The Universities at Shady Grove (USG)

It’s that time of year; time for turkey, tradition, and trotting. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and even the mere act of writing about it stirs excitement within me. With my brother living on the west coast and my sister in school in Pennsylvania, thanksgiving is the perfect excuse for everyone to temporarily abandon their stresses and responsibilities in the name of food and family- what could be better! My extended family gathers at my parent’s house for some good old fashioned home made cooking (courtesy of my incredible self-taught chef mom!)

My sister and I arise early on thanksgiving morning for our neighborhood’s five-mile turkey trot. The bitter cold of a late November morning surely jolts us awake and prepares us for the marathon style eating to follow.

After a quick shower and coffee, we head home and attempt to help my mom prepare thanksgiving dinner. I am typically declared a hopeless case when it comes to complex kitchen cooking, but I am a great taste tester, and that counts for something, right?!

The rest of my family joins us at our house and we enjoy a relaxed, laid-back style meal with the promise of delicious dessert to follow. While the food is great, the company is better.

With finals looming, it is easy to overlook all that we have to be thankful for, but while school can get crazy, I’m thankful to be at such an incredible, community-oriented nursing school. I am thankful for the friends I have met a Shady Grove, and for the incredible unyielding support of my family. The list could go on and on…

What are your Thanksgiving plans? I would love to hear about your traditions in the comments below!

I have heard it many times, “these are the best days of your life, I wish I was back in college!” In my mind I respond, “Really?!” For me personally it has been a struggle, but I can understand what people mean by “best days,” because I do find that my time at the Universities at Shady Grove has been sprinkled with fun and excitement, whether it be at a campus event or during a party with friends, some of my greatest memories have been created these past two years.  Yet there is the stress, it comes in many forms and sizes, call it finals, relationship problems, work commitments, couple arguements, or family conflicts, the list is endless. We all want to be our best but how can we when our time is so short and our patience and emotions run thin.  It’s not a matter of “if we will implode” but a matter of “when” (finals week for sure, just take a walk through the library Dec. 10-20).

So friends, I will share with you the best piece of wisdom I can offer. Here at the Universities at Shady Grove I have found one of the best services our campus has available.  Located in the back corner of the Priddy Library in building III you will find the office of Counseling and Consultation.  The confidential and discreet location was thoughtfully designed.  You are greeted with a soothing waterfall and soft relaxing music, it reminds me of a Zen Buddhist retreat.  The mission of the Center is “to foster growth, wellness, and success at USG.” My experience with depression after my knee surgery, stress before exams, and conflict with my family led me to seek the help of a payed counseling professional many times over the past two years.  The center is staffed with professionals with their own practices serving the community of Rockville for over thirty years and are available to our students, faculty, staff and their partners and family for FREE on campus year around.  You are never too proud of a person to not seek help, I personally had to find the courage to overcome the emotions that kept me from visiting the center sooner.  Set your life back on track, or ease your mind through opening yourself up to someone who won’t judge.  Take advantage of this service you won’t regret it!

Welcome to another Monday at the Universities at Shady Grove! I know Mondays can feel extremely daunting, I’m feeling that way right now, as the intensity of work is picking up right before we get a much needed break for Thanksgiving. For this reason, I’m going to keep my post short and simple this week.

I really want to simply explain something that I observed at the Grove this week, and how happy it made me. Just one of the many reasons that I love being a student here.

Early on Friday morning I had gotten to campus a little bit early, with enough time to get my much needed soy latte from the Green Grove Cafe. (where the service is always impeccable) After I had paid, while I was dozing off waiting for my drink, a flyer caught my eye. It was for Thanksgiving meals to-go for students. This really caught me off guard and touched my heart, because at all of the other schools I have attended I have never seen such a thing.

The prices of the food seem extremely reasonable, and the fact that the kitchen was able to acknowledge the fact that the population they work with is busy students, many of them who are also working many other jobs. I beamed with pride as I saw this, and left the cafe with a smile on my face.

…And that happened only after I took a picture of it, to share on this blog of course 🙂

Have a productive week!

Taken from
https://gradschool.duke.edu/admissions

It’s that time of the semester again! No, not midterms. Not finals either. Not yet anyway.

It’s time to apply to Graduate Schools!

I am so glad I was able to successfully go through it, but trust me, it was no smooth sailing. If I say I was stressed, that would be an understatement.

