Fun Times as a MSCD Student

As the final weeks of the semester are fast approaching I wanted to share some of the fun times we have as MSCD students. It's not all work work work...... we have some play time too!


                                                                                                                                         -Jessica

                                                Cohort 4 love <3

Second Year as an MSCD Student..

It's been about 8 months since my last post, so I apologize for my lack of input!  Since April, a lot has changed in my academic and work life.  This past summer consisted of two classes and my first clinical (taken at Stockton's Speech & Hearing Clinic).  Over the summer, I was able to take my first elective.  I chose "School Programs in Speech-Language Pathology" and this was extremely helpful because of what I had in store for the fall.  This class, taught by Dr. Hernandez, provided the students with insight into everything an SLP needs to know while working in a school from creating a schedule with a full caseload to writing an IEP.  The second class, and the only required class for the summer, was Audiology.  Lastly, I completed my first clinical at Stockton's Clinic.  Including my undergraduate career, this was my second clinical completed at Stockton's Clinic where I was providing therapy.  It was a great experience and I was fortunate enough to be able to work with an adult and a child, which was great for my resume.

In September of 2014, I began working as a speech therapist at Middle Township Elementary #1 School while completing my fall semester.  I work full time, five days a week, and am extremely lucky to have an SLP within the district agree to supervise me.  This means that while being a Middle Twp employee, I am also completing clinical hours.  I am able to count my supervised treatment and diagnostic hours towards the required 400 hours needed for a Master's Degree.  I love my job and I have learned so much from the exposure, my colleagues, and my supervisor.  Being part of a Child Study Team is rewarding and I feel as though I am able to have a positive impact on the lives of the children I am treating.  I look forward to work and seeing the kids I have in therapy everyday!

The classes I am taking now are my favorite classes I have taken thus far in the program.  This fall I am taking Motor Speech Disorders, Dysphasia, and Research Methods in Communication Disorders. I absolutely love my classes this semester because the fields we are learning about in these classes is where I want to be when I graduate.  I would love to work in a hospital or rehabilitation setting.  If you have any desire to work in a medical based setting, this semester will be your favorite.

What I can say about this year so far is that it is completely different than last year.  Although I have a lot more on my plate, I can confidently say that I am much less stressed than I was last year.  I've learned to not stress too much about school work because I always get it done.  I have learned so much from my Clinic I&II and my job as a Speech-Language Specialist has taught me better organization skills and that being conscientious is very important.

I am looking forward to the hours of treatment and diagnosis at my clinical placement/job.  I learn something new every day.  I am particularly excited for the summer when I will be completing my Adult and final clinical practicum at a Rehabilitation Hospital.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and productive fall semester!

- Kaitlyn

Group Projects and Presentations

Group Projects and Presentations

 I am learning rather quickly that group projects and presentations are a big part of my curriculum for my courses. I like this (Now) lol! In the beginning I had my doubts because well let’s face it, no one really likes group projects. People don’t like them not because of the work or assignments themselves, but the fact that usually one person ends up doing ALL of the work. That gets old really fast, and from my personal experiences I was usually that person in my groups! This is where Grad School differs from your undergrad. In undergrad you have the overachievers, the type- A personalities, the procrastinators, the I don’t care that much group, the oh a B- that’s great group, and etc., I think you’re getting the idea. However, in Graduate School we are all the overachievers and type- A personalities who want that A+ and to do our very best work. This is a wonderful thing because everyone shares ideas, puts in the time and effort, and at the end of it you make some great friends who you may want to work with again and hopefully get that A+. In Grad School everyone wants to do well and you will all be from the top of your classes, striving to be the very best you can.

Why I now like group projects/presentations

I like group presentations now because they help me learn things through other people’s eyes. For example, in my advanced clinical methods class we have to do chapter presentations and therapy presentations. I will now always and forever remember Joint Attention as one of my classmates using a baby doll to demonstrate it. That image instantly pops into my head when I hear the words. Also, our brains are only so big and so creative, it is nice to see other people’s perspectives, therapy ideas, and activities. Group presentations and projects allow you to make friends, work with others, increase your public speaking, and allow you to really engage in what you are learning/presenting.

Helpful suggestions for how to master group presentations

·         Start early

·         Divide the work evenly

·         Set up meeting times ahead of time

·         Come to meeting prepared by reading the necessary material, taking notes, and knowing about the topic (this helps cut down on time).

·         Stay organized

·         Dress business casual

·         Be mindful of your “ums”, speed, and eye contact

·         Practice your presentations before you present (this helps you work out any kinks your presentation has, determine an order that flows, and helps you become more comfortable).

Hope this helps you look at group presentations with a different outlook and feel more confident when completing one!

                                                                        -Jess

Surviving Midtems

Its official, I survived midterms for my first semester of Graduate School! It was beyond stressful, tiring, and a little terrifying, but I am happy to say I passed them all and received a 100 on my group presentation =)

Some tips I found helpful:

·         Note cards are my best friend! I completed the study guide/review first and then made note cards.

