#ACCENT

ACCENT On Air E00

ACCENT is launching a new podcast, called ACCENT on Air. This weekly podcast is created to be a one-stop-shop for the essential information that students at Austin Community College need.

By: Zeus Enole

First Episode of our new Spotify Podcast

ACCENT is launching a new podcast, called ACCENT on Air. This weekly podcast is created to be a one-stop-shop for the essential information that students at Austin Community College need. Each episode includes announcements or reminders about upcoming events. Additionally, every episode will have a guest speaker help us take a closer look at a service or resource that the college provides.

The first episode, E00, is a pilot introducing this new project. It includes an interview with Multimedia and Social Media Coordinator for Student Affairs Communication, Halie Ramirez, as well as information about ACC’s Community Resources page. You’ll also hear about the following announcements and events:

The college was closed Sunday, April 4.
The priority deadline for ACC’s General Scholarship has been extended to May 1. Visit https://www.austincc.edu/students/scholarships for more information on how to get started.
Summer Registration opened April 5 for current students. For new students, registration will open on April 19.
The last day to withdraw from classes this semester is April 26.
ACCENT Student Media hosted a Kahoot trivia event with Student Life on April 5. Attendees were able to test their knowledge on 2000’s to 2010’s pop culture.
Student Life hosted a Leadership Development Workshop called Building Your Personal Brand on April 7 at 4 p.m.
Riverbat Success Programming is hosting the virtual event: Poetry for Take Back the Night on April 9 at 5 p.m.
Join Student Life for their virtual watch party of “A Mile in His Shoes” on April 12 at 3 p.m.

In the interview with Halie Ramirez, we discussed her role at ACC as well as her position as faculty advisor to ACCENT. When asked about her involvement in ACCENT, she talked about her experience in student media while she was in college.

“That’s where I got to build my network for my career,” she told us, “which, I like to say [that] every job I’ve ever had–I would not have gotten there without having someone from my network to help me get there. Every student should be involved in a student organization in some way; you never know who you’re going to meet. That’s a part of higher education, is building that professional network.”

Listen to the full interview on IGTV or Spotify. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

You can find more updates on our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Have an announcement you’d like us to include in future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Volunteering During a Time of Isolation; What Students Can Do?

ACC staff and community members provide different perspectives on volunteering in isolated times.

By: Renata Salazar

As a college student, volunteering is essential when seeking to become involved in your community and craft better relationships. With hundreds of volunteering options and resources, it can be overwhelming to take initiative and find the best option for you. ACCENT spoke to Austin Community College’s Service-Learning Program Coordinator Sabryna Groves, to get a better understanding of the steps students should take to find volunteer opportunities and what it means to become an active community member. ACC student, Olivia Cruz,also gives us insight on what she gained from her experience volunteering through ACC.

As COVID continues, Groves gives us her thoughts on how the pandemic has affected community involvement.

“I have seen a lot of volunteer organizations are pivoting to work virtual opportunities and safe socially distant options into their agenda. Virtual volunteering is great but I think we will still see a demand for in-person volunteering.”

Groves believes that our social climate has played a part in the increased demand of students in search of volunteer opportunities. Movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate have encouraged students to get involved within the community.

“There is a lot of motivation for people to become involved in their community I think now more than ever, and there is a serious demand for us as ACC faculty to make opportunities as visible and accessible to students,” Groves said.

Before the pandemic, Cruz volunteered through Student Life by participating the monthly food distributions that are partners with Central Texas Food Bank.

“I very much enjoyed volunteering for student life at ACC. I wish I had the opportunity to do it again. I felt like I really had a place and all the people around me had the same intentions to help out,” Cruz said.

Since COVID, Cruz feels that there has been a tremendous decline of volunteer work. Due to safety protocols, gathering in groups and social interaction is not as common as it was before. Cruz shared that she feels that ACC should bring more awareness to virtual volunteering opportunities for students. .

Groves gives us her top three resources for volunteering through ACC. First would be for students to start at Student Life and look for volunteer work there. Next would be Riverbat Reach, a website that includes 30 different community partnersj that the college has. Through Riverbat Reach, students can join the volunteer program and find work suitable to their needs.. As the final resource, Groves recommends givepulse, a website that provides multiple opportunities. Here students can create a free account with their ACC email and find up-to-date information on volunteering options.

