Mental Health Awareness Everyday #BellLetsTalk

I had initially planned on posting this yesterday, January 30th, in honour of the annual #BellLetsTalk campaign which raises awareness globally and helps breakdown the stigma surrounding mental health. I am extremely passionate about this cause and believe that this day highlights the unity and support internationally, and brings light to the stories that are often shared amongst individuals but not acknowledged on a daily basis. It is very easy to fall into the notion that you are going through this alone, and that everyone else seems to have everything going perfectly. But this is not true. I decided to post this following the date because I believe mental health awareness is a conversation we should be having daily, not only as a social media wave. The power we showed yesterday while being amazing, is not the end. I hope everyone who stumbles upon this post acknowledges the negative emotions they feel towards themselves, and decides to turn them into positive pro-active statements.

One step at a time. Set goals. Big or Small. Diversity and Unity. Our minds are so powerful.

PSYCH 314 Course & Midterm Review

With midterm season coming around the corner, I thought I would share a little insight on what I believe is important to focus on for some courses I have previously taken!

PSYCH 314

I took this course as a once a week seminar, and found the material to be extremely applicable and interesting. Some of the facts you learn during this course about our healthcare system are intriguing and relatable. This courses offers a great overview of patient-health care interactions and the disparities that may be seen not only globally but with a heavy focus on Canada!

I ended up taking this course on a whim and it turned out to be one of the greatest decisions. This class taught me so much about the importance of patient-provider communication, disparities due to social class, ethnicities, educational barriers and more. I hope to go into the field of medicine and take the knowledge I have learned in this course to apply it in my future career.

The midterms for this course were heavily focused on the content from the textbook. Be sure to keep out for important facts such as comparisons between health risks for different ethnicities and social groups. I found that since the multiple choice was from the textbook and compromised majority of the time it is best to read the book as you go to class, such that information can overlap and become solidified. However, also be sure to read over the material again closer towards exam dates! Since all the midterms and the finals are equally weighed, expect the same type of format for each exam.

Good Luck!

UBC Things to Do January 2019

Its officially the middle of January and the semester is kicking into full swing. The assignments, deadlines and endless studying is beginning to pile up. It’s important during this time to take some time to de-stress and avoid burning out and causing stress on the body. Here are a few events happening around campus to help:

Yoga with Dogs: January 15
- De-stress is the best way possible…WITH DOGS. Enjoy a one hour yoga session at the UBC Nest with puppies courteous of the UBC Faculty of Science SciWeek.
UBC Winter Classic: January 18
- Come enjoy a event full of school pride and support your UBC Thunderbird’s as they kick off the season against the Calgary Dino’s. The pre-game party is full of fun events such as face-painting, food, booths, and a mechanical bull.
UBC Winter Classic Afterparty (19+): January 18
- After the game head down to Bar None for a fun night of dancing and singing along to your favourite hits!
Lion in the Streets: January – February 2
- Kick back, relax and enjoy the works of Canadian playwright Judith Thompson at the UBC Chan Centre. This show is put on by the UBC Department of Theatre and Film.
Pit Night (19+): Every Wednesday
- Enjoy a night of on campus fun at the local UBC Pit Pub. Various events are hosted by different clubs and societies at UBC for a fun night of themed fun. Including an event hosted by UBC Integrated Scienced titled “Glow up at the Pit” with a neon painting station, board games and twister.
UBC Aquatic Centre: Everyday
- Take a dip at the new UBC Aquatic Centre featuring a lazy river, large hot tub, full size swimming pools and saunas!

First Year Course Review: Term 2

PHYS 101: Energy and Waves

This course focuses on sound, waves, motion, and biological applications. This course builds upon knowledge that should have been taught in Grade 12 physics. This course has Mastering Physics, which consists of numerous practice questions, these are key to succeeding in this course, as many questions on the midterm and final are derivatives of these types of questions. This course has an associated weekly lab, in which you get to conduct hands on experiments in topics related to that being tested. The lab involves graphing and the calculation of statistical properties such as mean, standard deviation and uncertainty. The lab also has its own final that takes place during the lab session, in which you are randomly placed to do an experiment similar to one that was already tested before, so make sure to pay attention and ask lots of questions beforehand!

The exams in this course consisted of multiple choice and short answers. After completing the exam individually, students form groups of 3-4 in which they are able to answer multiple choice questions similar to those that were on the exam. The mark from this group portion is added into the exam mark in lieu of your individual mark if it benefits your overall grade.

Marking:

Midterms (1 and 2): 15% (2.5% of each came from group component)

iClicker: 5%

Tutorial: 5%

Mastering Physics: 5%

Labs: 20%

Final: 50%

CHEM 123: Thermodynamics, Kinetics and Organic Chemistry

This course had it’s own custom textbook, which contains many practice examples, and explanations. This course focuses on equilibria, Hess law, Entropy, Spontaneous/Non-spontaneous reactions and free energy. The kinetics components emphasizes the rate of reactions and looking at different factors that may effect reaction speed. The latter portion of this course begins an introduction into Organic Chemistry which will then lead into the course Chem 233. This focuses heavily on stereochemistry of different reactions (cis/trans isomers, enantiomers and diastereomers). It also looks at different types of reactions that may occur such as SN1 and SN2.

This course similarly to Chem 121, has a lab component that involves biweekly wet labs. This means that students are given a week to prepare for the lab during the dry week. In comparison to Chem 121, this lab requires writing formal lab reports that have greater detail and research in understanding underlying mechanisms involved in the experiments.

To succeed in this class, you should definitely hand draw notes, this helps ensure that you get directionality correct and can label all components of a reaction, as reactions build and get complicated very quickly! Take advantage of the practice midterms posted as they contain many examples that are similar in the level of difficulty to the actual exam.

