Powerful Resources: Utilizing Office Hours

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Ryan Herrscher

I believe office hours are the most underutilized resource on campus. Office hours not only help a student’s understanding of course material, they provide students with the opportunity to build relationships with their professors. I make an effort to visit each of my professors in office hours at least once during the semester. My most memorable office hour experience happened the fall semester of my first year. After my professor answered my questions about course content and clarified the material I was having trouble understanding, she stopped and said, “Enough about my class; how are you doing?” While it seems like a simple question, it spoke volumes to me. Here was a high profile professor with a multitude of tasks to accomplish and she was interested is how I was doing. SMU sets itself apart from other universities because of professor quality; our professors are not only interested in their subject but their students as well. My experience is not isolated. By and large, our professors are interested in helping students succeed, find internships, writing letters of recommendation, and career counseling. Professors are integral to a student’s university experience.

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‘Twas the Night Before Finals…

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Billy Hightower

‘Twas the night before Finals, when all through the quad,
Not a student was sleeping, not even the slobs;
The red bull was drank by the engineers with haste,
In hopes that winter break would come soon without waste;
The physics students were all snug in their labs,
While visions of newton all danced in their heads;
And Peruna in his stable and I in my dorm,
Had just settled in mac for a meal that is warm;
When out on Dallas Hall there were wonderful sights,
Of the glowing beauty from Celebration of Lights;
Away from Fondren Library I flew like a flash,
To Caruth Hall to ace this class;
With my calculator in hand and equations to show,
I finished my test first with a desire to know;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But A’s in all my classes for the academic year!
 

Happy Holidays to everyone from the Hilltop!  We will be back with more exciting stories and posts in the New Year!  Until then, enjoy the season and PONY UP!

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Engaged Learning: The 2012 Election

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Daniel Brock

The SMU classroom experience can be a lot more than just a lecture or a powerpoint. Here at SMU, I have had the opportunity to build some of the most unique learning experiences I would never imagined when coming out of high school. My favorite class I ever took was a Communications class that followed the 2012 Presidential Election from the beginning of the Conventions to Election day, but what made this class unique was that we were automatically connected with internships with CNN during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. We even had the chance to help our professors conduct dial testing for CNN at the Presidential debates.

What was truly amazing was that I actually helped my professors conduct dial testing for the Vice Presidential debate. CNN even paid for my flight to Virginia during the debate. Dial testing are those “squiggly lines” at the bottom of the screen that CNN streams live.  They represent the immediate reaction of the undecided voters during the major debates and speeches.

I am not even a Communications major, but having that opportunity to travel for one of my classes was an unforgettable experience. As an Accounting major, I had a chance to open my eyes and build connections with a completely different world unfamiliar to me. My CNN supervisor even offered me an internship for the summer. I quickly learned after the Conventions that the communications world was not for me, but this class was a great way for me to discover what my passions truly are while building connections around the country.

My internship with CNN taught me just as much as the classroom potion of the class, but it allowed me to have first hand experience and it gave me a better understanding of the complex processes of a poltical campaign from the eyes of a professional. This class was unlike my accounting classes which includes a fair amount of number crunching and text book problems; instead we were reading recent books by nationally recognized writers and having political debates in the classroom. Some days, we even just watched and analyzed the ads published by the campaigns.

I came into to the class just trying to find a way to travel to the Republican Convention, but I left the class finally realizing how complicated politics truly are while beginning to understand arguments from each poltical party. In one semester, I traveled to a Presidential debate, the Republican Convention, received an internship offer, and stayed update-to-date one of the most historical presidential elections in our history.

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Conquering Finals

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Laura Spitler

So, it’s that time of year again. The time of year college students everywhere dread – finals! If you’ve had the opportunity to visit campus in the last week, it has probably struck you as quiet. That is because most of the students have been busy studying.

This semester the SMU students were given two “reading days” during which classes were cancelled. I love reading days because they give me a chance to transition into final exam mode. I used these days to organize my notes, attend study groups with my friends, and catch up on sleep. 

