In high school I never thought I would end up at GCC. I always thought I would know what I wanted to do, and go to a 4 year school where I would dorm and get the ‘normal’ college experience. But senior year rolled around, and so did decision making. At the time I had ideas about what I wanted to major in, but never certain. Due to that fact alone, I decided on GCC. It was inexpensive, close to home which meant I didn’t have to spend money on room and board, and it gave me the opportunity to test the waters.

My first semester was Fall 2016. During this semester I didn’t really know how college worked, I was just figuring things out. At the time I was taking some core classes I would need no matter what I majored in, as well as some electives to figure out what I wanted to study. I was taking an English, math and history course as my core classes, ASL (American Sign Language) and Sociology as my electives. All was great and I enjoyed my classes, but come winter break I still was not sold on any specific program of study.

Starting in the Spring 2017 semester, my counselor help me decide to take a different route. I took 5 classes as usual. Another required English class, and I also signed up for CEP which is Career Educational Planning—my first online class. I also signed up for communications, biology, and a human services class. These classes served the sole purpose of helping me figure out which of the three majors I was considering would be right for me. It took just one class to figure it out! In my first day of Intro to Communications with Val Bello, and I was instantly fascinated.

However, I knew I didn’t want to be a radio host or TV personality, but rather I wanted to work with social media in the business aspect. From there I examined what majors GCC offered, and found that Business Administration: Social Media and Marketing was the perfect fit for me. While I still had time I dropped the biology and human services courses, and picked up classes in Professional Sales and Marketing. This reinforced what I wanted to study.

This semester, I had the pleasure of getting to know Professor Dudkowski, who also happened to be my professional sales teacher. He not only taught me everything I needed to know about sales and being a successful salesperson, but he also taught me a million life lessons, so I felt it was necessary to mention him as he was a pivotal influence on my outlook on life. He taught me the importance of confidence as well as perseverance. He taught me to never look upon life negatively, as everything is an opportunity to learn or grow. Not only did he teach me, but he gave me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have taken myself. Through his class, I supported the United Way and sold ducks for the Ducky Derby.  He also encouraged that we help with the Fashion Show, although I was hesitant, I eventually landed a position in a scene for Elysium, the 36th Annual Fashion Show, which I walked in this past weekend.

 

I also got the opportunity to join the MarCom (Marketing & Communication) team at GCC as a student blogger. This has given me the opportunity to grow my personal blogging skills, as well as learn skills that will help me in so many ways in the future. Thanks to MarCom I also took a part in the Faces of GCC Photoshoot, where my photo (see image) may be used for various promotional purposes—including this blog! Through MarCom I have made friends and gained experience, which is all I could ask for.

 

Overall, I have had a very humbling freshman year of college. I am looking forward to following semesters I will have at GCC, and the opportunities that will arise. I encourage you to embrace your time here, learn from the people you meet, and take every opportunity that comes your way. You won’t regret it.

“Great things never came from comfort zones.”

-Joyell Johnson

-Danielle

 

Whether you are a first generation student, or you simply have never put much thought into what you wanted to be when you grew up, we’ve all struggled with discovering what our true calling is. It is a frightening thing to be in college and unaware of what you want to do for the rest of your life, while it seems like everyone else is figuring it out. I was there, and almost all of us have been there before. Here are some tips to help you figure out what major is right for you.

Take Career Quizzes

A lot of people may think these are silly, but I found that they actually really help broaden your search. Take career quizzes or quizzes to help you find the right major for you. I wouldn’t say take one quiz and then declare your major as your result. However I would recommend taking a lot of these quizzes, comparing the results, and maybe even list them from most common to least common. Then do research and see which would interest you the most, and go from there. Research will help you throughout this process because you’re learning things you didn’t know about careers you had no idea even existed. There is an option for everyone, trust me.

Here are some options:

• Career Quiz by Princeton Review
• My Career Quizzes
• What Should You Major In? By TestQ

Determine How Hard You Are Willing To Work

I think this is the most important but so many people don’t take this into consideration. Think about how long you want to be in college. If you hate school, I would go for a career that requires certifications or an associate degree. But if you don’t mind school and you have a great work ethic, why not shoot for the stars and get a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree? But also don’t confuse the number of years in school with how much money you can make. There are plenty of careers that just after 2 years of school you can make just as much if not more than someone with a bachelor’s degree, do not degrade yourself. I think that considering how long you want to be in school is important otherwise it can result in wasted money on a degree you maybe didn’t even need for your career choice, or you don’t finish school because you dislike it. Consider your work ethic, your attitude toward school, and how much time you’re willing to put in.

Be Open To Options

Too many people come into college with ideas already in their head, and close their minds to other possibilities. It’s great to enter college having an idea of what you may want to study, however you shouldn’t close your mind to the possibility of other studies. You never know, it could be your true calling but you just didn’t give it a chance. Personally, the best decision I ever made was coming into GCC as a general studies major. I got the opportunity to take a variety of classes to discover what intrigued me most, which is how I discovered and declared my major. It is okay to not know and to explore your options; it can even be fun if you let it.

Consider Your Interests

This is huge, and was a major stepping stone into discovering what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Consider what you already like, what you have a true passion for. For me it was blogging, and social media platforms. I love being present on the web, and I love the way it allows me to connect with everyone else no matter how far they may be. So that’s how I decided to be a Business major with a concentration in social media and marketing, because after a few classes and consideration of what I’m interested in it was easy to decide this was the path for me. You can turn anything into a career with the right drive.

The moral of this entire message is not to stress yourself out. There are so many college students around the world that don’t know what they want to major in, but that’s not a big deal. College is where you are meant to really start developing this ideas, and discover yourself. Be patient, do your research, and it will come to you. Trust me, I promise, I was in the same position 2 months ago, but now I’m here with a declared major and a planned future for success.

