71 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/02/19 4:25pm)
In the age of social media, the image we portray on the internet plays a large role in the way we are perceived in everyday settings. While this can sometimes be daunting, our social media presence has the ability to really work in our advantage professionally, if done properly.
In a 2018 column, I wrote about the importance of networking and how professional relationships can move us closer to our goals. In light of internship and application season, this could mean the difference between getting connected, getting the job or being looked over.
A lot of professionals are utilizing social media platforms to build a brand and to ultimately promote a product or service. We are capable of doing the same for ourselves and our talents.
I like to consider social media pages as social resumes. They don’t have to be strictly professional, but they can be used to promote passions, travel opportunities, connections and aspirations.
Your brand speaks for who you are before you even get a chance to say it for yourself.
“If you don’t develop your own personal brand, others will do it for you,” said Laura Lake on thebalancesmb.com. “Developing your personal brand is the proactive way of controlling your career development and how you are perceived in the marketplace.”
There are a couple of key steps that will allow you to start branding yourself and ultimately winning over the hearts of employers and future partners and clients.
Be intentional about your posts
I don’t intend to take the fun out of Instagram and Twitter, but the things we post tend to linger well after the heat of the moment. Often times, we’re unaware of half of the people we’ve reached and impacted through our words and photos.
When we practice being more intentional, we can ensure that everything we post serves a purpose, whether that’s just to inform, to inspire or even to entertain and simply make someone happy.
Identify your audience
It’s easier to tailor your content when you’re aware of who you’d like to see it, and there are a couple of ways to do this. Start by identifying your field and industry of interest, then follow people who are popular and influential in the field. This will allow you to be inspired and encouraged by their content.
Hashtags are also extremely important in engagement. I know that I’m interested in storytelling and inspiring others through words, so I followed hashtags that lead me directly to that content, and I started a hashtag of my own to keep track of the work I post.
Practice consistency
It’s important to make sure you’re not just sharing quality content during certain parts of your life or of the year, but that you’re being consistent with your posts. Employers and potential connections can tell when you’re deciding to look a certain way on your pages versus what you usually post. This can be a red flag.
There is a healthy space between being your true self while maintaining a brand so that you don’t have to clean up everything you’ve ever posted when you’re applying to an internship or job opportunity.
Once you decide how you want people to perceive you on social media, commit to it and stick to it. Your online presence can take you places professionally that you aren’t physically able to travel to. Get connected.
(02/12/19 1:09am)
In this season of love, I think we get so caught up with the commercialization of Valentine’s Day that we truly forget how to love one another and ourselves.
Valentine’s Day convinces us that in order to truly show our appreciation, we have to purchase candy, flowers and something stuffed. The holiday, which feels a little more stressful every year, can be celebrated completely and more accurately if we know how to love the people in our lives the way they want to be loved.
About a year ago, I stumbled across the “Love Language Test” and the five love languages. The languages include: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time and Physical Touch.
I took the quiz and immediately made everyone in my life do the same. The quiz consists of a series of questions that will provide users with a “love language profile, your primary love language, what it means and how you can use it connect to others,” according to the website.
The quiz also allows users to check off whether they are in a relationship or not before they answer any questions. When you learn how your significant other, family member or friends prefer to receive love, you can love them better.
If someone’s primary love language is Acts of Service, buying them a teddy bear for Valentine’s Day may not necessarily be the gift that they will truly appreciate. Tell them that you’re committing to help them complete items on their to-do list, cleaning, cooking or just being a resource for them when they need it most.
I know how much I love to provide words of affirmation to the people I love, so when I found out that there were people in my life who preferred them, I was eager to love them in that way.
I made it a task of mine to send them morning encouragement, write them letters and thank you cards and to consistently remind them how much they mean to me.
The beauty of the quiz is that it works both ways. Love Languages can help us better love ourselves and practice self-care.
If your love language is quality time, treat yourself to meditation a couple of times a week. Commit some time to your hobbies and taking yourself on solo dates. This will leave you fulfilled after your “me time.”
Before you finish your Valentine’s Day celebrations, take the love language quiz and encourage the people in your life to do the same. Learn more about their love profiles, and give them what you think they would really love this holiday.
If you want to learn more about the language and take the quiz, visit www.5lovelanguages.com/.
(01/30/19 4:23am)
Sagar Patel has been on three Mercer on Mission trips since he became a student at Mercer in 2015, and he is planning to go on his fourth this year. Patel is the co-founder of a 3D printing company and has played a large role in spearheading growth and innovation for production of prosthetics and orthotics here at Mercer.
Patel is a biomedical engineer on the pre-medicine track with minors in biology and chemistry. He is currently pursuing his master’s in biomedical engineering by doing his thesis on the structural integrity of solid models when they are 3D printed.
“The goal of the project is to hopefully create a material that can be 3D printed that’s close enough to the characteristics of cardiac tissues so that when surgeons use it as practice models, it feels as if they’re actually cutting into real tissue,” he said.
Patel said he is mostly inspired by the mentors he has gained throughout his many stages of life. He looks up to a number of people, including Laura Lackey, the dean of the Mercer engineering school, or his former Peer Advisor Kyla Semmendinger.
He said his own guru has also been a true inspiration for him because he knows he wants to live a life that is spiritually equal to his academic life.
A quote that he likes to live by is, “In the joy of others lies our own,” by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
“It really identifies who I am as a person,” Patel said. “In everything I do, I try to sacrifice for others in some sort of way.”
Patel said the moments when you interact with people and they feel that you care for them is what serves as his inspiration.
He came to Mercer after visiting and falling in love with the campus and the faculty. He selected his major because his original end-goal was medicine.
“Partially it still is, but I’ve fallen in love with research,” Patel said. “That’s where the 3D printing came into play.”
Patel was working on a project for Mercer Prosthetics and Orthotics club (MPOC) trying to decrease the costs of some of Mercer’s orthotics. Their goal was to 3D print replacements for them.
He also got involved with the robotics club and eventually helped to build a 3D printer for MPOC with the help of Mercer’s student government funding.
