marissa greene

What I Learned from Online Tutoring

Written by Marissa Greene

The need to make assignment deadlines, ace quizzes and exams, and overall perform well in each enrolled course can sometimes be overwhelming for students. Especially when you are taking a class that you may find challenging to do well in. Thankfully, there are some knowledgeable individuals dedicated to helping you improve as a student. They are called tutors and you should definitely meet with one. Here are five things that I learned from online tutoring at Austin Community College.

Tutoring is for Everyone
Online tutoring is a great tool for any student aiming for success this semester. Whether it’s understanding the calculus homework, perfecting that one essay, or even needing some guidance in your courses if English isn’t your first language, ACC online tutoring has you covered! Many times, students assume that tutoring is the last resort to take when your grades start going south. However, at the beginning of each semester, many professors from all areas of study encourage students to familiarize themselves and utilize tutoring in order to maintain those high grades from the very start.

Finding Your Tutor is as Easy as 123
Don’t think online tutoring can help you? The dynamic and versatile team of six online tutors might ask you to reconsider. From a specific class subject to general test taking strategies, students have the opportunity to browse through the online tutor’s profile and find the tutor best suited for their academic needs. While reading through their bio’s you’ll learn how dedicated they are to helping Riverbats succeed and even pick up some special learning methods that they can apply to other classes in the future.

Planning for Tutoring Sessions
Want to make the most out of your tutoring sessions? Planning and preparing for each session is just as important as the tutoring itself. Before your meeting with an online tutor, create a few measurable goals of what you would like to accomplish by the end of the session along with some questions regarding the course material that can help you get there. Have your notes, textbook, and any other course materials within an arm’s reach. Create an organized and quiet space to conduct the session. For tips on this, read ACCENT’s tips on how to create a remote workspace.

Unlimited and Free ACC Tutoring
ACC online tutoring is completely free and every riverbat has an unlimited number of tutoring sessions that they can schedule. Another resource that ACC students can take advantage of is receiving live online assistance with a tutor from Brainfuse, one of Austin Community College’s partnerships to create a more enriching learning experience. Every student is allotted 300 minutes (five hours) of online Brainfuse tutoring.

Online Tutoring Adapts to Your Needs
Students who are in need of an interpreter, seeking to learn studying habits that can reduce academic stress, and wanting to feel more confident in a specific subject can all benefit from online tutoring. The tutors who are excited to help you better understand concepts so that you can do your best this semester.

To get started, complete an online tutoring request form located at https://www.austincc.edu/students/tutoring/online

How to Create a Remote Workspace

By Marissa Greene

Seven tips from an Academic Coach to get you through this semester

COVID-19 has changed the way we work, grocery shop, learn, and overall living. In a time of social distancing, students need to work on their education behind a screen rather than a classroom setting. For some, this may be a piece of cake, but for many others, this could feel frustrating, stressful, and even discouraging at times. ACCENT sat down with Austin Community College Academic Coach, Thomas Blain, to get some insight on how students can successfully adjust during this Pandemic.

Set Up a Consistent Location.
Look around your place and try to find the best work from home space. Whether that is working at a desk, a space in your room, or a counter in your home, this should be the place you can feel most productive in. If you live with family or roommates try to find a place that is the least distracting from others. If you have children at home, depending on their age, this may be something to coordinate with them or others in the home. Children could be working at the dining table while you are in the living room or vice versa.

Sitting While Working.
Who knew something as small as your position could play such a big role in your school performance? Although it may be tempting to lay on the couch or in your bed while doing school work, it may not be the most productive. ACC academic coach, Thomas Blain, recommends sitting upright while doing classwork.

“If I was to lie down while I was I work, I think I’d fall asleep,” Blain said

Sitting upright can help concentration while keeping you in the balance between feeling too cozy and too uncomfortable.

Confining Your Space.
Look at your workspace and what do you see? Are there papers filled with notes all over the place? Do you have pens, pencils, and your calculator scattered around you? If so, this tip is for you. Take a step back from where you are working and look at it. Is there a way you can confine or organize this space? The answer is yes! By keeping your place tidy you will be able to find your school work/supplies much easier and save you the time you would be looking for that one notes page you need and more time on using it. If you ever have seen the movie “Ratatouille” think of what Colette said to Remy in the kitchen “Keep your station clear!”

Visual Reminders.
As we get closer and closer to semester final exams, you may be feeling overwhelmed and/or unprepared. A helpful way to keep yourself ahead of the game is to create visual reminders of important dates or when specific classwork is due such as quizzes, tests, and exams. These visual reminders could be physical, digital, or a mixture of both.

“When I am at my desk I have a semester calendar in the back which just has some important dates,” Blain said.