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”

-Unknown

-Danielle

If you missed it, Genesee Community College is searching for the next faces of GCC!

This opportunity is available for current GCC students and alumni! All you have to do to take advantage of this great chance to be featured for various marketing purposes, including displays in the cafeteria above the vending machines and on our website!

All you have to do to take part in this is email marcom@genesee.edu with your full name, email address, your program of study, and your preferred time slot. Following that you will get a confirmation email with your reserved time slot, and an attached file of your model consent form that must be filled out and brought with you on the day of the shoot or you can drop it off in the MarCom office beforehand!

Make sure to reserve your time slot now, there are only two days of shoots left!

Tuesday 4/18: 4-6p.m.

Friday 4/21: 11a.m.-1p.m.

Please feel free to bring props that show who you are whether it be your future profession or a passion you have. Also make sure to look fresh, this could be scrubs, a uniform, GCC gear, anything to do with your profession or passion. Have fun with it! Your photo will be sent to you to keep for personal use as well.

The photoshoots will be held in the TV Studio (T137) at the Batavia Campus. It is next door to the Online Learning Office on the first floor of the technology building.

Don’t let this free and fun opportunity slip away. We hope to see you there!

Here is an example of what you can do with your photo:

 

April 24th at the Medina Campus Center

Did you know that approximately 150 different homeschool students take the opportunity to enroll as a GCC student? These students get ahead of the game, and take fun and interesting courses to earn college credit, and they contribute to GCC’s dynamically diverse classroom environment.

We encourage all homeschool families to visit the GCC Medina Campus Center on Monday, April 24th from 5-7p.m. to learn more about the great opportunities the College offers to homeschooled students. At this meeting, there will be staff members who work extensively with this population of students, and they will be available to answer any questions. The session will also include a light dinner for all the participants.

GCC offers homeschooled students an extensive opportunity to advance their education at an early stage. There is a variety of classes in multiple subject areas that are offered to those who are in the ACE (Accelerated College Enrollment) Program. Not only do you have the chance to take some great classes, and get ahead of the game, but you also get reduced tuition rate! Dan Snyder, the ACE Program Specialist will be at the session to provide more information about the ACE Program.

You will learn about how the coursework at GCC helps homeschooled students earn the New York State High School Equivalency Diploma, as well as learn about the availability of  scholarships and financial aid including the Genesee Promise Plus Summer Scholarship Program. This allows ACE students to take one or two classes this summer tuition-free at any of GCC’s seven campus locations or online. There are more than 140 courses offered during the summer semester. You will have the opportunity to learn even more about this by attending the Homeschool Info Session on April 24th. Please RSVP your attendance no later than April 17.

The Medina Campus Center is located at 11470 Maple Ridge Road in Medina, NY 14103. You can contact the Medina Campus Center at (585) 798-1688 for more information. For door-to-door directions go to: http://www.genesee.edu/home/about/administration/visit/

We hope to see you there, and in GCC’s classrooms this summer and next fall!

Finals are slowly creeping up on us, and before we know it we’ll be preparing for finals. Unfortunately not everyone knows how to properly study which can be a fatal to your grades. You have all of the material, you just don’t know how to study it. Here are the best study tips to help you conquer any exam!

1. Be Organized

So often people underestimate the importance of being organized. This is not only helpful as a student, but it will also be helpful in your future endeavors.

• Have a study time scheduled in your day. This is the best way to ensure that you will study, if it’s scheduled into your day you are less likely to get distracted and it ensures that you will get to it because you’ve set aside time to do so.
• Refer to your syllabus. Your syllabus is a free tool that you didn’t have to do any work to get, and sadly so few people use it. The teacher takes the time to layout everything you need to know for the semester so why not use it?! This is your guide to success in your class, and if you use it to your benefit it’s almost difficult to not succeed.
• Write everything down. You’re probably really tired of hearing about agendas from me, but I cannot stress the benefit of having and using one. Your agenda can be a great tool if utilized correctly. I use mine to write down homework assignments to do, upcoming tests, due dates, work schedule, everything can easily be accessed in one place; your agenda!

 
2. Only Study What You Need to Know

A lot of the time your exams are broken up containing only a few chapters, or your professor will tell you prior to the exam what you need to know. So instead of going through and rereading every single chapter or studying all of your notes. Study what you need to know. Don’t fill up your head with a ton of information that will be completely useless on the exam. College students tend to make things 10x’s more stressful than it needs to be.

3. Turn Off Distractions

I’m pretty sure you’re not going to be as productive or truly be studying to the best of your ability if you’re blasting music, watching Netflix, or on your phone. Turn your distractions off! I know it’s a crazy concept in 2017 to put your phone down, turn off the TV, and just focus on school work, but it is possible and it will benefit you. The truth is multitasking is actually more harmful than helpful so just try to remain focused on one thing, what you’re trying to study. But if you do need to listen to music or at least have some sort of noise I would suggest listening to calming music without lyrics, this will be the least distracting and still allow you to study effectively.

4. Test Your Knowledge by Trying to Explain the Concept

I love this technique because it truly allows you to understand what you know, and what you need to work on. Whether it be with a study partner or your sibling or parent, sit down and explain a concept on your upcoming exam to them. If you can fully explain every point and the entire concept to them then you are golden, if not just jot down what you still need to work on and study, study, study!

5. Personalize Your Studying

The same method of studying does not work for everyone, so personalize it to yourself and make it work for you. At the end of the day no one study method is going to work for every college student in the world, you have to just find out how your brain works, and how you learn best. Just be willing to put in the time and effort, and it will work out.

That’s all I have for study tips, I hope this was helpful and I wish you all the best on finals!

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

-Jimmy Johnson

–Danielle