Patel would go on to start a business with classmate Jacob Sokolove. They initiated 3D Tech LLC, where they design 3D printers and create prototypes for local businesses or for individuals who are looking to create their own items to sell.
“My end goal now is to hopefully go on to get a MD/Ph.D., and I want to focus in on 3D printing,” Patel said.
He said he’d tell someone looking to pursue a career that may seem daunting or someone who is looking to start a business that fear is a good thing.
“There’s a reason you’re afraid, but it’s something you’re expanding your boundaries to,” he said. “If you’re afraid of fear, you’ll be holding yourself back from different endeavors in your life.”
Patel said if you’re afraid, always take baby steps and learn different paths.
“These steps are places where you can conquer your fears,” he said. “ If you have the people, influences and guidance then that fear will diminish and help you move forward.”
(11/30/18 11:26pm)
Junior public health major Grace Albright transferred to Mercer University after two years at Wesleyan University located in Macon.
She said the transition was a full circle for her because Mercer was the first college she ever toured at the age of 10. It was an easy decision for her too.
“Once I applied, my admissions counselor at Mercer was my same admissions counselor from Wesleyan who had transferred here before I did,” Albright said. “Things just started to line up and flow together.”
Albright is pursuing a major in public health here at Mercer.
“Through the public health program, I’ve discovered a career opportunity in Public Health and Management Wellness,” Albright said. “This deals with policies and putting things into place to better manage the healthcare industry.”
Albright has always been passionate about the medical field, childhood medicine in particular.
“I knew since middle school,” she said. “My original plan was to be a pediatrician, but I thought that I would be more beneficial working in the field of policy.”
Albright said she is inspired by her mother who was diagnosed with a disability in 2003.
Her mom is a pastor, the founder and former principal of The Grace Ashtin Christian School for Girls and a social worker.
“I was the one that was caring for her,” Albright said. “The drive of having someone else depending on me inspired me. If she can make it through everything she went through and continue to be amazing, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
Albright is extremely passionate about younger children and has taken up numerous opportunities to work with them while serving as a student here at Mercer.
She immediately became apart of MU Miracle, a non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for pediatric hospitals.
“MU Miracle brings me joy, because I get to have a direct connection to a field I’m passionate about,” Albright said. “I love knowing that what I’m working for is helping the industry that I want to work for in the future.”
She also tutors in an afterschool program though Wesley Foundation in Macon. Albright also has a younger sister who looks up to her and the work she does.
“Knowing someone is coming right behind me inspires me to want to keep up my image as well,” she said.
She said one of her biggest goals is to make a difference.
“I want a career that actually means something,” she said.
Albright can be found walking around Mercer’s campus greeting you with a big smile. She said her key to remaining positive is commanding her day.
“I start each day off with gospel music,” she said. “No matter what comes at me throughout the day, if I made it through the things from the past, I can make whatever it is work.”
(11/06/18 4:37am)
This column has always been a safe space for me because it allows me to dish out my experiences, reflect on what works and what doesn’t and encourage and inspire others to do the same.
Recently, I’ve been dealing with the fear of what’s next or what’s unknown, and it has taken a toll on my happiness. But the more I talk to people about how they are doing and what they’re dealing with, I find that this fear and anxiety is common on campus.
In fact, the symptoms of anxiety and fearfulness directly correspond to what college students would consider as normalized stress. College can be a stressful period of time, and no student is immune to feeling the pressure of this kind of stress.
According to Best Colleges Resources, one of the signs used to recognize anxiety is, “appearing to live in constant fear of failure, academically or socially.”
It took me a couple of years to fully step outside of my comfort zone, and even today, I am still fearful of completely releasing who I imagine Jayla to someday be. I am afraid of failing at things that matter most to me and I am afraid that I won’t live up to the standards I have set for myself.
This self doubt can cause anxiousness and trouble making decisions in academic and social settings.
It’s a process, and the smaller steps are sometimes just what you need to make larger strides, but it is possible to overcome your fears here at Mercer and embrace your current situation.
It starts with your tribe. Once I realized who was in my corner, who was rooting for me and who wanted to see me become the best version of myself, I had to adjust my relationships. This immediately changed the energy around me to positive and encouraging.
When I came to them complaining out of fear or in a doubtful state, they responded with encouragement and inspiration. This is something we all need and should all be willing to give. Being around people who may encourage your fearfulness and self-doubt can be toxic to your growth.
My tribe was the first adjustment I had to make that helped me to push through the doubt I was having. The next thing that became key for me was having multiple plans and multiple options.
If there was something I wanted to do or accomplish, instead of thinking of ways it could go wrong or thinking of the potential failure, I wrote out a Plan B and a Plan C. If one way didn’t work, I’d have to use another skill of mine or reach out to someone who can help me. Plan C could even be adjusting the entire goal.
Knowing that you did everything you could, even in the beginning stages of accomplishing something can help to eliminate fear and doubts about the outcome.
I have to constantly remind myself that there’s more happening than what I can physically see. It’s easy to become doubtful and discouraged about outcomes when we can’t see them or can’t see how they’ll turn out.
After I tailored my tribe and created multiple options for myself, I taught and convinced myself that success and everything I want could be happening very soon and I wouldn’t know it until I pushed through to get there.
If you give up, doubt yourself or back out because of fear now, you may never see the outcome and you may never have control over your success. It could be right around the corner, so push through. You’ll get there.
(10/20/18 2:55am)
This summer, I stepped into a stage of my life that forced me to focus on my happiness and what it really meant to have true happiness. I found that everything that was exciting to and for me could be removed from my life at any time.
I was relying on temporary circumstances and satisfaction to determine my overall mood, and I immediately felt the effects of this crutch the second everything fell apart for me.
This slump pushed me into a phase that forced me to choose joy for myself, and while it has been a process, I am more resilient than ever when I encounter bad moments, days and circumstances.
Joy is a choice, and it’s making the choice to be happy regardless of the circumstance. Here’s how I did it.