I am the first generation in my family to graduate from a University in the United States. I am also the first to apply to Graduate Schools. I remembered that in high school, there were counselors who helped us with this process. My parents did not know how to help me, and I barely knew the system at the time. I was able to apply only because we went to the workshops for high school seniors. It also helped that our majors can be undecided for undergraduate programs.

Unfortunately, this time around, I had to look for majors, schools, and application process information all on my own. My undergrad advisors helped as best as they could, but ultimately, I needed to know exactly what I wanted. In case you don’t know me, I graduated with a Public Health Science for my bachelor’s degree. My career goals are to become a program manager in a global and environmental health organization. I’m sure you can tell it will be very hard to find a major that does exactly that.

My application deadline was May 1, 2015. I wasn’t worried one bit, because I felt that I’ve done thorough research. By January, my recommenders has all sent in letters. At the end of March, I figured it was time to apply. Just when I was starting to put in my information on SOPHAS (Schools of Public Health Application Services), my advisor asked me if I got into the program I wanted. I told her I haven’t even applied yet, and she told me that students are being admitted on a rolling basis and many people are selected already! That is when my calmness shattered. I thought “Spots are filling up! I’m not going to get in.”

I wasn’t going to give up without a fight though. I submitted everything that same day. I sent the transcripts over. Of course, things weren’t going smoothly even then. A few days later, when I emailed SOPHAS to check if they received my transcripts yet, I found out I sent them to UMD Grad School instead. I sent the transcripts to SOPHAS for the second time. Once they confirmed that they have received all of my SOPHAS application materials, I had another surprise: it takes about 5-6 weeks to process! At the time, it was the first week of April. I didn’t have 5-6 weeks to make the May 1^st deadline. I called and emailed SOPHAS again asking them to expedite the process. They said they can’t guarantee it but they can try because I was only missing transcripts.

Just when I was try to be breathe easy and be hopeful, I had yet another surprise: once my SOPHAS is processed, it will go to UMD. UMD will then send me a link to apply for their graduate school. No one told me it was a two part process! It’s going to take time for UMD to go over my application too. My hope dwindled.

However, I refused to let my story be a sad ending. I kept checking in with SOPHAS. Thankfully, they were very helpful. They processed my application quickly and sent it over to UMD. UMD sent me their application link within a day or two. I submitted on the same day I received it…and I was done! I was able to turn it on time. It was the second week of April! Of course, there’s still that thought: “Seats are filling up. I might not make it.”

But I did. I am beyond thankful and appreciative. I feel truly blessed. It was a tough journey. It felt like my dreams were shattering at the time, but I don’t think I would have had it any other way. Only because I went through that horrible process, I appreciate what I have even more.

If you’re going through something like this or any sort of stressful situation, you’re not alone! It does get better! Stay strong! You’re almost on the other side of things. 🙂

With the holidays rolling around, we often start to see more bake sales popping up around campus. We crave baked goodies that are warm, fluffy, sweet and sumptuous. This recipe is a simpler one and packed full of healthy ingredients- Perfect for an indulgent breakfast with a big ol’ mug of coffee or to spruce up the typical brownie/cookie bake sale exposee. Enjoy, and stay warm!

Cinnamon Almond Butter Carrot Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• -1/4 cup coconut oil
• -3/4 organic cane sugar
• -2 eggs
• -1 tsp vanilla
• -1 cup almond butter
• -2 ½ cups gluten free oats
• -1 ¼ tsp baking soda
• -1/4 cup flax seeds
• -1-2 peeled and shredded carrots
• -1/2 cup dried blueberries (or any dried berries of choice, cranberries and raspberries would be yummy too!)
• -1/4 cup crushed walnuts (or any other nut you love)
• -1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• -couple tablespoons pumpkin seeds **optional
• -1 tsp sea salt

RECIPE:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Coat cookie sheet with generous smear of coconut oil
3. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy (use mixer, don’t be lazy here- this gives your cookies volume)
4. Add eggs first and mix
5. Add almond butter, vanilla, oats, baking soda, flax
6. Dress with yummies: stir in dried fruits/nuts/seeds/salt/shredded carrots
7. Drop onto cookie sheet in desired size (I like a nice palm-sized cookie)
8. Bake 14-16 minutes or so until golden brown and center is puffed
9. Cool for a minute and bite into the goodness with a pumpkin beverage on the side!

recipe adapted from: http://cookingwithruthie.com/2015/10/09/gluten-free-breakfast-cookies-and-fit-friday/