I’ve been feeling a little-more-than-a-little subpar recently. I’m not sure if it’s the weather or a change in routine due to injury or just everyday stressors, but I don’t like to hang out in ruts like that. Last Friday served as a nice little pick me up, thankfully. I finally made it out to drop-in skating at the Varsity Centre!
I regret that I didn’t take pictures, I was consumed by how good it felt to be using my legs after making my arms so terribly sore at aerial silks. I’ve been less active recently and I think that might be contributing to my lousy mood. Skating with a good friend helped! I went on Friday from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon and it served as a nice study break. Skate rentals are available for only $3.39 (debit/credit only) and entry is free with your T-Card of course! It wasn’t very populated, which I really appreciated. I definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you’re looking for some space to make some mistakes (I sure am!).
Source: www.macedoecunha.com.br
There are few things that go together better than Robarts and Buzzfeed. We've all had that moment where your twenty minute coffee break turns into an hour of reading listicles and finding out which celebrity dog you are. Things got…
Sing it, Riri.Like Rihanna, I also work (work, work, work, work). I find a simple pleasure in putting in my time, effort and creativity into a job and in turn seeing real results. You can take a wild guess at what those results are, but I will save you the time and confirm that they come on a bi-weekly basis into my bank account. I have had many jobs over my years of working. Some of which include:
“Expert” pizza-maker extraordinaire
Marketing Assistant/person who designs a plethora of advertising
Bakery "Counter-person" (who also does all the other bakery jobs)
Barista who makes thebest cappuccinos @ about 4 different cafes
Server (who, to be honest, really hated serving)
Front Desk Porter, A.K.A that person in residence who talks to you enough to know your entire class schedule but still has to ask to see your keycard upon entering the building
This year I have managed to hold down two part-time jobs while also being a full time student. Both of my jobs are on campus, and are positions that are directly affiliated with the university. One of them, (surprise, surprise) is to write entertaining and relevant material for the Life at U of T student blog. The other, is a relatively new job which involves doing admissions for a residence on campus.
There’s a new kid on the block that is sweeping across professional faculties, and that’s the MMI! What’s “MMI”, you ask? MMI stands for “multiple mini interviews” and it’s a novel interviewing technique. It was developed by McMaster University’s Faculty of Medicine to better assess applicants communication skills. It was suggested that traditional interview formats do not accurately capture true aptitude of a candidate for the profession. The MMI, on the other hand, allows for assessment of other communication skills such as interpersonal skills, professionalism as well as ethical reasoning.
On March 15, the University of Toronto celebrates 189 years of teaching, learning, and discovering. To mark the university's birthday, over the next two weeks, I’m counting down to the big day by looking back at great moments in U of T’s history each decade since its establishment in 1827.
I know it sounds cliché, but time really is flying by. I don’t really know how March managed to arrive so quickly, but I do know that when I realized the semester was more than half way done, a little bit of panic set in for me. My exchange is almost over and it seems like I haven’t managed to do half of the things I wanted to do. Getting caught up in school and everyday life meant that I’d forgotten that part of the point of an exchange is to do fun, exciting things.
Hey y'all!
Inspired by Annette’s post about the MoveU Crew, I’d like to share some of the fabulous features of the HealthyU Crew that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of in a communications role. I love being able to share our successes and achievements around campus— especially because an awesome team of students and volunteers are responsible for planning and executing the campaigns and events! Perhaps you’ve seen them at Clubs Day, Street Festival, in libraries and common spaces, and at walkabouts around campus... Here's a snapshot of each of the four themed-teams that make up the Crew!
The HealthyU Crew is a combination of four healthful initiatives: HappyU, FuelU, MoveU, and SafeU
Student-run conferences have become a big part of my involvement in campus activities. By “conference,” I refer not to a United Nations-like assembly of prominent politicians in suits but to a much less intimidating form that has really enriched my learning experience.
Student conferences may not be on such a large-scale level as a UN General Assembly... but a Con Hall psych class may give it a run for its money.
I’ve participated in a few and have had great experiences with them. Smaller events will often be free while larger events may require a fee that covers food, speakers, or renting out the space. In January, I attended the UTGB Student Leadership Conference where we discussed the impact of international short-term volunteering and the importance of understanding the underlying social and political context of the countries we serve. Just last month, I registered for the Fraser Institute seminar on public policy, which touched upon a range of diverse topics such as Aboriginal title in Canada and free market trade.
Listening to Dr. Lawrence Loh's talk on how to optimize long-term outcomes with short-term volunteering during the UTGB Conference.
There are some cool advantages to attending student conferences - here are some features I personally enjoy:
Unless you’ve lived under a rock (or equivalent room with no view or exposure to the oustide world) for the past few days, chances are you’ve noticed the sudden uptick in snowy weather. For most of us freshmen, it was the first time we've actually had to navigate the campus and/or city whilst in such conditions. As one might imagine, the class of 2019's Facebook group was rife with posts of aggravation at the school remaining open, while others were closed. While it ended up being a bit of an overreaction - and that's from a 'Raincouver' native - as the 'storm' turned out to be far milder than anticipated, the past week on freshman page has been quite eventful.
Like many Torontonians, I become a bit of a homebody during the winter. I grumble when I have to be outside for longer than 30 minutes, and I pass up a lot of plans for the warmth of my bed and the…