I had to focus on my individual value. I was pinning my happiness on a certain kind of success and on certain people. If I didn’t have these things, I didn’t feel full. Once I dealt with this, I was not only able to swiftly move past situations and relationships that didn’t go as planned, but eventually, I wasn’t hit so hard from that loss or change in my life.
Recognizing your value is an inside job that doesn’t always get done overnight. It’s a process of spending time alone and learning to love and appreciate everything about yourself. I like to sit and write down positive things about myself. What are some of your favorite things about yourself? What are you good at? What are some of your best qualities?
Remind yourself and don’t forget.
I let go of the perception I had of my life with or without particular outcomes and stopped letting small things define entire stages of my life. This doesn’t mean you have to let go of dreams or big visions you have for yourself, but it means learning to adjust and to happily exist between reality and your dreams.
Once you get a sense of how freeing and stress-free it is to choose joy for yourself, you’ll become protective of your peace. An integral part of this process for me was deciding what was worthy of my energy and what wasn’t. News flash: a lot of things aren’t worth it.
Deciding what is worth your energy will come easily once you’ve recognized your value and let go of boxed-in ideas of success. This decision alone will clear you of a lot of unfortunate moments and allow you to choose and prioritize your joy.
Choosing joy is a conscious effort that you have to wake up and decide to do every day, but it’ll eventually become a habit worth picking up. Not only will you have control over your own peace and happiness, but you’ll become more positive and more productive throughout your days.
(10/09/18 1:15am)
I had an energy shortage this past week. I lacked inspiration and I felt like I was moving much slower than usual in everything I was doing. I even struggled with deciding how I wanted to share some form of encouragement and inspiration for my column. Then I remembered, it’s almost that time of the year.
This is the time of year when the weather begins to change, exams become more frequent and deadlines start approaching. This same time of year means it’s time to make big decisions like whether or not you want to stay in the course or whether or not something even deserves your energy and time.
It’s like our body and minds know when the time is coming, and we have to react accordingly.
It’s not exclusive to anyone either. Every Mercer student is in danger of feeling this sudden change of time, but it may affect everyone differently.
While I felt a lack of energy for a few days, some people may lack motivation, may get physically sick or may want to sleep more and stay in their room more than usual. It’s like the plague, and it hits our home here on campus pretty hard.
There is a way to fight it. We’re just reaching the four week mark, so there’s still time to not just prepare for this mid-semester change, but to also beat it and come out on top.
In the past, I wrote a column about beating the mid-semester crisis that follows midterms, but I’d like for readers to be prepared for this season so that they don’t have to figure out where they went wrong in order to fix something.
Planning is the first step. It sounds like it’s almost too early to be creating yet another plan, but creating a how-to guide on getting through the next four weeks can be very helpful.
Write out all of your upcoming tests, assignments, projects and quizzes. Make a note of every event you have to plan, attend or help out with. Write out your work hours and anything you think may pop up during this time as well.
List everything in order of urgency and importance and be very detailed. If you know some things will take more time than others to complete or study for, make sure it is higher up on the list. This can overwhelm you at first, but that it why it’s important to break it down.
If it’s not urgent today, don’t spend today worried about it. If it’s not as important as other things, don’t worry about it at all. Get it done as you can, but don’t let it stress you out.
Nurturing is the next step. Nurture your goals and nurture your assignments. At the beginning of this year, you set goals for yourself, big and small. These goals are what had you so excited to begin this school year. Allow that same excitement to feed your energy and motivation and to push you over the hump into the finish line.
There are some very creative ways to tackle this step, including vision boards, visual reminders on your computer, phone lockscreens or even assigning people in your life to hold you accountable.
However you choose to do it, make sure that they are pleasant reminders of how great the finish line looks compared to the process. This will recharge your energy and give you the encouragement you need to prepare yourself for “that time of the year.”
Lastly, practice healthy habits and coping mechanisms. Like fighting off any other sickness or virus can be, in order to avoid dealing with what’s to come during this time of year, it’s important that your body is mentally and physically prepared. Mercer staff writer Blossom Onunekwu writes a column, Heart Drive, that will provide you with advice and assistance you’ll need to stay physically healthy on Mercer’s campus and how important that is for collegiate success. Be sure to check out her articles for reference and advice.
Don’t forget that mental health is equally as important. Take some time to do the things that make you happy and consistently take study and school breaks in order to rest your thought process and regroup. Your mind has the power to put you in a slump before midterm season, but if you work out that muscle before-hand through encouragement and positive thoughts, you’ll be well prepared for the fight.
(09/21/18 1:13am)
I often think about the first test I took in college. I studied for weeks in advance. I made notecards, I changed my study locations, I took breaks, ate healthy snacks and even went to office hours to confirm what I was studying was correct. I did everything they tell you to do in your UNV 101 class or in a First Year Friday about academic success. I did everything but pass the test.
In fact, I bombed it. I got my grade back, cried for a while and called my dad to help me feel better. I was very discouraged about how the duration of the class and my college career would go. I felt like I had done it all right and fell short. This was just the beginning of a series of events that happened during my first semester at Mercer that had me very discouraged about my performance here.
It was hard for me to keep up with my new schedule and I was constantly saying yes to things I didn’t actually want to do. I was tired all the time, and I was still trying to learn how to study for college exams. I had to teach myself to push through the walls of discouragement and to step into my own space.
This theoretical space was where I learned to recognize my intelligence, which is useful when you don’t always perform up to par. This space also taught me to value my time and energy. This will keep you encouraged when you’re overwhelmed with chances to do more and be in more places. I also learned how to move forward. This space is where I learned resilience, and this is a space everyone needs to be able to breathe and step into when life is pushing you elsewhere.
Most importantly, in this space, I learned how to fail and how important failing was.
Resilience is noted in the dictionary as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It’s a skill that you have to develop, and the hardships will come to teach you just how important the skill is.
I don’t completely agree with recovering “quickly,” because everyone has their own pace. But you have to recover, and you have to bounce back before letting something defeat you.