BIOl 121:

This course focuses on evolution and genetics (mitosis, meoisis, cell cycle and alleles within the population). There was analysis of pedigrees, sex-linked alleles, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was introduced, and the principles surrounding Mendelian genetics. There was also focus on topics surrounding gene flow, genetic drift, bottleneck effects and the influence these events may have on genetic variation within a population.

This course had two midterms and a final, in which students were allowed a cheat sheet. However, this course was much less memorization based and instead required problem solving abilities and the ability to understand new situations. The exams can be difficult as they are very picky on the word choices, and therefore it is important to be extremely clear when describing a phenomenon.

Marking:

Midterm 1: 15%

Midterm 2: 20%

iClicker: 5%

Online quizzes: 5% (only have one try!)

Field trip: 5% (we went to the beach)

Final: 50%

First Year Courses- Term 1

BIOL 112: Biology of the Cell

This course is required for a major in Biology and looks at topics such as cell replication, protein transcription and translation, enzymes and membranes. This class is essentially an elaborative version of Biology 12, and goes into some greater detail. Overall, the class was not extremely difficult, but does require time commitment to ensure material is understood as it does build upon itself relatively fast. The material is more applied and not simply memorization. The examinations are multiple choice with some short answers.

The first midterm is written in-class (50 minutes) and are allowed to bring in a review sheet with hand-written notes. The second midterm was longer and was therefore written at night, but a review sheet was allowed again. The final is written during the formal examination period, and is in similar format to the midterms. Organization of your review sheets is key to having success in the course and finding information as needed!

The rest of the marks are made up through lecture activities. The iClicker is based on participation but can be helpful in determining your understanding of the material. The in-class activities usually consist of drawing a mechanism or picture alongside the class, or writing down some ideas pertaining to a particular question. There are pre-class quizzes based on the reading, which also consists of multiple choice questions.

Marking:

Midterm 1 (10%), Midterm 2 (30%), Final (40%)

iClickers (3%), In-class activities (4%), Pre-class quizzes (10%)

CHEM 121: Structure and Bonding in Chemistry

Lots of focus on the periodic table and the particular characteristics associated with the numerous elements. There is a look at orbitals, molecular bonding, VSEPR and quantum mechanisms. This course also has a corresponding lab which takes place bi-weekly. This means one week you are able to prepare for your lab, and the other week you come in and actually do the experiment. There is thus pre-lab prep work, and post-lab submissions of observations and findings. The lab itself is quite challenging as you are doing experiments alone, and are not given clear instructions (this is left for you to do during the pre-lab)! Every lab has a pre-lab quiz to ensure students know what is expected, there may also be a calculation pertaining to the experiment. And at the end of the lab, there is a lab exam to ensure that students learned basic chemistry lab skills.

There are two midterms each worth 10% and a final which is worth 50%. These exams can be very challenging and test knowledge beyond those questions seen in the student textbook (ChIRP), thus ensure you ask your professor for help as needed!

Marking:

Midterms (20%), Final (50%)

Lab (20%), Lab Quizzes/Prep (10%)

ENG 110: Approaches to Literature

This course consisted of reading numerous novels, poems and short stories, and understanding and analyzing their structures. This course has a tutorial in which participation is important. This allows your TA to understand that you have read the assigned chapters and have put thought into the analysis. The tutorials are also where the in-class essays are written. This course will provide you the skills to think more critically about literature and understand basic concepts and different genres. Each professor may have a different theme, my class focused on the interplay between social media and literature in a theme denoted as “Texts and Technology”.

Marking:

Participation (10%), In-class essay (20%), In-class essay (30%), Final Exam (40%)

The Beginning of a New Year

The new semester is starting up, meaning it’s a fresh start on a new set of courses. If you are just finishing your first year then you may be experiencing some discouragement after the dreaded release of marks on SSC. However, it is important to stay positive and take action on the tasks that you may not have taken advantage of last semester! Some suggestions:

GET HELP: If you feel you are not grasping the material reach out to the TA or Professor as early as possible. They are there to help, and they really do appreciate getting one-on-one interactions with their students! Also, these interactions may be beneficial down the road when looking for volunteer opportunities or references.
RELAX: maintaining a balance between studying and relaxation is extremely important. This can come in numerous different ways such as exercising, meditating or even getting active in the community such as volunteering… or don’t be afraid to take a nap! I personally found that I was able to succeed further by incorporating yoga into my daily routine.
SET DEADLINES: this small task allows you to stay on task. I have found that writing deadlines and test dates on my calendar, and checking them off as they are done allows me to visualize my accomplishments and stay on track.
FIND USED TEXTBOOKS: nothing feels better than saving some money on textbooks. There are numerous of students who were once in your shoes and can offer textbooks at a discounted price. Join clubs on Facebook such as “UBC Textbook Exchange”.
DON’T CRAM MATERIAL: space out the studying as best as you can in smaller chunks, this allows the material to be more manageable and will likely allow it to stick better. My motto is: study smart not more.
USE RESOURCES: UBC offers a tremendous number of free resources that often go unnoticed. Take advantage of tools such as the UBC Library, study spaces, Speakeasy, Peer tutors and UBC Careers Online. Also, take advantage of the time you have as a UBC Student to get involved with volunteer opportunities in labs!
TAKE NOTES: I find the easiest way to understand the material is to resort back to good ol’ note-taking by hand. This allows you to understand the material as it is being spoken!
SOCIALIZE: make friends in your new classes, this acts not only as a source of relaxation. It also allows you to work through problems with others who are going through a similar thought process. Use each other as study partners and help keep yourself on track!