Midterms are Upon Us

Before you know it, your first midterm exam will be here.  Make sure to check out these midterm preparation tips ahead of time so you will ace your tests.  As a student, the earlier you prepare, the easier it will be to remember everything the day of the test.  Check out these tips and comment with any of your own tips you may have for midterm studies.

1. Get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

2. An absolute must if you can: get prior years’ exams and, with a small group of classmates, prepare point form sample answers to share among yourselves.

3. Review your notes to see all the items the professor indicated were important. In some cases, s/he might even have hinted at exam topics.

4. Take a quick scan of the course outline – make a note of the topics the professor seemed to spend a lot of time on, or otherwise emphasized.

5. Take a look at the assignments if there were any – see if you can find topics, skills or techniques that were emphasized, especially those after the mid-term.

6. Did the professor comment on areas of weakness on the mid-term? These sometimes reappear on the final.

7. Make a set of study notes from your class notes and the text. Writing them down in condensed format aids in recall during the final exam, and in some cases, helps you identify items you need to clarify with a friend or teaching assistant. Work with the group you formed to address point 2. If you like – this can increase the scope of your studying.

8. If there is a key item you need to remember for the exam, study it right before you enter the exam room. Right after the exam starts, write down what you know. A favorite is to list formulas (or dates?) that you need to remember. If you wait until you are freaked out by a difficult exam question, you might not remember them.

9. Make sure you have a meal that includes carb’s AND proteins before the exam. This will give you staying power. Take a granola bar and fluids to your exam desk if permitted.

10. In case you have forgotten the first, and very important point, get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

For more information see RP.

Congrats to the University of Memphis!

The University of Memphis has been ranked in the top ten for the most successful internship programs in the country.  52% of students held internships before they graduated.  This beats the national average of 37% for the Class of 2011. 

 
The University of Memphis has one of the top 10 most successful internship programs of any college or university in the nation, according to the “Short List,” published by U.S. News & World Report.

At the U of M, 52 percent of students held internships prior to getting their undergraduate degrees. This compares to a national average of 36.9 percent for the class of 2011, the year the data was compiled.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities to compile the list, with 330 of those surveyed providing internship data.

“The University of Memphis has long recognized the value of internships to a student’s education,” said Dr. Shirley Raines, president of the University. “Internships give students a good look at what their careers may be like after college, and research shows that students with internships on their resumes have higher job placements. Our increased emphasis on internships has resulted in the U of M being ranked as one of the top 10 universities for internships in the country.”

Raines said the U of M is grateful to the numerous businesses, schools, community agencies, hospitals, law firms, public service offices, non-profit organizations and other employers who provide internships for University of Memphis students.

In fall 2012, there were 2,350 U of M undergraduate students holding internships, according to Dr. Dixie Crase, director of Academic Internships at the University.

For more information about internships at the University of Memphis, visit www.memphis.edu/internships or contact Dr. Dixie Crase at 901-678-3102 or drcrase@memphis.edu.

The U. S. News “Short List” is available at http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2012/11/20/10-national-universities-that-produce-the-most-interns. Others who made the top 10 include Dartmouth College, Clemson University, Syracuse University and DePaul University. 

For more information see the University of Memphis.

Roommate Tips for Next Year

Are you going through a roommate change, or are you looking to get an apartment?  Make sure to read these tips on how to pick out roommates and keep a great relationship.  Being compatible in living together is one of the most important aspects of picking who will you live with the following school year.

When the going gets tough, the tough get ... housemates?

In these brutal financial times, having a housemate – or even two or three – can be one of the best ways to reduce your rent and other costs, and keep your head above water.

It can also be the quickest way to a murder rap, if you live with somebody who drives you up the wall.

How do you ensure that the “Roommate Remedy” doesn't turn into “Housemate Hell”? Fear not: We know how bad you look in black and white stripes. So we got the experts to cough up these 15 strategies for you.

Plan to succeed
The best way to make sure your roommate situation works, of course, is to actually create a good situation from the get-go – and that means choosing the right housemates.

How?

1. Start fresh. If possible, start out in a new living situation where no one thinks he or she has seniority and therefore more of a voice than anyone else in how the house or apartment is run, says Amy Zalneraitis, author of "Room for Improvement: The Post-College Girl's Guide to Roommate Living."