I like to consider resilience as a battle skill or a “checkmate” on whatever move the game of life has played on you. It’s the secret strategy that you have to personally unlock by learning about yourself, the game you’re playing and how to best win at it.
It’s a different kind of joy you feel once you’ve beaten your current battle, but the fight isn’t always easy.
Learning to fail is key to succeeding in college. Once you recognize how necessary failing can be and how often failing can occur, your resilience will begin to form on its own.
“When you can fail well, the world opens up to you. There's no challenge you can't pursue, no risk you can't take, because you know how to get back up when you're knocked down,” said American author Rachel Smith. “When you can fail well, your self-worth doesn't ride on your success. You know that you are enough as you are, no matter what—and don't have to lose your sense of self when things don't work out.”
It took me some time to move past my rough period during my freshman year, but I did much better on my next few exams, and I learned so much about myself in the process. I also use my resilience strategy every chance I get to move me forward into my next day. Because if it’s up to me, I’ll win every time.
(09/03/18 1:00pm)
Our habits can make or break our days and lives, but we have the choice to make them good or bad. In college, getting into a position where you’ve accumulated more bad habits than you came here with can have a negative impact on your experience.
Procrastinating is one bad habit we may all have in common. If we didn’t procrastinate, we may not have to overwhelm ourselves and be stressed trying to finish an assignment or last-minute study. A change in a habit like procrastinating could be the difference in our mental health here at Mercer.
If you start the year off forcing yourself to create good habits for yourself, they’ll be much easier to keep up with when time and assignment due dates start to merge together. There are a few habits that can help college students have more productive days and more successful college years, whether you’re a first-year or a graduating senior.
1. Focus on the skills and the lessons
If you enter your classes with your mind only on the grade and measuring the relevance of the course to your life or career path, you’ll easily find yourself discouraged. You won’t always make the best grade, and you may not always feel like you “need” a particular class, and this can be draining. If you focus on seizing opportunities and picking up skills, regardless of the course topic, you’ll find value in everything you do. Valuing your classes and interactions at Mercer will help you to become more optimistic and ultimately happier throughout your college days. Don’t dwell on your mistakes. Take time to see how you grew and learned from them and use those new skills and lessons to conquer the next day.
2. Be adaptable
In every experience that I’ve been a part of, Mercer affiliated or jobs and real-world opportunities, I’ve found that adaptability was key. When we box ourselves into only being satisfied with one thing or into only being open to one thing, we miss out on what we could be receiving otherwise. College won’t always be what you have in mind, you won’t always be surrounded by people you’re completely comfortable with and sometimes plans change. The ability to adapt is a strength that will eliminate disappointments and crisis. Knowing that there is always another way and there is always value in any outcome can help decrease stress. This should be a goal of yours while you’re here in college; minimizing stress.
3. Develop a positive attitude for yourself
Be mindful that you set the tones for your day. It’s easier said than done, but it’s important to focus on yourself by mentally investing in your happiness. College will leave you sidetracked and convince you that a bad test, a bad day or even a bad semester has the ability to determine the status of your entire life. Keep yourself reminded about how much control you have over your collegiate career and your life. Everything won’t be perfect, but you have to continue to move forward and to adjust accordingly so that you’re not repeating your past.
If you feel yourself getting into a slump, utilize the resources available to you. Counseling and Psychological Services on campus is available for students to talk in individual as well as couple sessions. They are located behind the Mary Erin Porter residence hall and take appointments through calls at 478-301-2862.
These are healthy habits that can benefit you throughout your life, but can really help enhance your collegiate experience. Making minor mental changes for yourself can have a major impact on your life. Choose what’s best for you.
(08/22/18 12:30pm)
[sidebar title="How can freshmen get involved with Student Government? " align="right" background="on" border="left" shadow="on"]
1. Run for one of the five freshman senator positions
Freshman Senator Qualifications - August 28 and 29 in the Connell Student Center Lobby
2. Sign up to be a student correspondent
Freshmen can apply to be a part of a specific committee by reaching out to the chairman of that committee. A student correspondent is someone who wants to help out SGA but isn’t in an elected position.
Freshman Senator Election Dates: Sept. 5 and 6
[/sidebar]
The Student Government Association wants to welcome students back with answers and results.
Junior Adam Penland and Senior Shruthi Vikraman will serve as SGA President and Vice President for this school year. The duo’s election platform included getting more funding for student organizations, making student government more transparent and fixing problems with course registration.
More funding for student organizations
Penland and Vikraman said that they asked The Board of Appropriations to provide SGA with more funding towards the Fiscal Affairs Committee so that they can distribute it to student organizations.
“We were able to get that increase, and we received a $7,000 increase for SGA,” Penland said. “We are giving our Fiscal Affairs Committee $3,000 more, so now they have $98,000 that they can give to student organizations for events and yearly meetings.”
Penland and Vikraman also want to raise awareness about the option of receiving food funding for student organizations. Recognized groups can apply for this funding as long as it is used for educational and cultural purposes.
The Campus Outreach committee also received an increase in their budget that will help the new Action Plan subcommittee. This subcommittee was created last school year to help hear more student voices and get more of what the students want done.
“Last year, we were able to get student opinions, and more vegan and vegetarian options were something people were really looking for,” Vikraman said.
For this school year, Aramark, Mercer’s food service contractor, added a new hibachi bar in the Fresh Food Company cafeteria.
The newly-established Green committee received $3,200 in funding that will be used to help foster sustainability on campus.
“You will see more recycling bins at every residence hall and Greek house,” Vikraman said. “We want to grow the impact that this has around campus.”
More transparency in SGA
Penland and Vikraman want to publicize senate meetings more and make them more accessible to students.
They plan to broadcast senate meetings for students to watch using Facebook Live.
“We also want to have a couple of senate meetings that are in more open and accessible areas on campus,” Penland said. “So maybe senate on Cruz Plaza or in Heritage Hall. Every senate meeting is open to the public, but not many people know that.”
The first senate meeting of this school year will be Sept. 10. The location is to be determined.
