Who are friends? Are they the people you go out with? The people you see in class and study with? The ones available during a quarter-life crisis? Or are they all the above? The environment of campus life gives off…
What’s it Like to Study in Finland? Three Interviews
From courses in clowning and tango, to the use of a pass/fail credit system as opposed to grades, my experience at Sibelius has definitely been different than at U of T! In case you are looking for a more in-depth…
The End of the School Year
The end of the school year is here, and I don’t know about you, but as much of a relief as it is to have made it through another year of school, it’s also kind of bittersweet for me. For…
Openness at TEDxUofT 2017
To me openness is the ability to embrace that which you don't know. "OPEN" happened to be the theme of this year's TEDxUofT. Throughout the day, speakers from the U of T community shared with the few hundred of us…
Paying It Forward
I was fortunate enough to have some great teachers growing up, but one of the most influential and inspiring teachers I had during that time was my 7th grade science teacher. A tiny woman with a larger-than-life personality, Dr. M. was…
Career Exploration: My First Conference Experience
Growing up I was so painfully shy. If I went through a day saying 10 words to someone that would be me having a "talkative" day. While I still consider myself to be a pretty shy person and am someone…
Feature: MoveU Crew!
This week I thought I’d shed some light on how to get involved with physical activity on campus in an administrative role. I met with the MoveU team to talk about what they do, how they got involved and what they love about being a part of the team.
But first: What is MoveU and what does the team do? Well, in their words they “do so much!”
“The breadth of what we do is so broad because we promote health on campus and being physically active,” says Alcina Wey. Fellow work-study student, Naomi Maldonado, adds, “We try to promote physical activity in alternative ways. A lot of people assume that if you’re not working out you’re not active, but we try to make physical activity accessible.”
As volunteers, the MoveU Crew supports and leads events. They interact with students, make them feel comfortable and get them involved at events.
My Visit to the Sexual Education Centre
Happy February!
In my last post, I wrote about all the super resources we have on campus that can help you lead a healthy student life. This week, I decided to investigate another great resource on campus - the Sexual Education Centre (SEC)! The SEC is located at the Sussex Clubhouse and if you didn't already know, is famous for its nearly infinite supply of free condoms.
This was essentially the sole fact I knew about SEC before I visited. What I found was that while the office did indeed boast of an incredible quantity and variety of condoms (see the “menu”), it also contained a wide array of resources and supports for all things related to sex, sexuality, and relationships.
My welcome to the centre was quite positive. I was greeted by a number of smiling faces when I walked in, supplied with a wealth of information during my visit, and seen off with a “grab bag” filled with safer-sex products. The centre is open Monday – Friday, 10 am – 7pm, during the Fall/Winter semesters, and everyone is welcome.
The Barbell Prescription: The What, Why and How of Weight Training
So much cool stuff happens on campus all day every day. It breaks my heart that I literally don’t have the time to go do and see and hear everything.
On Tuesday, I went to a free seminar that was held at Hart House called, “The Barbell Prescription”.
You know it’s going to be a good one when you’re already taking notes and salivating over the guest’s credentials.
Dr. J Sullivan joined us from Michigan. A former US marine, 3rd degree black belt in Karate, 3rd level Krav Maga practitioner, doctor, researcher… The guy received a $2 million research grant from the NIH… that’s the National Institutes of Health. It’s a big deal. On top of all that, he owns, manages and trains clients at a gym called Grey Steel, for aging adults.
We started off talking about what we considered an “athlete”, how we’d define the word. I learned a little bit about Greek athletes (the word athlete comes from the Greek “athlos” which means contest or feat). Apparently there was an athletic event in the Greek games, “Hoplitodromos”, which was a race in full battle armour. Competitors in the games had to swear an oath to Zeus that they trained for a minimum of 10 months. Awfully specific for so many years ago!
Taking the next step
Graduating is a pretty exciting concept. You’ve survived the onslaught of assignments and tests, and as a reward you never have to set foot in the Exam Centre again. This is the time to celebrate, graduating students! You did it!…