One of the positive things about finals week is that SMU Dining brings free food to the library each night (think pancakes and quesadillas). Another nice thing that happens is that some of the residence halls decide to bring in the masseuses from the Dedman Recreation Center to give free massages for us.  Some professors allow you to be exempt from taking the final exam if you already have an A average in the class. This semester, for my first time ever, one of my professors gave us a take-home final. He gave us the prompt for our 10-12 page paper a week in advance, and we just had to turn in a hard-copy of the essay when our exam would’ve taken place. 

I think the key thing to remember about finals is that they are never so bad if you keep up with your classes over the semester – go to class, do the homework (even when its not mandatory), and read your textbooks!

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Senior Moment: Top 5 Favorites

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Anne Parker

As a senior, I have accumulated many amazing memories at SMU! I have loved every single second I have spent here. It is hard to pick what my favorite things are, but I have five that definitely top the list.

1. Boulevarding. This is what our version of tailgating is before our football games. It is SO much fun and the one time when everyone in the SMU community is all together for one purpose: to support our Mustangs!!

2. Homecoming week. I love everything about homecoming and especially the week spent building up to it. All of the different organizations come together to support their candidate. I made so many new friends and created so many memories during this time.

3. My major. Although I sometimes feel like I never leave the journalism department, or the J school as we like to call it, it has been the best experience of my life. I have friends I will keep in touch with for a lifetime and professors that have continued to push me to be the best I can be. I am leaving with as much knowledge about my career field as I feel I could have possibly learned as a student and I am prepared to face the real world.

4. Being involved. If I have one piece of advice to anyone that is a freshman it is to get as involved as SOON as possible. I have friends all over campus and I have had experiences I would not have been able to have if I had not jumped in full force to all that SMU has to offer!

5. Being an SMU ambassador. I get to talk about SMU all day everyday to prospective students! What better job could you ask for?

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SMU Abroad: Learning in London

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Claire Piepenburg

Studying abroad is one of the best experiences I’ve had as a student at SMU.  I spent the fall semester of my junior year attending King’s College, an academically notable university located right in the heart of London. I had a wonderful time, met some new friends and visited some amazing places. My faculty advisor and the staff in the SMU Study Abroad office helped me design my own program at a partner school, King’s, and worked with me to make sure all the credits would transfer for my History and Anthropology majors. I took phenomenal classes on ancient Greece, the life and times of Augustus Caesar, and early European history.  I lived in a flat with five other UK students who showed me where the best place to buy groceries was, how to figure out my bus routes and when to avoid the Tube. They came from different places across the country and shared with me their traditions, phrases, food, politics and culture. And in return, I did the same.

  In my spare time, I explored London and its wealth of museums and sights – from the world famous British Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Westminster Abbey, the National Gallery and more – you could spend years sightseeing in the city alone! I also had the opportunity to travel with other students studying abroad from various U.S. colleges, which was a fun way to meet American students. I made some great friends that I still keep in contact with now, a year later. We traveled to Paris, Dover, Kent, Bath, Oxford and several other UK sites and did everything from sightseeing tours to hiking, canoeing, beer tasting and yes, shopping!

Even though I missed a lot of things about SMU while I was away – the friendly community, the beautiful tree-lined campus and of course, Mustang football – I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to travel abroad. Whenever anyone asks me about my experience, the first thing I do is recommend that they travel abroad – whether for the summer, a semester or a whole year. It’s a wonderful learning experience. Even now, it’s hard to fully imagine all of the history, culture and beauty that exists in virtually every single corner in Europe. Be careful – if you spend time abroad, you will want to go back!

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Happy Thanksgiving from the Hilltop!

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Ryan Herrscher

With Christmas break looming on the Horizon, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to look back and take some time to be thankful for all that we have.  I, for one, am extremely thankful for the opportunity to be at SMU and to be a part of the vibrant community that gives our campus life. 

We won’t have any posts for a few days as we will all be celebrating the holidays, but we will be back next Monday with more exciting stories from the Hilltop.  Have a great Thanksgiving and we hope to see on campus soon!

