How to survive exams & make it to the holidays!

Exam season is here! It’s tough times for university students, especially engineers. Here are some tips from my friend, Helen, and I on how to survive exams and make it through to Christmas break! 

[Disclaimer: All advice to be taken at your own risk!] J

Mary’s survival tips for exam season:

•  Make a study plan.  Remember, there are two types of lessons, the easy ones which you don’t need to study and the hard ones which you cannot learn so don’t waste time studying them.
•  NO Procrastination! Are you procrastinating right now? If you have an exam to study for stop reading this and go back to studying!

OH, you are still here….sigh. Ok, here are some more tips I guess:

•  Stay away from your phone and computer as much as possible. Those texts and notifications can wait. In fact, throw your phone out of the window this instant!
•  Put that coffee mug away! It makes you hyper and makes it hard to take naps and get your 12 hours of sleep per night.
• Eat a lot of chocolate. It makes you happy and keeps you focused. (You can make exercising one of your New Year’s resolutions in less than a month). 



Just chilling with the associate dean :) (L to R: Mary, Helen) 

•  Eat food, take breaks and stay alive. Make yourself a nice 5-course dinner to reward your hard work during the day. Remember:  Grandma’s food is delicious because she spends a lot of time prepping it, so do not choose a lousy recipe just to save time.

Helen’s survival tips for exam season:

Ok folks, my turn now. Let me tell you the key to doing exams Helen-style.

•  Look ridiculous. For the ladies, throw that hair into an obnoxious, messy bun atop your head. Sweatpants? Yes...  all day, every day. For the men, ‘tis the season of bedhead, and although Movember has come to pass, the university community will see their fair share of unshaven-ness. (Count how many neck-beards you can spot! Decembeard? Yep.)
•   Stay glued to your electronics. How else is your friend going to wake you up in the morning? Or tell you that you wrote down the wrong time for the exam?
• Caffeinate yourself. Coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola are staples to achieving this, but of course there are interesting alternatives. I hear wonderful things about chocolate covered coffee beans.
•  Stick to your vegetables. Chocolate is a no-go. Do you want to fit into your ugly Christmas sweater? YES. OF COURSE YOU DO!  It’s the only true way to make grandmothers happy.
• Stay hydrated. Remember all that caffeine you consumed? It dehydrated you. And with all that liquid consumption, you’re bound for washroom breaks every 15 minutes. In fact, you should be due for one right now.

Best of luck with your exams, and give us feedback on how you survive the holidays!  

Holiday Fun at McMaster!

Hello World!

What a whirlwind the past few months have been! We're currently in the last few weeks of first semester before exams and the profs have really been keeping us busy. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel...Winter Holidays! There is nothing more exciting than knowing you get 3 weeks off to relax and not worry about school. With the season fast approaching, Mac Eng has really taken on the holiday spirit.

This past weekend was the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade and as tradition dictates the engineers were present to ring in the holiday season. Our various car teams were present and the "Redsuits" (engineering spirit leaders) were out handing candy canes to children and singing Christmas carols to our heart's content! This was my 4th year marching in the Parade and it did not disappoint. Below are a few shots of our amazing marchers in the parade.

Our lovely Mac Eng paraders!

Action shot of the two Carpools during the parade

Some amazing Redsuits leading the Eng team

Oh no! Someone was left behind!

Along with the Santa Claus Parade, Mac Eng holds an annual fundraiser event called Santa Hog. At Santa Hog we raise money for Interval House, a women's shelter, by caroling from class to class asking for donations. Now, these are not your average Christmas carols. Like everything we do here at Mac Eng, we take our own spin on traditional carols and make them about Mac Eng. If you're wandering around campus on November 30th you're sure to see us spreading Christmas joy!

Well, that's all for me! Gotta go back and hit the books.

Cheers!

~Genna

The Magic of Midterm Season

No matter what they always seem to sneak up on you. You question your knowledge: have I even learned anything yet? Or, on the flip side, you ask yourself “how am I going to retain all of this information?”