Make registration a smoother process
“Thanks to the previous administration, we already have a relationship with IT to help make registration easier,” Penland said. “Shruthi and I are continuing to stay on top of IT to make sure it is regularly updated and accessible to students.”
(08/19/18 10:00pm)
I’ve written a couple of back-to-school articles that were designed to provide insight and advice, but I struggled to settle on what to share with readers this year. It’s year four, and while I am full of excitement about the finish line, I can't help but think back on what really heightened my experiences here at Mercer.
You may not recognize your growth and progress in college until the very end or at least the beginning of the end, but there will be moments that make you reflect. When I reflect back on my time here at Mercer, the one recurring theme that became the driving force behind my success and happiness was me being undeniably myself.
There were times when I tried to run from who I truly was, what I really wanted and what really made me happy. These things didn’t directly line up with the vision I had for my college career and life. I quickly learned that you should allow who you are and the things you’re passionate about to drive your vision, not the other way around.
In order to be yourself, you have to allow yourself to do what makes you happy. Sometimes we get so caught up in a designed career and lifestyle and we don’t even realize that what we’re studying isn’t what we really want to learn about and do. It can be scary to let go of societal and family expectations, but it will be very beneficial for you and your journey.
Allowing yourself to really do what makes you happy is easier said than done. The next thing that is pivotal in self-discovery is focusing on smaller decisions that you may not think are as impactful as some of the bigger ones. This could mean deciding to step out of your comfort zone to join an organization you’ve been eyeing for a while. This could also be releasing a hold that you’ve had in a relationship or friendship. Your happiness could be right on the other side of those decisions. We learn about ourselves when we’re vulnerable and uncomfortable.
I have sat in spaces during my time here at Mercer that I knew I didn’t belong in. I didn’t always have the courage to step out of my comfort zone and go where I would grow and flourish. This can be the result of allowing a dependency to get the best of you. Our comfort zones can get us into the habit of depending on other people’s approval, particular results and an ideal life. But we learn that our best days and most impactful moments are always unexpected.
It’s never too late to turn a page. When you don’t know what to expect, you may be anxious and afraid.
Sydney Taylor, who is the founder of sagemosaic, an Atlanta-based corporate creativity consulting company, encourages people to fight their fears when it comes to their career journey.
“If there isn’t a space for you, you can either make it, or it will come to be if you’re passionate and good at what you do,” she said.
Take advantage of sporadic opportunities and random open doors. Allow your passions to drive your actions during your time here at Mercer, whether that’s for the next four years or until next May. Remember to rejoice in your own success regardless of the size of the accomplishment and to undeniably be who you are.
(04/20/18 7:56pm)
Sterling Conyers is a senior International Affairs and Spanish double major with minors in Asian Studies and Global Health.
Conyers was originally born in Stone Mountain, Ga., but she moved to Fayetteville, Ga. at the age of five. Like many Mercer students, she chose to become a bear because of the scholarship Mercer offered her.
Fortunately, she came to Mercer and received much more than your average college education is supposed to give you.
Conyers has done a lot of traveling during her college years. She’s been to South Africa, London, China, Dubai, Morocco and Spain, but she’s not done just yet.
“We’re not so different, but we also are,” Conyers said. “Traveling is a great opportunity to see how other people live and realize how both similar and different they are from your own life.”
She said when you experience other cultures, you become much more tolerant and understanding.
“Nothing will surprise you, and you will learn that there’s no right way to do things,” she said.
Her favorite destination is a tie between South Africa and China.
“They’re both naturally beautiful,” she said.
After graduation, Conyers will be serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan for 11 months as an English Teaching Assistant. Her grant purpose is PhotoVoice, where she’ll be instructing her students to use photos to communicate and learn English.
Conyers has been considering applying to Fulbright since her sophomore year at Mercer, but her plans on the kind of Fulbright program she wanted to pursue changed.
“I was going to do Argentina because I wanted to do Spanish,” she said.
Conyers has studied four languages, but Spanish was the language she was closest to fluency in.
“The Argentina [program] didn’t start until January 2019, and that seven-month gap between graduation and this is not attractive,” Conyers said.”
She then moved on to the possibility of participating in the Fulbright Spain program, but with the help of her committee, she eventually chose Taiwan.
“I heard Chinese is best learned from the source,” she said.
Travelling inspires Conyers because it provides her with the opportunity to be a positive representation of American diversity during her stay.
She’s traveled to many places where they weren’t used to seeing people who looked and lived the way she did, and in Taiwan, she can’t wait to communicate how multifaceted America is.
Conyers came to Mercer looking to receive a degree in Spanish. One of her favorite professors, Eimad Houry (International and Global Studies Department Chair), convinced her that International Relations would be suitable for her.
“It’s so interdisciplinary that you learn a lot even without meaning to,” she said. “It’s got history, social sciences, sociology, anthropology and political science.”
After she completes her Fulbright, Conyers plans to pursue graduate school. She’s hoping to participate in a Masters of Human Rights and Humanitarian program in Paris, but this is just one of her three choices.
Regardless of where she lands, Conyers wants to continue to grow as a global citizen and leaving a little bit of herself and her home everywhere she stops.
(04/12/18 9:16pm)
The United Way of Central Georgia presented the entire Mercer student body with the Lt. Randy Parker Volunteer of the Year Award, and this is the first time the award has been given to a collective body.
The volunteer award is designed to “recognize a volunteer or volunteers who are outstanding in raising awareness for UWCG’s efforts in the local community,” according to a press release.
The award’s namesake Randy Parker was a Macon-Bibb County firefighter who passed in the line of duty in 2015. This is the fourth time United Way has presented the award.
This year, Mercer students are being recognized for their work in Macon-Bibb County schools through the Read2Succeed Program.
“Each of the past two years, approximately 200 Mercer students have served as tutors for United Way’s Read2Succeed program, which engages local students in reading for at least one hour per week outside of class,” according to a press release.
There are Mercer students who have been participating in the program for years and some who just joined the program this semester.