By being prepared for summer registration, FAFSA applications, and final exams, you start to feel more in control of your academics. Reminders such as sticky notes, Google Calendar notifications, or even looking at your ACC Planner every day can help better plan for what’s to come and more importantly be prepared.

Blocking the Noise.
Whether your distractions are the noises from your family members, your roommates who are also working from home, or the elephants that just moved in the apartment above you, find a way to minimize distracting noise. One way Blain recommends is by listening to music or something that can cancel out whatever noise is distracting you.

“I like listening to KUT sometimes because that is not as distracting for me,” Blain said.

However, if you find yourself spending more time belting your heart out to “Material Girl” by Madonna or “The Anthem” by Good Charlotte rather than memorizing all the organelles in a cell earplugs may be better for you. Blain recommends purchasing some earplugs at your local grocery store if possible to help those who work better in a space free from all noises.

Removing the Distractions You Can Control.
It’s okay to admit that scrolling through your Instagram feed is more interesting than the 20 pages of book reading you have to do, but which one is more important? Removing distractions such as your phone from your workspace can help improve your productivity. This could be physically placing your phone across the room, turning it off, or even just flipping it face down. If the distractions are on your computer, Blain recommends removing tabs or browsers from your computer while working. This could look like opening two different windows on your device and dedicating one to work and the other to your personal interests.

Sticking to a Routine.
Whether it was the routine you had at the beginning of the semester or one that better fits your lifestyle now, finding a routine and sticking to it is a major factor in your academics.

“Once you get a routine it kind of helps you with the procrastination piece,” Blain said.

Routines can help create order and discipline in your learning environment. Your daily routine can look very different compared to your classmate but it is so important to find something that works for you. A method that Blain discusses is the 45/15 minute studying rule. With this method, you would ideally study for 45 minutes and give yourself a 15-minute break in-between.

“If you do hour upon hour of work you are going to get burnt out,” Blain said.

Taking breaks can be equally important as the time you are dedicating to work. This allows you to feel refreshed and recharge. During your breaks find ways to disconnect from your studies. This could be scrolling through TikTok, going for a walk, or even taking a moment to make something to eat.

“Be realistic about what your habits are and give yourself that time to relax,” Blain said.

Don’t feel that you have a working space?

It is important to understand that this can be a stressful time for a multitude of reasons. If you are feeling discouraged about creating an effective workspace form home Blain suggests the idea of having a conversation with whoever you are living with about the importance of your studies.

“Have a diplomatic conversation with whoever you are living with,” Blain said.

Although it may not look like you are still taking classes to whomever you are living with, a conversation may help address any distractions you face while trying to study and work towards a solution.

https://youtu.be/F1bgjmz375g

Culinary Cut: Smoothies

Written by Alexa Smith
Video by Marissa Greene

With summer coming up, it’s a great time to try out some delicious new smoothie recipes. Give greens a chance with our greens smoothie or take a break from the usual strawberry banana with our mixed berry smoothie. If you’re looking for something with protein try out the super easy PB smoothie. With ingredients you probably already have in your freezer, these smoothies are easy to throw together and make a yummy breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Five Remote Events for Taking a Break

Written by Marissa Greene

If you’re looking for a way to take your mind off the current events, Student Life has a variety of activities for ACC students. The catch, be signed into the Student Life Portal to see all events at austincc.edu/mysl.

Netflix Party Movie Nights

Every Friday night Student Life will host Netflix Party Movie Nights where students can watch movies such as Nacho Libre, Tall Girl, and Cloverfield with fellow Riverbats through Netflix Party. Netflix Party is a free chrome extension that allows people to bond over some of their film favorites remotely. If you enjoy Netflix Originals with high school nostalgia and embracing one’s differences you can’t miss Tall Girl on April 17. If you love Superheros or are a Marvel Fanatic mark your calendars for May 1 for Antman & The Wasp. Lastly, who wouldn’t want to wrap up the semester with a movie that will leave you on the very edge of your seat? If that’s you, be sure to catch Cloverfield on May 8. To attend these events, simply RSVP to the event on the ACC Student Life Portal.

Kahoot Trivia Wednesday
If you would rather enjoy putting your trivia skills to the ultimate test, make sure to partake in Student Life’s Kahoot Trivia Wednesdays. Every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Student Life will host a virtual Kahoot where students can compete with others on a variety of topics. For all of the sports fans, make sure to go big or go home on April 22 during Sports Trivia with Riverside. If you can paint with all the colors of the wind or own 101 Dalmations be sure to check out Disney Classics trivia with Northridge on April 29. If you always dreamed of having superpowers like Spiderman or Black Panther don’t forget about the Marvel Cinematic Universe trivia with Eastview on May 6. If you are always keeping up with the Kardashians and the latest trends you can’t miss Pop Culture trivia with Cypress Creek on May 13. There is only one entry per student per trivia. Not to mention, if you fill out the survey at the end of the trivia your name will be in the running to win a gift card. To be known as the ultimate trivia master, RSVP to the event on the ACC Student Life Portal.

