Not everyone knows what they want to pursue as a career. Though, some people do. Today at Early College, I interviewed some students to see if they knew what they wanted to be. 

Kali Crisco:

Kali Crisco told me she did in fact know what she wanted to be. She wants to be an Ultrasound Technician. Kali said she always wanted to do something in the medical field, and this job makes good money. 

Kadence Justus:

Kadence wants to be a Clinical Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She wants to work with children. She would also like to work as a mortician at some point. As she wants to work with medicine, she can’t be a mortician long term. She’s wanted this job since she was 12.

Lilliana Fuller:

Lilliana wants to be a surgeon. Surgeons make money and she is interested in science. She has wanted to work in this field since she was 11. 

Zoe Henderson:

Zoe wants to be a Medical Malpractice Lawyer. She wants to be this because she wants to help people get justice and liberty for crimes committed by doctors. She has wanted this job since she was 12. 

Delilah Miller:

Delilah wants to be a journalist. She really likes writing and it has always come easy to her. Miller has wanted this job since 12 or 13. 

Mason Spine: 

When I interviewed Mason, he was not quite sure what he wanted to be. He said he wanted to be something in the engineering field. He wants to be this because he is good at math and science, he likes designing and technical things, and he wants money.  He has wanted this job since he was 5 because he got into Legos that helped him find a passion for building and how things work. 

Emma Powell:

Emma said she wanted to be a veterinarian.  She has a passion for animals and she wants to make animals' lives better to help them. She has wanted this job since around 11 years old. 

Jess Diaz:

Jess wants to be an architect. She wants this career because she wants to design and she aspires to be this. She wants to be successful. She’s wanted this job for countless years.

Hanna Bowman: 

Hanna wants to be President of the United States. She wants to be president because she wants to fix the world. She has wanted this career since she was 13. 

Emma Harmati: 

Emma wants to be a real estate agent. She wants this job because she can make a good amount of money, her family does it so she knows it can be easy, and she is interested in it. She has wanted this job since she was around 12 or 13. 

ChristianLee Skipper:

Christian wants to live in his car and travel. He thinks it seems fun and he doesn’t want to be locked in one place. He has been thinking about this for about 6 months. 

Tamiyah Anderson:

Tamiyah wants to be an accountant at a bank. She wants this career because she wants money, it’s profitable. She has wanted this job since she was 12. 

Trista Sargent:

Even though I am the author of this interview, I wanted to include what I want as a future career. I want to be a kindergarten teacher, this is because most of the time I enjoy working with younger kids. A teacher does not make lots of money, but they make enough money to survive. I have wanted this job since around kindergarten. My kindergarten teacher definitely had an impact on my life, so I hope one day a student will feel the same about me.

As I did this interview, I noticed that a lot of people decided on what they wanted to be at around 12. I have to assume that this is because around that age a person is introduced to many careers and gets an idea about what they want to do with their adult life.

If you’re anything like me, you find yourself unmotivated during this season. The holidays are coming up, it’s cold outside, why would one be inspired to do school work? However, you know that it all has to get done somehow. Here are some ways that I find helpful in keeping myself motivated and on track.

Number One: Remind yourself of the end goal. The more you think about being a prestigious business person or whatever suits your fancy, the more appealing finishing logarithms will become. I do this by trying to picture how the work I’m doing will help me in the future, even if the reason is as small as that doing this work will allow me to graduate high school.

Number Two: Break large tasks into smaller projects. So you have a 5 page paper due in a week. Intimidating, right? What if instead of five pages, you only had one page due to yourself every weeknight? This way the same amount of work gets done, and you are able to keep your sanity without feeling like you’re drowning.

Number Three: Reward yourself! Sometimes tasks feel really difficult, and when you finish them you should be proud of yourself! Also, telling yourself you will get some sort of treat if you finish what you need to will surely make you want to finish quickly.

Number Four: Identify what your limits are. If you know you can’t sit down and do 3 pages of math homework in an hour, then don’t! You need to be cognitive of your own abilities, or else you will be much less motivated when facing daunting tasks. Instead, follow tip number five’s advice.

Number Five: Establish a routine you can personally maintain. If you know you often have homework, make explicit time in your schedule to complete it. This can look like 4 hours set aside for schoolwork, or an hour per subject until all work is complete.