Sophomore Donald Williams has been working as a tutor for a year and a half.
“Teaching and watching the kids I work with has reminded me of the importance that we as people, mentors and leaders can have on one another when we dedicate time to the development of our youth,” Williams said. “They are our future and therefore should be given the best tools to grow as thinkers and creative individuals.”
The United Way has a Read United initiative and their goal is to bring up the reading score of all Bibb County Elementary School students to grade-level by the third grade, according to a press release.
Junior Miranda Stephen primarily assists with the second-grade math and pre-K & Kindergarten after-school care programs.
“I am so passionate about being a Mercer tutor because those children absolutely inspire me,” Stephen said. “You grow a deep bond with these kids and it sometimes feels as if you adopt the role of parent; the more I learn about these children drives me to recognize my strengths and weaknesses as a tutor to teach these children the best I can.”
Mercer students work in seven elementary schools with over 600 elementary school students, according to a press release.
“Together, we are making a difference in the lives of these students and in our community,” said Dr. Mary Alice Morgan in a press release.
Morgan is the senior vice provost for service-learning at Mercer.
“Mercer’s tutors work with students identified by teachers as having the lowest reading scores and the most struggles with reading. In turn, our students gain an education about the challenges facing children in low-income neighborhoods and a greater sense of civic responsibility. As we like to say at Mercer, ‘Changing the world starts at home,’” Morgan said in a press release.
(04/04/18 1:47pm)
Guess what time of the year it is? That’s probably not necessary because we’re feeling it, more than ever. It’s that time right after spring break that forces you to either question everything you did this semester or hold on to it.
It’s the hump, and if we can make it over the hump, we can see the light of summer and breathe again. For some, this time of the year is an effortless breeze and is probably spent thanking yourself for working hard those first two months ago. For others, it’s a drag because you’re just ready for it to be over.
It’s not necessarily about academics, but more so about motivating yourself to be interested and excited to still be in school after a much needed-spring break.
Like your typical week, hump day is the true test. It’s the deciding factor that determines how your week will sum up to be. If you can make it through hump day, you’ve secured a spot to the weekend.
A good hump day can give you the push you need to make it to the end, and that’s what we should all be seeking to accomplish in the upcoming days.
How can you make it over this semester’s hump successfully?
Keep yourself reminded. It’s easy to forget your semester and 2018 goals after being distracted by everything happening on campus and in your life. Take some time to review your goals and make sure your actions for the next few weeks align with those goals.
Take advantage of the enjoyable aspects at the end of the semester. It seems like these next few weeks are full of something exciting to do, and while that may be distracting, it can be positive as well. Make sure you’re not spending every day counting down until the end of the semester. Try to get out on campus and enjoy yourself.
Make sure everything is in place for a successful end to your classes. While you may be ready to end the semester, it’s imperative that you don’t allow that attitude to affect your motivation to work and ensure good grades for yourself. Taking care of business before finals week may leave you a little more happy before that time comes.
Lastly, don’t spend all of your time thinking about your summer. You may or may not have your summer planned out, and if you do, that’s great. Don’t think too much about it. If your summer isn’t planned out, don’t allow the uncertainty to completely take over your thoughts. It's important to be prepared, but it’s equally important to be mindful and present during this time of the year.
The end is near, but right now can be an enjoyable time for you as well. Don’t allow your desire for the next season to make your current one miserable. Keep your thoughts positive and keep yourself reminded. You’ll remember how bad you wanted to be happy and successful and you’ll make that a reality for yourself.
(03/19/18 10:45am)
Every month, I try to set goals. It helps me reflect and recognize growth within myself, even if it’s just from a four-week span. For the month of March, I decided that I wanted to focus on mindfulness.
I told myself that in March, I want to focus on appreciating the moments and the people who are present in those moments. I also want to cherish the situation I am currently in because it may be necessary preparation for my ultimate goals. Here’s why I’m doing this.
Google describes mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations used as a therapeutic technique.”
As college students, we may encounter days and weeks that feel almost as if we’re just going through the motions. We just want to make it to class, finish our assignments, get the grade we desire, try to get some sleep and hopefully be able to do it all over again.
The days move fast, and as a junior, I realize that the years do too. It was just yesterday that I was participating in Bear Beginnings thinking about everything I wanted to do and accomplish at Mercer.
Sometimes that aspirational spirit and my passion that drove it can get pushed aside by my busy schedule and fast-pace life. So this month, I vow to stop and smell the roses.
Practicing mindfulness doesn’t mean you have to cut some things or people out of your life, although those are options. Mindfulness can just be allotting time to be with the people who make you happiest without feeling guilty about it.
Mindfulness can consist of taking a self-care day to focus on reflection and just being proud of yourself for how far you’ve come. Mindfulness may even mean logging off of social media for a while and appreciating the real world and people right in front of you.
When we become more mindful, we can learn to love our right now, and stop giving so much energy to the next opportunity we’re striving for. There are many lessons to be learned from our current situation, and if we’re not mindful, we may miss them.
This attention that we choose to give to the present will help us to remember our why, and maybe time wouldn’t fly by so fast as if we’re going through the motions. We may think more about how we react to someone, what we say to others and how much energy we put into a particular task.
I’m hoping that my efforts in practicing mindfulness will make me a better person to be around, but also help me become more aware of myself and the things I want and truly care about. It’s not too late to make this your month goal too.
(03/05/18 7:22pm)
I traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts for a conference at Harvard Kennedy School sponsored by their Institute of Politics. The theme of the conference was “Facilitating Civil Discourse.”
I thought the theme was very fitting for me because I had just traveled from a campus that was buzzing about the selection of our annual Founders’ Day speaker, Jay Sekulow.
My next observation was that there were students from all over the country. There were students from Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, but there were even more students from places like Iowa, California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington D.C., Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia and Utah.
This didn’t just mean that there were many different colleges and universities represented, but for me, it meant that I would hear from people who grew up in different places, who experienced different things and had a variety of perspectives. Eventually, this would become the one thing I was consistently grateful for.
