest writers as we post short stories and advice for making the most out of your higher education journey—finishing your next assignment, completing your upcoming semesters, and EARNING your college degree.

In short, our goal is to sharpen your skills by bringing Learning in focus. While it’s true we all possess the ability to learn and develop the skills needed to be successful, we must learn about and practice to perfect these abilities. Follow our blog, send us your questions, try out some of our suggestions, and more importantly be committed to learning no matter what!

By Michael King, PhD - Michael works in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi as the Executive Director of Organizational and Student Learning where he creates and maximizes learning opportunities.