As we are rolling out the 20 video tips we'd like to know what you think of them. In order to find out what kind of videos you find most useful, Mount Allison is soliciting feedback on the videos on our Facebook Page. If you have a moment please let us know what your favourite video is so far and any feedback you have on our poll. If you haven't seen all of the videos so far they're all available at YouTube.com/MountAllison. Thank you in advance for your valued feedback.
In this 6th out of 20 video tips for incoming Mount Allison University students, fourth-year environmental studies student Avery Wheeler returns to discuss the academic transition from high school to university.
As I wrote on my blog back in September of my first year, “The main difference between high school and university is that there is nobody there to hold your hand or spoon feed you. You can come to class or not, you can read the book, or not...the only person it will affect is you.”
In high school you probably had your parents and teachers reminding you to stay on top of things. In university classes, there’s no hand-holding. Professors at Mount Allison are very supportive and accessible, but you have to put in the work yourself. What you make of this great opportunity is entirely up to you.
As more and more people adopt social media use its easier to connect to students, staff, and faculty at Mount Allison.
That is evidenced particularly well when it comes to athletics related accounts at the school. While the main hub for information on Mounties Athletics and Recreation remains the department website and major mentions are shared on the main page, Facebook and Twitter, and the new Mount Allison Athletics Facebook page, there are a number of other unofficial accounts posting about Mount Allison athletics.
Note: This is not an endorsement of any of the accounts mentioned below by myself or Mount Allison University. It is simply for your reference.
The first account is @Nova_Canuck on Twitter. Run by the Argosy's sports section editor Robert Murray, you'll be sure to find a lot of sports news stories highlighted there throughout the year.
Those are the accounts that I'm currently aware of. If you tweet about Mounties athletics mention me @GeoffatMtA and I'll add it to the Mount Allison Sports Twitter List I manage.
In related news, the latest tips video for new students is now available on Mount Allison's YouTube channel. You can watch the video featuring Mount Allison biology student and award-winning cross-country and Varsity Swim team member David Summberby-Murray below.
Fifth in this 20-part
video series is third year biology student David Summerby-Murray talking about how incoming students can
get involved in athletics at Mount Allison University.
Mount Allison has 18 Varsity and Club sports teams, in
addition to a variety of intramural teams. Try out for a varsity team, play on
a co-ed intramural team with your friends in residence, or even start a league
of your own. There are a lot of different ways to get active with athletics at
Mount Allison at different skill and commitment levels. Joining a team is a
great way to have fun while balance academics and staying in shape.
So to take a very short detour from the video posts for a moment I'd like to share a very short video clip:
It's from, Waking Life, a philosophical film about, among other things, the concept of free will.
While working on the tips I've thought a lot about what it was like when I first came to Mount Allison. There was a second year student who was back on campus early and he came to the Karaoke BBQ (which unfortunately had technical amp-exploding issues that year but will not this year) and he said to me and a few newly found friends something along the lines of "Don't let this opportunity pass you by. There's like a month where you can randomly walk up to people and start new friendships and then people go back in their shells." It reminded me of the film, of the above section in particular and being jostled off of autopilot. Your first few weeks here are that moment extended.
It does end at some point. People find their niche and their main 'friend group', let's say, and then eventually turn on autopilot for most everyone else. This is your opportunity to take advantage of the small time you have where you're surrounded by people who are actively looking for new friends. Don't waste it sitting in your room.
You'll have plenty of time for that around exam time when you're studying for exams. See you all in three weeks.
Fourth in this 20-part
video series for the Class of 2015, Alex Dalton (fourth-year international relations)
and Avery Wheeler (fourth- year environmental studies) share what they wish
they knew before they came to Mount Allison.
The one thing I wish
I knew is that with a little bit of effort and being social the first few weeks,
there’s really no way you won’t meet a great group of people. Mount Allison is
known for its close-knit community and building lifelong bonds. The bottom line
is that while you may not become the closest of friends with everyone you meet
during Orientation Week, you'll find at least a few you will be friends with long after
your time at Mount Allison. I know I did.
This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of Mount Allison University. For official University policy visit their website.