Throughout the many conversations we’d have about politics, perspectives and decision making, I began to recognize that I was surrounded by many diverse people just like this at my own university.
I realized that I didn’t have to travel to a conference to hear these perspectives, I just had to have these same conversations with the people around me and to be more patient with them.
When we’re engaging in conversations with the people who we see every day, who we have developed an opinion on and have some form of knowledge about, we tend to jump to a conclusion about their views and beliefs. These conclusions cause us to disregard what they’re telling us and to only focus on how we can tell them they’re wrong and correct them.
This is a human trait, and I am guilty of it myself. The conference taught me patience and how important it was for us to be patient with everyone, including ourselves.
Kayla Parchia, founder of We Work ATL, said it best in her Instagram post on Feb. 11.
“The next time you catch yourself in a moment of being judgemental or being annoyed because you don’t understand why people do what they do, take a moment to breathe and have patience with that person,” she said.
Parchia said that we’re all made up of various experiences and habits that have gotten us to that point.
“Having patience will lead to a greater path of understanding and will allow you to be the person you intend to be,” Parchia said.
At Harvard, I heard from people who grew up on farms, people who grew up in predominantly white towns, people who grew up in low-income neighborhoods and people who grew up in predominantly upper-class neighborhoods. I also heard from people who never thought twice about the government and politics until 2016.
We learned that in the 2016 election, geography and education had such a huge impact on how people voted, and often those are the two things in the world that tend to divide us most.
Every person I talked to gave me a better understanding of how much our geography, education and upbringing affects our political views and just how we view life in general. After each conversation, I became more patient and more observant of these differences and how important theses differences were to people.
Patience is a skill, so it’s something you must practice and be mindful of. It also requires us to let go of our level of expectancy.
It’s easy to become impatient with people when we assume that we have the same level of understanding, intellect and maturity. We also become impatient when we assume that they understand what we’ve been through, our background and our dislikes.
When we’re patient with others, we become more understanding and more tolerant. This new level of understanding and tolerance often helps us to have those conversations that can make a difference and eliminate the divide we’ve been holding on to.
(02/13/18 3:08am)
Junior chemistry major Perry Hicks wants to use her skills and her story to make the world a better place for others.
During her first two years at Mercer, Hicks served as a member of the Student Government Association as a committee chair.
She’s also a member of Common Ground, the gay-straight alliance on campus.
“As an LGBT+ individual, I feel an even bigger drive to represent my community the best I can,” Hicks said. “That includes reaching out to other marginalized groups as well.”
While Hicks was a part of SGA, she said the majority of the Senate was white and members of the Interfraternity Council and The National Panhellenic Conference on campus. She recognized that there were a lot of other groups on campus that were underrepresented.
“I made it my mission to make better connections with underrepresented groups by doing outreach to organizations for minorities and making sure that they’re connecting with the student government,” Hicks said.
She also made sure that they were voting, knew about elections and got involved in elections.
This year, only 5 percent of SGA members are from previous years.
Hicks considered going back to The Student Government Association, but she believes that it was time for someone with similar goals to take that position and get some work done themselves with their own method.
“I feel like I can still do what I want to do and pursue those things outside of SGA,” Hicks said.
Hicks has always had a passion for equality and representation, she said.
“Coming in as a freshman, I was lost, especially being aware of who I was,” she said. “I was really looking for a community that I feel safe with and connected with to explore who I really was.”
Hicks said she joined the exec board freshman year and has been a part of it ever since.
“You really don’t know how strong you are until you lift the weight,” Hicks said. “I want to help people who are in the same situation as me.”
Hicks said she loves that they have kept their traditions of having open conversations, but they are also beginning to make sure their opinion is represented.
Common Ground recently organized a peaceful protest for Founders’ Day against the selected speaker Jay Sekulow.
They encouraged students to wear rainbow flags or instead of attending the event go to The Beloved Community Symposium, an alternative event occurring at the same time.
“The administration has a terrible history of repressing this group of students and changing their opinions,” Hicks said. “I think we have a more open administration than we’ve ever had now.”
Hicks is excited to be a voice for herself and people just like her.
“I think with this freedom that we have, we need to open our mouths and take advantage of this,” Hicks said. “Twenty years ago, there are people who would have killed for this.”
Hicks said she’s looking forward to hearing what Sekulow has to say.
“But, I think it’s important that we are representing ourselves,” she said. “I want incoming students to see that we are representing ourselves and our opinions.”
Hicks wants to pursue a career in research after receiving a Ph.D. in Chemistry. She’s interested in working in a government setting or even teaching.
“I love sharing my knowledge,” Hicks said. “Presenting research or tutoring, I love being a part of that.”
Hicks is interested in physical chemistry. Right now, she’s working in the chemistry department on quantum dots.
“They’re used in solar panels, and the end goal is to revolutionize the way quantum dots are used which could make things a lot cheaper and more efficient for obtaining energy from the Sun,” she said.
Hicks said her mother has always been her example of trailblazing women in science and the reason she wants to continue that legacy.
(02/09/18 4:35pm)
A group of local religious leaders and educators are hosting an interfaith discussion on immigration that is designed to attract people from all backgrounds, even those with no strong interest in politics.
On Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m., students and community members can come to the President’s Dining Room and have a conversation about DACA, Dreamers and immigration.
[related title="Related Stories" stories="11246,19002,16325" align="left" background="off" border="none" shadow="off"]
The Immigration at the Crossroads–An Interfaith Discussion is sponsored by the Black Law Students Assoc., Hispanic Law Students Assoc., Mercer Immigration Law Interest Group, Mercer Law Democrats, Mercer Law Republicans, MGSU Gay-Straight Alliance, student groups
from Mercer University and Wesleyan, Middle Georgia Immigration Coalition, the Ga4Dreamers Coalition and Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us).
“This will be a very different type of conversation,” said Mercer University Law Professor Mark Jones in a press release. “The goal of this program is to rise above ideology and politics to find a solution to the challenging immigration issues facing our country.”