Yes, you know what I’m talking about. Midterms. Now, some of you may have tests labelled as such in high school, but if you’re like me and went to a semestered school, they were a new phenomenon upon entering university. At the end of the day, they’re just another test.

From my experience in first year, there really wasn’t a “start” and “end” date to the midterms. The reality is each of your classes will have 2 or 3 “midterms” so you’ll have them starting around the end of September and going all the way to the end of November. They’ll come in waves, having two in a week and such, but there seems to always be one on the horizon.

The great thing about these magical tests is that since there are two or three per course, the weighting is nicely distributed! If you have a hard time on one, it will not seal your fate on passing or failing the course! There’s always a chance to make up for some mistakes. Plus, there’s always the exam which is a large chunk of your grade in a course.

Second years studying in the Bob Loree Undergraduate Engineering (BLUE) Lounge. It's a great place to ask upper years for help!

So, when you start engineering, and you put those test dates in your calendar, don’t freak. Take a deep breath, and plan ahead:

(1)   Don’t start cramming the night before. Seriously. I know you hear this all the time, but it’s so true.

(2) Do practice problems. Engineering is about application, so don’t just read notes.

(3) Use the resources available – talk the prof or Teaching Assistants if you’re having problems, and also the Internet is a pretty marvelous thing. There are some great videos online.

(4) Figure out how you study best. Some people do the group thing, and some people need to study alone. Some need silence, while others rock out to some classical music in the background.

(5) Don’t cram the night before. (So key it takes up two spaces on this list)

At the end of the day, one of the best feelings a student can have is walking out of a midterm they aced. But sometimes, even when you work REALLY HARD, it’s just not your night. And that’s okay. Just keep swimming. 

Later days,
Daniela

Back to school--Bring on the fun!

Wow, I can't believe September is over! It feels like only yesterday I was donning my redsuit and welcoming first year students into McMaster Engineering. Welcome week is always one of my favourite times of year. Everyone is so excited to be back at school, and the campus is so energetic and enthusiastic! I made so many friends in first year, and I know they're going to have an amazing time during the year. From "Carpool" parties to bus pulling, it was truly a week to remember! On faculty day we formed groups of 20-30 first years and 5 reps for some fun-tastic engineering games. Check out my wicked awesome group below. What a bunch of stunners!

Here we have some of the amazing first year students pulling a Hamilton public bus across the downtown core of Hamilton for Shinerama! It's been a tradition in Mac Eng for years as a fundraising event  to help fight cystic fibrosis.

And finally, just a shot of the most fantastic group of people you will ever meet!

Just because Welcome Week is over, that doesn't mean the campus has been dead. Far from it! Coming up we have the annual Engineering and Science Olympics, an event that is run for high school students to get them interested in science and introduce them to the McMaster campus. On October 11th we will have around 1000 high school students from schools across Ontario exploring campus and participating in various activities throughout the day. If you're school is coming down for the event, I can't wait to meet you! Don't be afraid to say high to some of the awesome volunteers we have helping out with the event. They want to welcome you guys too!

Anyways, I have to get back to my mountain of homework awaiting me.

Cheers!

~Genna

Let the Games Begin!!!

As far as I can remember, I was never a big fan of sports.

I never had a favorite soccer team or watched NBA play offs. Believe it or not, after living in Canada for 5 years, I am not even sure how many players a hockey team has!!! However, there is one sports event I have never missed: The Olympics.


I find the idea of the Olympics fascinating. It is a symbol of peace for all 5 continents to come together, put aside their differences and bond for a single purpose. During Olympics all nations come together, enjoying the ceremony, watch the games, learn about other nations and once again remember to share their similarities and celebrate the differences.

Being a feminist, this year’s Olympics games are extra special to me; for the first time in the history of the Games, there will be a female entrant from every competing nation. For example, Saudi Arabia,alongside Brunei and Qatar, has consented to allow female delegates to compete in the 2012 Summer Games.

Women have come a long way since the beginning of the games. In 1900, only a total of 11 women participated in the Olympics (for the very first time!) but as of 2012, every country competing in the July 27-Aug. 12 Olympics will be represented by both male and female athletes.

Joseph Veloce, Mac Engineering grad .