Life Skills 101

Want to get a head start on building your future? If so, you’ll not want to miss the Life Skills 101 presentations hosted by Student Life through WebEx. These presentations will include life lessons that aren’t learned in the classroom such as a retirement planning workshop on April 28. Both events will begin at 1 p.m. and will last for about an hour. Find the details on how to participate in the Student Life Portal.

Craft-ernoon
Create fun projects using common household items by joining Student Life on Instagram @accstudentlife. If you are unable to see a loved one, or are currently able to enjoy their presence make a visual essay about them April 17. See the Instagram stories and create your own collage on May 1. Details on the Instagram Stories and Student Life Portal.

Meditation Mondays

Feeling stressed? Learn how to build mindfulness and incorporate yoga into your weekly routine with Meditation Mondays hosted by Student Life. These 30-minute yoga workshops will take place through Google Hangouts at 11 a.m. on April 13, April 27, and May 11. Discover your inner yogi while also entering yourself in the drawing for a gift card by completing a survey after the event. One entry per ACC student. Don’t forget to RSVP to the event on the ACC Student Life Portal.

Breaking the Silence

Written, photograph and video by Marissa Greene

For the month of April people around the world are starting conversations about this month’s observance which is sexual assault and violence awareness. One way that society acknowledges this issue is through something called the Clothesline Project.

The Clothesline Project began with the Cape Cod’s Women’s Defense agenda in Hyannis, Massachusettes in 1990. According to the Clothesline Project, these women discovered that during the same time that 58 thousand soldiers were killed during the Vietnam war, 51 thousand women were killed in the U.S alone due to an act of sexual assault or sexual violence. To raise awareness of this issue, The Clothesline Project recognizes victims, survivors, or honors one who experiences this trauma by hanging a clothesline of shirts to represent those affected by sexual assault or sexual violence. Through these powerful visuals, The Clothesline Project hopes to make communities aware of the problem and how to get help.

Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are all serious health issues that affect all people. According to a National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence, Survey is done by the CDC in 2015 one in every five women has experienced completed or attempted rape during her lifetime. The same survey also states that one in 14 men have experienced forced penetration in his lifetime.

The Clothesline Project states on their website that “A public must be informed about violence in order to act to prevent it. Information on how to recognize and prevent violence, reach out to survivors and make a difference in the community is provided at each display of the project.”

One way our Riverbat community has gotten this conversation started is through the conjunction with the Its on Us campaign. A social movement that shed light on college sexual assault and encouraged college students to pledge to do their part to change society.

“So we had the Its on Us campaign, where students were able to pledge and show their support to other students and other survivors And then we brought the clothesline project with that, so students, again, have that voice to go out and have an outlet to talk about their stories or stories of their loved ones,” said Tamara Yanes, Student Life Coordinator.

Austin Community College and it’s Student Life didn’t stop there. Instead, they sought more ways students can have an expressive outlet and support one another.

“At ACC we really looked at an opportunity in 2017 to bring a college-wide presence of supporting victims and showing a memorial for victims as well as survivors as an opportunity to cast light on the topic and give them the opportunity to express their emotion,” said Austin Wood, ACC Compliance Investigator.

During that year, the ACC community planned to incorporate The Clothesline Project’s mission within the school.

“We launched it in spring 2017 and it was something that had great success and was at every campus,” said Wood.

After the launch, every April, students were able to participate or observe a clothesline full of shirts with expressive messages that students created hung up outside the campus or inside the commons. Giving all students a chance to see and become informed. These events shed light on the resources available to student survivors.

“This is a way for their voice to be heard and shatter the silence and just make it so that students feel comfortable to come out and talk to us and see that we are here to support them. We are here to help them out. We are here to lead them in the right direction when it comes to getting those resources that they need,” said Yanes.

Along with The Clothesline Project, ACC hosts an annual Take Back the Night event every April where the college comes together with community resources as another way to spread awareness and provide a way for students to be heard.

“This may be the first time that they even say something happened to them. And seeing that changes to: “this does happen. I can say something. I do have a voice.” and it’s just to see how empowering it is for those students to finally say something,” said Yanes.

“There is a big stigma on being a victim or survivor of this. It’s almost kind of like a barrier. So to create a conversation around it, that the barrier is kind of broken and we are able to get past that stigma- then there is a lot that people can do to support one another and have a greater sense of unity and community. And that’s really cool, that’s the foundation of the college,” said Wood.

One of the biggest ways students can make an impact to shatter the silence is to be an active bystander. This means to not just witness a situation but also take measures to deescalate it or standing up for someone else.