2. Play the numbers. "Always opt to live with one other person over two other people to avoid triangulated roommate relationships," Zalneraitis says. "For example, I once moved in with two girls who had already lived together for some time. Their apocalyptic-style partying would happen every Friday night. Because they were on the same page when it came to this type of partying (and had sort of established the rules or lack thereof before I moved in), it was hard for me to stop it. Two against one. I felt like I had very little power." (Zalneraitis notes that this applies much more to young women than to men, in her experience.)

3. Best friends — bad? "If you want to stay friends (with friends), then roommate with strangers," says Sylvia Bergthold, author of "Sorry, the Boa Has Gotta Go: A Roommate Survival Guide." "That way you keep your friends and hopefully make a new one in the process."

Why not live with friends? Because good friends take liberties in a living situation that put stress on the relationship, and the relationship often suffers as a result, Bergthold says."I've found that my most successful roommate situations have been people that I sort of knew, through friends of friends," Zalneraitis adds. "So I knew that I would have similar tastes to them, and that they weren't crazy, because a friend was vouching for them, but at the same time we weren't spending every minute together."

4. Play detective. "Spend some time together with each other and get a feel for that person," Zalneraitis says. Does he have totally different beliefs? Does one person like to party all the time and the other have to work early, every morning? Ask each other what your goals are in having a roommate: a best friend? A drinking buddy? An invisible rent-payer? "Pay attention to how people answer questions," Zalneraitis says.

5. Trust your gut. By the time you're in your 20s and 30s, you know enough about people to know if something doesn't feel right. Trust that instinct. A red flag now is likely trouble for you later. "Don't ever turn your 'crazy detector' off," Zalneraitis says. "You'd be surprised how many crazy/troubled/unpleasant people are out there."

For more information see MSN.

University of Memphis Students Give Back

University of Memphis students are giving back to the community through the social work program.  53,000 hours were donated back to the community in the 2012-2013 school year.  Students are responsible for more than half of those hours.  This amount of hours translates to about 1 million dollars in volunteer time.

University of Memphis students are giving back to the community in a big way. Recently, the Department of Social Work teamed with agencies in the Memphis area to place graduate and undergraduate students in social work settings where they can get on-the-job experiences.

By the end of the 2012-13 academic year, students will have donated almost 53,000 hours to the community. The graduate students are responsible for about 31,600 of these hours and the undergraduate students accumulated about 21,400 hours. That amount of time translates to almost $1 million of volunteered time.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to experience the clinical side of social work at Daybreak," said Rachel Duerr, a graduate student placed at Daybreak Treatment Center. "It is such a welcoming environment in which to learn and provides challenging experiences with many opportunities for professional growth and development. I am confident that when I leave my placement at Daybreak I will be prepared to step into a permanent position as a social worker.”

Ashley Higginbottom is an undergraduate student placed with the Department of Children’s Services. At her placement, she worked with the Child Protection Investigation Team, which is responsible for investigating allegations of severe physical and sexual abuse and ensuring the children are safe."I am gaining an abundance of knowledge with my placement at the Department of Children's Services," Higginbottom said. "I am confident that what I am learning now will be beneficial in the future."

The Bachelor of Arts Social Work Program places 12 student interns at the Department of Children’s Services each year. The Department of Social Work also offers internships with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, St. Jude, the Med and other community hospitals welcoming students who are in pursuit of a career in medical social work. Synergy Treatment Centers, Friends for Life, the UT Boling Center, the VA Hospital Memphis, Compass Intervention Center, AGAPE and the Exchange Club are among many other agencies that also accept students from the Department. For more information about the Department of Social Work, visit http://www.memphis.edu/socialwork. 

For more information see the University of Memphis.

The Tigers Have a New Football Schedule

 Make sure to check out the new revised football schedule for the University of Memphis.  They will be playing some new opponents that you have not seen before.  UConn and USF are some of the exciting matches for the 2013 year.  Keep reading to learn all about the new schedule and reworked conference.

The University of Memphis received its updated Big East football schedule Friday, a re-worked version necessitated by the recent departures of Boise State and San Diego State.