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Life Around Dallas: Uptown

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Philip Kilgore

One of my favorite SMU traditions comes every Sunday; my friends and I go to this restaurant called Gui and enjoy their “all you can eat sushi” special. So every Sunday, we take the trip a few miles down the road to McKinney Avenue, otherwise known as Uptown. Uptown is an area centered on the historic McKinney avenue trolley line that visitors can use to enjoy quick transit throughout the area. The area is known for the many different types of original restaurants and shops, as well as some of the most popular apartments in Dallas. Uptown is only one of the many districts located within the Dallas area. From the Arts District to Highland Park, there is so much culture and excitement to keep anyone entertained. My personal favorite is the Knox-Henderson area. Best known for the Katy trail, a 5.5 mile running trail spanning from Highland Park to the American Airlines Center, this area combines the traditional neighborhood feel with a modern metropolitan area. This area has so many great restaurants, shops, and patio bars that make for an excellent spot to hang out on a great day. Luckily for SMU students, all of these districts are only a short drive or even a short walk away. Being in a city as great as Dallas can have so many benefits, taking advantage of the many districts within Dallas is only one of them!

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SMU Abroad: Europe as a Classroom

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Liz O’Neill

I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad for the fall semester of my junior year at SMU in Copenhagen, Denmark with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad.  Studying abroad was probably my most amazing experience at SMU thus far.  I learned so much about myself while living abroad, it was a completely new and different experience.  SMU has so many amazing options for studying abroad, and students can build their own program to fit their degree needs.  I chose to study in Copenhagen because DIS offers science classes, which are difficult to find in study abroad programs, especially for chemistry majors like me.  I traveled with my classes all over Denmark and Europe, and I really used Europe as my classroom.  I studied the various health care systems in Denmark, Austria, and Hungary, and I learned so much about European health care and hospital systems in both Western Europe and post-Communism central/eastern Europe while in Hungary.  Going abroad facilitated my wanting to attend medical school, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without having gone abroad, and SMU’s amazing study abroad advisors made that dream come true!

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Life Around Dallas: Bieber Fever

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Ryan Herrscher

By Lauren Lyngstad

This past Monday, a group of three friends and myself decided to buy tickets for the Justin Bieber concert about four hours before it started. Being that tickets had been sold out for a while, we decided to visit a ticket resale site in an attempt to get some good tickets for lower than face value. Once we located four tickets in a relatively good position we contacted the seller and transferred the money.

LEFT: One of my best friends, Olivia, and I after getting our tickets!

Just like that, we were off to the American Airlines center to see one of the biggest names in the business! Once we arrived, we dashed from the parking lot all the way to the box office. But, unfortunately, we quickly realized that the tickets we had bought were in fact fraudulent. Dismayed and discouraged, we sulked outside of the building while my best friend was on the phone with her bank trying to figure everything out. We decided that we might as well make the best of it and headed over to Bieber’s tour bus to take a picture.

After we snapped our photo, a man approached us and asked us to step away from the tour bus. We told him that we were on our way out, and he asked us why. Upon hearing our sad story, he asked us if four front row tickets would make up for it. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we were just like the girls in the movie. We screamed and jumped up and down and dashed all the way through the front doors, the ticket check, and then all the way to the front row. It was truly an out of body experience, and definitely one of the coolest things I have done while I have been a student at SMU.

This instance just demonstrates the fantastic opportunities that Dallas has to offer SMU students. We are so blessed with such an amazing and beautiful campus that is only ten minutes away from one of the most bustling downtowns in the nation. SMU not only offers students amazing opportunities on our campus directly, but Dallas has a great breadth and depth of opportunities for students to take advantage of. So while you may not necessarily have “Bieber Fever”, Dallas has the Mavericks, the Cowboys, the Stars, the Rangers, the most restaurants per capita, and phenomenal opportunities in concerts and performances. I am truly never bored in this city, and I couldn’t be more blessed to call Dallas my home.

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