·         Cram is a great website to use for flashcards.

·         FIND A STUDY GROUP!!! There is nothing better than studying with a friend/friends to help you remember and understand things better. Find people who you gel with and have a study group once or twice before the exam, it helped me so much. If it was not for my friend I would not have been able to do so well on my midterms.

·         Don’t panic!! No matter what you have to take the test, there is no point in stressing or panicking because it’s only going to make it worse.

·         Get some sleep! You can only study so much and at the end of the day you need to be well rested.

·         Reward yourself while study with some wine, ice cream, candy, (my go to is chocolate milk or blow pops), or even take a 30 minute break to watch a TV show. It can’t be all work and no treats!

·         After midterms are over, go out and celebrate because you deserve it =)

-Jessica  

 

Eating Healthy and Working Out

It’s the beginning of the semester and you are feeling great from the summer where you were able to eat right and workout. For the first week or two you stay on track and then all of a sudden “KABOOM”, homework, group projects, quiz’s/tests, and the reality of grad school all start hitting you. You start to just eat whatever you can that’s quick and easy or even turn to the comfort foods like pizza, pasta, ice cream, chocolate, chips, etc – whatever your go to comfort food is. Working out becomes a term from your past because you have to decide if you can really take that one-two hours away from studying and homework. Plus you are trying to manage your time/social life so you can still see your family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, and still have a little you time. At this point you begin to stress even more because now you are worried about homework, group projects, quiz’s/tests, having a social life, having some you time, and you may event notice your beginning to gain some weight or you simply just feel tired and blah. 

 

This is when eating healthy and working out will help you more then you know. Just by taking 1-2 hours a week you can have healthy meals for the whole week. I personally take Sunday nights to do all of my meal prepping for the week and trust me I keep it really simple with things like:

For Dinner

·       Chicken, rice, and veggies

·       Turkey burgers, mixed in with rice and veggies

·       Sweet potatoes and turkey or chicken

·       “Healthy” eggplant parm

·       Zucchini pizza’s

·       Stuffed chicken  with asparagus and mozzarella cheese

·       Veggie burgers

For Lunch

·       Greek Yogurt and a Granola Bar

·       Fresh Salads- use veggies, fruits, meat, hard boiled eggs, & cheese to liven it up!

·       Soups- I LOVE LOVE LOVE Stockton’s Chicken noodle soup, chicken & rice soup, and when I want to indulge I will get broccoli cheddar.

·       Rice and veggies

·       Green Bean salad with tomatoes and mozzarella

·       Sushi – Stockton makes fresh Sushi that is delicious.

For Snacks

·       Fresh fruits – apples, bananas, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, grapes. Whatever is in season so it’s cheaper and whatever you love. I even take fresh fruit, lite Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and some whip cream and make a dessert once in a while.

·       Veggies- Cucumbers, celery, carrots.    

         Edamame                                                                      

·       Peanut butter- it’s great by itself or on fruit or veggies. You can even add some nuts or dark chocolate chips to sweeten it up.

·       Granola bars

·       Protein shakes – find one you like to drink

·       Trail mix- if you make a big batch of your own it has less salt and you can add your favorites

·       Hard boiled eggs- you can make a big enough batch to last you a week.

·       When I need a little pick me up I go for chocolate milk 

Tips:

-         PINTEREST has great quick, healthy, and cost efficient meals.

-         Buy Tupperware- in all different sizes.

-         Buying fresh vegetables will easier for you and give you more food.

Simple Rules to keep you on track

1.    Take an hour or two out of one day and meal prep for yourself. You will feel better when you are eating healthy, have more energy, your skin will be clearer, and overall you will sleep and learn better.

2.    Taking time to meal prep, it saves you time during the week & money. You will no longer have to worry about what you’re having for dinner or how much time you will spend cooking.

3.    You will be in a better mood because you will feel good and this positive attitude will help motivate you and keep you reaching your goals.

4.    Use good judgment and eat the “comfort foods” in moderation and allow yourself to indulge once in a while.

Working out

Working out and eating right go hand in hand however, this is something we always seem to say we don’t have time for. Well we are wrong! Even working out just 10-30 minutes a few times a week can give you an energy boost, help you burn calories, help you sleep better, and HELP YOU DE-STRESS!!! 

Tips on sticking to a routine

1.    Make it realistic.

2.    Pick at least two days a week where you could squeeze a work out in, even if it’s just a run, lifting weights, or just abs.

3.    Try to find a fitness class you enjoy – Stockton offers free fitness classes (yoga, aerobics, boxercise, and Zumba weekly).

4.    Workout with a buddy! I worked out with my boyfriend all summer, this made me push myself to actually go to the gym, try harder, and as a result I saw a huge change, had more energy, and felt wonderful.

5.    STICK WITH IT- It takes four weeks for you to really see a change, two weeks of sold clean eating to develop a routine, and one simple workout to give you a total boost!

Good Luck <3

-Jessica