Watch the games and don’t miss out on this very special event!

Join us to cheer for Joseph Veloce, a recent grad of McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering, who is competing in Canada's Olympic track cycling team. 

You can read the story of his life as an Engineering student and a professional athlete here: http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/engineering-grad-races-to-olympic-games/ . Also keep up with McMaster athletes in Olympics by visiting http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-and-the-london-olympics/

I'm so excited for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies today! Let the games begin!!  ~Mehrdokht

Keeping an Eye on Things

When did it get to be the middle of July!? I remember back in May thinking, "Wow! I have so much time to relax and do nothing!" Well I can safely say that with work and summer school, I have been kept very busy. And that's just the way I like it :)

I have been fortunate enough to be put on a very interesting project at work. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs I am working with in Dr. Heather Sheardown's chemical engineering lab this summer, and we deal with creating novel ways to treat ocular diseases. My project is dealing with delivery of drugs to the retina, the back portion of the eye, using fibrin gels. If you have taken grade 11 or 12 biology you may recall that fibrin is a protein found in our blood that forms clots when we are wounded to stop bleeding. We are borrowing the principles of fibrin clot formation and are using these fibrin clots to form gels that can could potentially deliver medication to the eye. The picture below shows a fibrin clot I made in the lab. As you can see it's fairly opaque and not ideal for use in the eye, but that's the beauty of experimentation! Now I get to figure out why it looks like this and how to fix it.

Fibrin gel made in the lab combining fibrin and thrombin protein molecules.

When I'm not hard at work, I love to spend my time outside and enjoy the weather! Hamilton is known as the "City of Waterfalls", and with more than 120 waterfalls in the area there's nothing more enjoyable than hiking up the trails to the top of the falls for a picnic and some fresh air. If heights aren't your thing you can always wander through the Royal Botanical Gardens, or even see some exotic birds in the Aviary located near McMaster campus. Or if you just want to beat the heat, Port Dover is only an hour away and the beach there is awesome! For those of you who are adventurous like me, you could always join the McMaster Outdoors Club and go on camping trips around Ontario. A few weeks ago I went on a hiking trip to the Bruce Peninsula, and it was incredible! Such amazing sights and experiences with great people.

All of the trippers posing for a photo atop a cliff along the Bruce Peninsula.

So, whatever you're doing this summer, I hope you're all making the most of it!

~Genna

It Feels like a Fireball Outside

“You’re hotter than a bunsen burner!”

I got that note from the McMaster Engineering Society (MES) representative on Valentine’s Day in my first year of engineering. All the Eng I students in my calculus class got similar notes from the MES, and I remember laughing while everyone compared them. I have to say though, with the heat wave this summer, sometimes I really do feel like I might spontaneously combust.

Relaxing after May@Mac
Open House this year

Luckily, for the past two years I have held Work-Study positions at McMaster. The Work-Study program offers part-time and full-time jobs on campus to help students financially pay for school and alleviate their loans. Tons of positions are available from office assistants to research assistants with profs (like Genna!). Not only do I meet other students and staff members, they keep the buildings wonderfully cool! I’m in the Engineering I Outreach office this summer (I was a Teaching Assistant for L.E.A.P. last summer), and I’ve been starting my mornings with lemonade on my bus ride to the campus to beat the heat. In the school year it is nice taking the bus, because we have the HSR bus pass with our student card; I just have to flash my student ID to board. Stepping off the bus onto campus is one of my favourite parts of the day. McMaster’s campus really is beautiful this time of year!

The flower arrangements on the walkway
 to Burke Science Building (BSB)

As much as I’m enjoying the summer, I can’t help but be excited for fall! It’s a little cooler then, and as a Welcome Week representative (aka ‘Redsuit’), I’ll get to join all the incoming first years for bonding activities like pulling a city bus through the Hamilton streets and cheering Mac on at the football game. Then, if it gets too hot, we can always go for a swim at Gulliver’s Lake for the engineering retreat. It’s a great week: be sure not to miss it!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer. Take some time to have fun in the sun!

~Helen
Software Engineering & Co-op III