“If you see something, say something. A lot of times we just want to shy away from different things that are outside in the world, and we just don’t want to be involved in it. At the end of the day, we need to say something and we need to be that powerful voice because there are some people that don’t have that yet, and we need to advocate for them” said Yanes. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG_HcfL-UJU&feature=youtu.be”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]More resources on austincc.edu/mysl

Some resources listed on MySL:

ACC Counseling Offices — Learn more about services and programs across the district that aim to foster life balance, develop personal and academic growth, and help maintain a safe and healthy learning environment.
ACC District Police — Officers are available on campuses at all times when campuses are open. ACC offers police escorts if you ever feel you need someone to walk with you on campus.
Safe Place — Safe Place is ending sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.
National Women’s Shelters Directory — Listing of shelters in the Austin area.
Texas Advocacy Project — Provides free legal services statewide to victims of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Texas Council on Family Violence — The Texas Council on Family Violence has three main focuses: policy, support to service providers and retention.
City of Austin Victim Services Resources — A detailed list of 24-hour crisis hotlines, victim assistance programs, support groups/counseling services and alcohol drug abuse prevention programs.

Climbing the College Ladder

Two Austin Community College Alumni from different walks of life, share their stories in hopes to change the stigma of junior colleges.

Written, Photo & Video by Marissa Greene

Once one has come to the point of receiving their high school diploma or completing their GED, what’s next? Well, that may look different for some people. It could be taking a gap year, entering the workforce or attending a college.

“Not going to college was never an option,” says ACC Alumni Network Council President, Lynn Kindler. Like many, Kindler was encouraged to take, at least, one year at ACC by her father. So, she began her educational journey in 1980 at the Rio Grande campus.

Decades later, a first-generation student, Jose Sosa, began his college education at ACC in 2002. “It was a big challenge, to be honest,” he says. “I never thought I would be able to accomplish my associate’s degree.”

Sosa was able to further his education through ESL and math classes to better his GPA at ACC before transferring to a four-year university.

Many pursue community college to make the transfer to a four-year college. However, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, this past fall approximately 13.3 million first-year students enrolled in a four-year university, while 6.7 million students attended a two-year college. That’s nearly twice as many students paying more for the basic courses. What causes this gap – is there a stigma related to attending a community college?

“I had a lot of shame going on…it’s like everybody knew I was going to a community college instead of UT or St. Edwards,” says Kindler. “But I knew I was getting the education I needed because the classrooms were smaller and I was getting the attention I needed from the professors.”

As some may feel a lack of clout at a community college, others feel the stress of juggling daily tasks.

“I had to meet deadlines, go to work, study for my tests, and travel between campuses because I didn’t have transportation at the time,” Sosa says.

Prioritizing these tasks can be difficult for some. ACC works to create a variety of resources provided to its enrolled students, from financial readiness with Student Money Management to goal setting with academic coaches to networking with the Alumni Council.

“I was very disciplined to take my tests,” Sosa says as he took advantage of ACC resources in order to comb through all that he had to accomplish. Once he completed his associate’s, he wasn’t done just quite yet. Sosa took it to the next level by attending Texas State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2013.

“I truly believe in education, it is very important,” Sosa says. “It can open so many doors professionally in so many ways.”

After looking back at all of her accomplishments and her start at ACC, Kindler recommends trying a two-year college before anything else. “It has taken a progression of many years for me to get to the place where it’s not a shame thing to go to community college. In fact, as a career coach…if you don’t know exactly what you want to do and where to get it, why wouldn’t you go to a community college to get the first two years knocked out?”

Kindler completed so many of her classes at ACC that she only had to earn 30 credit hours after transferring to UT. She claims to have a passion for helping others, “when I’m working with somebody and they’re really struggling with something or looking at something in their life, I can help them unlock the knowledge and gifts that they already had in them and wow that’s awesome.”

As members of the ACC Alumni Network Council, Kindler and Sosa show thanks to ACC for being their first steps to where they are today.

“I would like to give back to all that ACC has given me,” Sosa says. “What I tell students is that when I came to ACC I was not very fluent in the language. So if I could do it anybody else could do it.”

Whether you are looking to go back to school or beginning your first semester of community college, think about Jose Sosa and think about Lynn Kindler and think to yourself if community college is really all that bad?

Jose Sosa is a Lead Safety Coordinator at Workers Defence Project and owner of Sosa Income Tax and Adela’s Cleaning Services. He also earned OSHA Safety Certification to educate construction workers and nonprofit organizations about safety in the workplace.

After college, Lynn Kindler had a variety of careers such as an Executive Assistant to the Publisher of Texas Monthly, a mentor coach, Producer and host for Blog Talk radio, a career coach, amongst many others.