Groves is currently working with ACC students in the visual communications area of study to learn how to make volunteering opportunities more accessible to students like Cruz in the future. Students can fill out this survey and participate in helping ACC encourage and present more opportunities to students to give back.

“When you’re working with people within your community and you’re having conversations about social issues, and working together to make a change it’s a very fulfilling feeling,” says Groves. “It gives you a reason to care about Austin and like being able to give back to the community.”

I Tried Pomodoro Studying

By: Pete Ramirez

I’ll admit it, managing my time has never been easy for me. At times, I have felt as if my to-do list is a never-ending tower that enjoys piling onto my anxiety. Luckily, I received an assignment that has given me an effective tool to combat that pesky to-do list. I have a feeling it can help you too.

My task was to learn about the pomodoro technique. Then, adopt pomodoro into my studying methods for a couple of weeks. Finally, create a vlog along with a companion opinion piece. I had never heard of this technique but after speaking to Jordan Easley, an Austin Community College academic coach, I was ready to go. If you haven’t watched the vlog yet, here is a quick explainer:

The pomodoro technique is a time management strategy that uses intervals of time to focus the mind on one task at a time.
Begin by choosing a task to complete, limiting distractions, and setting a timer for 25 minutes.
After working for the allotted time, take a five-minute break.
After four rounds of this, take a longer break.

I had a few issues at first, but it did not take long for me to get used to using this technique. During the first few rounds, I would get frustrated when my timer would ring because I did not want to be pulled away from my work. But I soon learned to enjoy those precious five minutes. Those breaks are great moments for you to assess how your work is going. During one of those breaks, I realized that putting my phone on silent was not enough for me to overcome the hypnosis of my little black mirror. I learned that airplane mode is a much better solution.

Another realization I had is that I needed a notebook and a pen nearby so I can write down random ideas I have while working that threaten to pull me away from my task. From time to time, my dogs would also interrupt my studies but I was always happy to take a pet break for a minute or two before jumping back into work.

Easley mentioned that you can make this technique as flexible as you like so I also tried various work-time to break-time ratios. Most things fit nicely into twenty-five-minute increments but with some tasks, like writing, I get into a flow and refuse to stop working when the timer rings. The pomodoro technique helped me prioritize and hone in on one task at a time instead of doing twenty tasks all at once.

Give it a try. Play around with the work-to-break ratios and find what works for you. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you break the rules (I broke plenty.) Sometimes the hardest part is getting started and this technique will help you take the first step.

A Therapy Guide To Virtual Counseling

ACCENT spoke with Manuel Zamarripa, Associate Dean of Counseling, about ACC’s virtual mental health support services.

By: Angela Murillo-Martinez

As Austin Community College enters another semester of distance learning, the college’s mental health counseling services have adapted to support students at a virtual scope. ACCENT spoke with Manuel Zamarripa, Associate Dean of Counseling, about the support and resources ACC offers.

The balance between work, school, hobbies and education can seem like too much to handle at times–especially during a global pandemic.. And with campuses being closed to non-essential faculty, staff and students this too means that counseling sessions have moved as an online service. Students can continue to receive private counseling from their own home through virtual sessions. ACC offers free mental health counseling to currently enrolled students.

You get a first session, where you get a lot of background information,” Zamarripa said. ““Then you get six sessions after that, so you get a total of seven sessions with a counselor individually.

Some have trouble deciding when and if to visit with a counselor or therapist. Mental health isn’t a one size fits all situation, but ACC’s counselors are trained to work with anyone, no matter their situation. And if needed, the counselors can always provide referrals.

It can be anywhere from, ‘Hey, I need someone to support me,’ or ‘I have a couple of decisions coming up that I need to make,’ or ‘I’m feeling kind of stuck,”’” Zamarripa said.

Students can schedule appointments through the counseling page found on the ACC website. In these sessions students can talk to trained clinicians who can speak to you about various topics. All sessions are private and confidential unless the student provides written permission to share information with someone else. ACC not only provides individual counseling but also has group counseling.

“We do offer groups, which are another good way to get support,” Zamarripa said. ““We offer about two to three groups every semester, and the topics always change; some of them stay the same.”

The topics discussed in these group counseling meetings tend to change every semester, although they are a couple of topics that remain as students continue to request them.