Jones believes that now more than ever is the perfect time to have this conversation.
“This is a critical moment in the history of our nation with the future of 800,000 ‘Dreamers’ – including nearly 25,000 Georgians – on the line as Democrats and Republicans in Congress negotiate a spending bill that would also include permanent protection for DACA beneficiaries,” he said in a press release.
The students at the Mercer Law School said they’re looking for undergraduate students from all religious beliefs to participate in order to get a better understanding of the impacts of immigration to the Middle Georgia community and nationally.
“We also aim to provide information as to how to get involved and reach out to our senators and representatives,” said Jocelyn Calvillo, a Juris Doctorate Candidate at Mercer Law School.
At the event, the main issues of immigration will be discussed along with the religious themes. The discussion was strtegically planned on the evening before Ash Wednesday, according to the press release.
“[The event] ushers in the Christian season of Lent, a time of renewal and conversion with powerful analogs in Judaism and Islam.”
There will be testimonies from DACA recipients, a panel featuring perspectives of the three Abrahamic faith: Dr. David Gushee, Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University and interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Decatur will present the Christian perspective.
Rabbi Aaron Rubenstein from Congregation Sha’arey Israel in Macon will present the Jewish perspective.
Imam Adam Fofana from the Islamic Center of Middle Georgia in Centerville will present the Islamic perspective.
“At our interfaith forum on immigration, students will have the opportunity to hear first from fellow students who are in fact “Dreamers” and whose citizenship status hangs in the balance,” said David Gushee, distinguished university professor of christian ethics, in an email. “Then the teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam will be considered in terms of what they say about immigration, strangers, and hospitality.”
Gushee said an open discussion will follow.
“It should be a timely conversation about an incredibly important and relevant issue,” he said.
The discussion will be moderated by Mercer University Associate Professor of Law Sarah Gerwig-Moore.
After the panel discussion, the audience will have a chance to participate in a question and answer session, followed by a short interfaith prayer vigil.
According to the press release, light refreshments will be provided and parking is available in the parking lots of the University Center.
(02/04/18 11:06am)
“We just want to play...all the time,” said Mercer Club Baseball player Layton Sheets.
The team started last year after Sophomore Ryan Fields and some friends were looking to play baseball and realized that there was no club or intramural teams to do so.
Today, they’re in the middle of their second season, and they’ve grown to become a 20-member team.
“We’re open to anyone who’s interested, but as we grow as a team, we will start hosting tryouts,” Sheets said.
There is a variety of players who are on the team this year, but most of them are freshmen and sophomores.
[related title="Related Stories" stories="22820,22712,22442" align="right" background="off" border="none" shadow="off"][related title="Related Stories" stories="" align="right" background="off" border="none" shadow="off"]
“Most people have played baseball at some level previously,” Sheets said. “We have a lot of high school athletes and even a couple of guys who came from Mercer’s baseball team.”
There have also been some football players who have come out and practiced with the team.
So far, the club baseball team has played Georgia Southern, Armstrong, Coastal Georgia, Alabama, Georgia Tech and Tennessee. Sometimes they travel to those schools and sometimes the schools come play in Macon.
The team practices at a baseball field next to Lakeside High School about 15 minutes away from campus. They also host their home games there.
“The season is in the fall and the spring,” Fields said. “The fall consists of practices and a couple of games to get the team together. In the spring is when the season really takes off.”
The members of the team like it that way though. They enjoy playing year-round.
According to Fields, their first year performance wasn’t too bad. Their weakness was their pitching.
“Hopefully we move past that and play a little better this year,” Fields said.
Their number one goal is to play more games and keep the team together. It’s been tough for them to decide on a practice time that everyone will show up to.
If you’re interested in playing for the club baseball team, email ryanfields@bellsouth.net.
(01/29/18 12:19pm)
We have made it to a brand new year and a brand new semester. Regardless of how consistent people are with claiming the new year to be their year or the year that completely transforms them, their proclamation could, in fact, be true.
This could be the year for you too. Whether this is the year that you graduate and start the career you’ve been dreaming of, the year you study abroad or even the year that you decide to let go of a bad habit.
Whether we know for sure this year is ours or not, there’s something about the change in month and numbers in the year that causes us to feel like we can do it. This feeling doesn’t necessarily have to go away either.
When I set my goals for the new year, I made sure that they were things I would think about every day. I made sure I was clear when stating what I wanted to change about myself and what I wanted to have happen in my life this year.
Make sure your goal has a direct end result: land the internship, receive a 4.0, get accepted into this graduate program, become an officer for this organization, etc.
These direct goals should also correlate to something you think about or have the power to influence often. Therefore, even if you’re not always looking at your resolution list, you can always remember in class that this is the grade you want. When you think about summer, you’ll keep in mind that you’re striving for this particular internship. Your level of productivity should rise just from the thought of it.
Did you see the posts from the people who were saying a change in the date isn’t going to change you or that you lie about bettering yourself every year? These are the people you should try to separate yourself from in the new year, whether it’s done by unfollowing or physically removing people from your life.
If you’re that person, make it a goal of yours to change that.
You’re never too knowledgeable about the kind of year someone had and what the idea of a new one can mean for them. There is no crime in taking advantage of starting fresh.
Keeping people in your circle that are encouraging and uplifting is crucial when sustaining productive and positive energy. They have the power to take it away from you in seconds.
Make sure you have a “why” that is genuine and strong.
Our vision slips away because we often don’t have something driving us to see it through. Why do you want that internship? Is there a change you want to make or influence you strive to have? Recognizing and remembering your why will keep you productive because if it’s genuine and strong, you’ll care about it and do what you have to do to see it through.
What drives you is something that can’t be taken away from you, so be sure to clarify that for your benefit.
We have the power to decide how our year turns out. There are many things that we can’t control, but if we want to make something happen for ourselves, we must be sure to stay productive and encouraged.
Let’s make sure our goals and our proclamations for the new year become accomplishments we can’t stop smiling about in December.