Totem Park South RLM (Haida, Salish, həm’ləsəm’, and q’ələχən houses)

Welcome to October, Totem! This new month brings beautiful fall weather, Thanksgiving, TFL and, of course, midterms. Often, that first university midterm is an intimidating thing. With all the fun of starting your university experience, it can be easy to overlook homework and studying during the first month. Now that midterms have arrived and your term paper is looming, you may be one of the many Totem residents feeling the pressure of academic expectations. The good news: you’re not alone, and there are places to go for academic support right here in Totem Park.

If you are interested in some personalized one-on-one academic help, AMS tutors are available in the Commonsblock study room every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8pm. These experienced peers offer free academic support, advice, and guidance for any Totem Park resident.

The iStudy program is another great resource. By signing up for iStudy online, you will be able to connect with other students in Totem Park who are also currently enrolled in your courses. It’s a great option for forming study groups, sharing notes, and catching up on missed lectures. You can sign-up for iStudy by logging into the Student Housing Online Service Center at: https://secure.housing.ubc.ca/

Finally, talk with your RA for helpful study tips, advice on the best study spaces on campus, and information on upcoming workshops and events hosted by Totem’s A-Team.

For help finding other academic resources on campus, check out the Learning Commons online: http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/

Happy Studying!

Totem Park North RLM (Dene, Nootka, Kwakiutl, and Shuswap houses)

The beginning of the academic year is a great time for reflection, and looking back, I remember like it was yesterday. Monday, September 3rd, 2007 was my move-in day into residence. The university I was attending was only 45 minutes away from home, but I remember my father wanted to leave early to ensure we missed all the traffic and would arrive on time.  I told him I didn’t want to be the first one there, but at the same time, I was so excited to get there that in the end, my early arrival was not disappointing.  So how did I spend my last night at home before moving away to university? I sat in my room constructing what I believed to be the perfect iTunes playlist that would show off my personality to my new floor as I was moving in.  I called it “Move-In Mix,” and it’s still on my iTunes today.  I remember at that time in my life I was listening to a lot of hardcore music but wasn’t sure if that would scare people away, so I chose some of the calmer stuff like Blink-182, The Fray, Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Kanye West.

          I slept quite well that night and made it to campus around 8:30 a.m.  I went into the gymnasium, picked up my keys, and proceeded to move into King Street Residence.  I was one of the first to move into my floor, and as soon as I arrived at my room I was hit with sudden disappointment: I was living right next door to the Residence Advisor.  In my new-to-university mindset I thought that my whole experience would be tarnished by living so close to the residence rule enforcer.  This turned out to be the complete opposite, and over the course of the year, Ross, my RA, and I became quite close and are still friends today.  A couple years ago we even sat together at the wedding of a mutual friend, who happened to be another RA in King Street Residence that year.

          The thing I remember most from my first month living in residence was not a particular party or event but rather a conversation with some floor mates in our lounge.  We were recognizing the fact that we have only been living on this floor, in this residence, at this university, in this new city, for a few weeks and already felt such a connection that none of us were expecting.  Reflecting on this conversation now six years later I have been able to recognize that living together in residence that month, we all shared a common experience.  We were all scared, nervous, excited and not really sure what to expect at university and from living in residence.  This was the one thing in common that a diverse group of students, coming from a variety of different backgrounds, shared.  Sharing our stories with each other allowed our comfort levels to rise and was our start up the roller coaster ramp on an incredible journey together for the next eight months.

I hope the first month of your roller coaster has started off well!

~Kyle Lethbridge