“We get the most requests for anxiety and dealing with anxiety,”Zamarripa said. ““So we tend to offer some groups in some way about anxiety to help students.””

Although the idea of group counseling can seem nerve-racking at first, being around students who have similar struggles as you can create a great support system. It can also help you realize that you are not alone and see that you have others rooting for you.

“It can be really supportive, but it can also be to the other end, like some people who are having severe anxiety or severe depression,” Zamarripa said. ““They can come in, and we try to help them find strategies of coping.””

Although taking that first step towards therapy can seem scary, ACC’s counselors are here to help every step of the way, so you are not alone. As we continue to physically distance ourselves from others and take socialization to a virtual realm Zamarripa emphasizes the importance of checking in on one another, but more importantly, on yourself.

How to Be Sustainable Through the Holiday Season

This is a large amount of trash that is being produced during a small period of time and that can be easily avoided if more sustainable choices are made.

By: Angela Murillo-Martinez

close up of Christmas tree with ornaments and lights

The holiday season is finally here! It’s time to bring out the gingerbread cookies, play Mariah Carey on repeat, and watch Home Alone every day until Christmas. Although the holidays are going to be a little different this year it won’t ruin the holiday spirit that we all love so much and look forward to each year. That being said, it’s important that through this season, we keep in mind the harms that our habits can have on the environment.

The holiday season is the perfect time to spend with friends and family, however, a lot of waste may be caused because of it. The United States alone produces 25 million tons of garbage Thanksgiving all the way through New Year’s, according to Stanford University.

This is a large amount of trash that is being produced during a small period of time and that can be easily avoided if more sustainable choices are made. From changing the way we wrap our gifts or changing the kinds of lights we use to decorate our house. Every change, big or small has an impact towards our community and our planet. Here are some ways you can continue to have a fun Christmas while being sustainable.

close up of a tree wrapped in LED lights next to two light up reindeer

Decorate with LED Lights

Not only are they more environmentally friendly, but they also last longer than incandescent bulbs. This saves you time and money by not having to be changing light bulbs every time one stops working.

LED lights also use much less energy than incandescent bulbs. So not only will your house look great with all the colorful LED lights you put on, it will be using much less energy than the regular bulbs you use. Since they generate light without producing too much heat, they also help reduce the risk of burning yourself with the bulb.

Using LED lights leads to a more sustainable and economical choice to decorate your home this year that will not only have the planet thanking you but also your wallet.

Shop Local and Small

Buying your gifts at local shops helps reduce the amount of packaging that is used to package and ship online orders. Although ordering online can seem more convenient and fast, especially during these times. It can be harming the environment much more than we realize.

Many times, the package that you ordered online, will have to travel many miles to get to you. Which produces more CO2 emissions and harms our environment even more.

When you buy local and support small businesses, you are supporting those who live in the same community as you. Instead of investing in big businesses such as Amazon, you are investing in your community.

Many of these small businesses are what make our community so unique and fun, and without them, it wouldn’t be the same. So not only would you be reducing the amount of CO2 emissions and packaging waste, you would be supporting your neighbors, by shopping at their small, local businesses.

Get Creative with Wrapping Gifts

Many of us look forward to unwrapping gifts each year, but we don’t realize how much waste we are producing by doing this. Using conventional wrapping paper often leads to all of it being thrown away and is left unrecyclable. Especially if they have glitter on them or are made of foil. Each year, Americans throw away tons of wrapping paper and only create more harmful waste. But look no further to find ways that opening gifts can still be exciting yet sustainable.

As we move towards a more sustainable future, many online shops are beginning to sell eco-friendly paper that is not only recyclable but biodegradable. Many of them offer many different kinds of decorated wrapping paper that will continue to support your holiday spirit and will also create a cleaner community. You can also get creative and recycle old maps and newspapers to wrap your gifts. This makes your gifts look truly unique, but it will be giving another purpose to that newspaper you were going to throw away. You can also use one of the many tote bags you may have. Not only will there be a nice gift inside the bag, but they will be able to reuse the bag for their own use.

It’s changes like this, that can truly make a positive impact in the long run. As much fun as the holiday season can be, one should always be conscious of what the impact of their decisions and habits are. Even though this year, holidays will look a little different and we’re going to be physically apart from each other, we are still able to continue our traditions while making sustainable decisions.