Memphis, as a member of the league's newly formed west division, was scheduled to play Boise State and San Diego State in 2013, but instead will play at UConn and at home against UCF. UCF, like Memphis, is a new Big East member joining the league officially in July from Conference USA.
All Big East teams will play an eight-game league schedule. In the 10-team football conference, the Tigers will play each of the other schools except Rutgers. Memphis will have home games against UCF, Temple, SMU and Cincinnati and away games against UConn, USF, Louisville and Houston. Dates have not been set, but should be announced in mid-February.



In replacing Boise State with UConn, the Tigers, 4-8 last fall in coach Justin Fuente's first season, play a team that finished 5-7 instead of one that went 11-2 and was ranked in the top 20.
The U of M's non-conference schedule is Duke, Arkansas State, UT Martin and Middle Tennessee State.

While a first-ever Big East Championship game was set for December, the reduction of football-playing members from 12 to 10 will eliminate the two-division setup and title game.

New commissioner Mike Aresco had announced the league schedule — with Boise State and San Diego State — Dec. 11, but Boise State announced three weeks later it would remain in the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State followed earlier this week with a similar move. Neither Boise State nor San Diego State, who would have been football-only members, spent a day as a Big East program.

For more information see Commercial Appeal.

Stay Safe During the Storm

Freezing Rain expected across much of the Mid South on Tuesday.
An Upper level disturbance will move across the region today bringing another round of wintry precipitation mainly in the form of freezing rain. There is a potential for significant ice accumulations across portions of Southwest Tennessee, North Mississippi and East Arkansas.
Ice Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST Wednesday.

• Ice accumulations: freezing rain will produce ice accumulations of a quarter of an inch to four tenths of inch through early evening, mainly on trees, power lines and elevated road surfaces.
• Timing: through 6 am CST Wednesday with the greatest potential for icing this afternoon.
• Impacts: hazardous road conditions will likely develop. Especially on elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses.

Precautionary/preparedness actions. An Ice Storm Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of ice accumulations will make travel dangerous or impossible. Travel is strongly discouraged. Commerce will likely be severely impacted. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Ice accumulations and winds will likely lead to snapped power lines and falling tree branches that add to the danger.

For more information see google.

Congratulations to the Opera at the University of Memphis

The University of Memphis Opera Program has won first place at the National Opera Association's Production Competition.  They won for their 2011 production of Idomeneo.   The competition is judged by opera professionals who review the videos of the production.  They do not know who submits the videos or from what school they have come from.

The University of Memphis Opera at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music won first place in its category in the National Opera Association’s Production Competition for the 2011 production of Mozart’s Idomeneo. This is the second win for the School of Music, following its 2008 production of Hansel and Gretel.

Each year the NOA selects winners, based on the production budget and size of the program. The competition is judged by a panel of opera professionals who review videos of the entered productions with no knowledge of which opera companies submitted them. Productions are critiqued on vocal and orchestral performance, dramatic quality, stage direction, set, lighting and costumes.

Idomeneo tells the story of the King of Crete who returns home after the siege of Troy. Because of a vow to save his life, he has to sacrifice the life of his son, Idamante, to appease the god Neptune. Complicating matters, Idamante is in love with Trojan prisoner-of-war Ilia and loved by Greek princess Electra.

The company’s production emulated the violence that Mozart incorporated in the composition of Idomeneo. He used the post-Trojan War heroes to add his own battle cry to the Enlightenment philosophers, artists, scientists and statesmen of the day. Just as Mozart's Trojan War is the background for his artistic lunge, this opera is the background for exploration of the movement from one generation to another and the violence of letting go.

Faculty member Copeland Woodruff directed the opera and Mark Ensley was conductor and music director. The production starred Malcolm Cooper, Idomeneo; Christina Paz, Ilia; Annabeth Novitzki, Idamante; Katie Liesner, Elettra; Phillip Himebook, Arbace; and Steven Albart, High Priest. The technical crew was comprised of Michael Montgomery, Set & Costume Design; Les Dickert, Lighting Design; Luke Hall, Props Design; and Matthew Strampe, Technical Director.

The National Opera Association was founded in 1955 to promote a greater appreciation of opera. Its membership extends to the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. 

For more information see Memphis.edu.