I hope that these tips are helpful when trying to stay motivated. “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time” -Joe Girad, motivational speaker, author, and salesman.

Here at Brunswick County Early College High School, the words Rigor, Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, Relevance hold much more power here than they do at other places. These words that all begin with R’s are not just words that begin with R’s. At Early College, they are the most important words that every student ingrains into themselves, they are the 5R’s!

But did the students practice the 5R’s before they came to Early College and is that one of the reasons that they chose Early College - because they have already practiced them? To gain insight on the curiosity-striking question, it was only best that we turned to the student body. 

In an attempt to collect the most accurate data, I conducted a survey with at least five members from each grade level. For the purpose of this study, I combined both seniors and graduates into one grade level. 

I asked every student that I surveyed three questions: 

1. Can you tell me what the 5 R’s are?

2. Do you believe that you practiced the 5 R’s prior to coming to this school?

3. Do you believe that your practice of the 5 R’s has improved since coming to this school?

In conducting this study, the results that I found were, in my opinion, very interesting compared to what I thought that they would be. I found that, out of both freshman and juniors, 60% of those asked could name all 5 R’s. I also found that 40% of the sophomores and 20% of the freshmen could name all 5 R’s. Interestingly, those who could not name all five R’s still knew what of the 5 R’s and the importance of knowing and practicing them. 

Of the 20 total students that were surveyed, I found that 75% felt that they practiced all

5 R’s prior to attending the Early College, 15% felt that they practiced some of the 5 R’s, and 10% felt as though they did not practice the 5 R’s at all. 

Moreover, 95% of the surveyed students felt as though their practice of the 5 R’s has improved or increased significantly since coming to Early College.

But why is all of this important? Why is it so that every student should be able to not only recite, but practice all 5 R’s? The answer, simple yet complex, is that the 5 R’s ready all those who practice into becoming a full member of society. 

Rigor, Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, and Relevance make up so many facets of real-life both personal and professional. We, as students and as a society have to know how to practice these ever-important skills if we want to be as successful as we can be. 

By beginning to practice these skills in high school, we are able to prepare ourselves for life before we actually begin living it, as adults. We are able to form habits, good habits, now and begin practicing now, before we are faced with the reality that we must learn them, before we actually need to learn them. 

The motto of our school, “Success is Our Tradition,” is built upon the basis of the 5 R’s. Therefore, it is our duty as students to practice and uphold the 5 R’s during our time at Early College, as well as, throughout our entire life.

As we all know, exam season is approaching and many students stress over which way would be most beneficial for studying. There are various tactics for retaining information; the majority being scientifically proven to improve grades. Although students typically have an idea of these methods, they rarely have a staple way of learning. This article will help with these struggles. Five of BCECHS’ teachers were surveyed and asked which method for studying they’ve found most effective across their time of being a teacher, as well as a student. In the following segments, each tip they provided will be discussed and dissected. To dig even deeper, scientific evidence and the history behind it will prove the following practices: Pomodoro method, flashcards, annotating, Cornell notes, and priority mapping.

1. Mrs. King & Ms. Leonard: Pomodoro Technique- When surveyed, both Ms. King & Ms. Leonard suggested the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is a study method developed in the late 1980s by a university student, Francesco Cirillo. One day, when he experienced the inevitable stress of exam season, he used a tomato clock to time 10 minutes of studying. After the time was up, he set a shorter timer for a break. This allowed him to space out the increments while still demonstrating productivity. The standard Pomodoro Technique involves the process of working continuously for 30 minutes, then taking a 5 minute break before resuming your studies. This process repeats 3 more times. After the 4 round set, a 15 minute break is conducted. Once this break is over, you start working again for 30 minutes. This particular method has been shown to improve cognitive performance, enhance focus, and eliminate distractions. 

2. Mr. Clark: Flashcards- As we all know, flashcards are typically when the word or topic being studied is written on one side of the index card, with the definition or brief explanation on the backside. Not only are flashcards heavily recommended, they are also scientifically proven to be beneficial. When your brain writes down areas needed to cover and begins to memorize the information, new neural pathways are being developed due to your cognitive stimulation actively increasing. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) cites a 2017 study which demonstrated that psychology students forced to create and study flashcards scored significantly higher than the group that did not utilize this method. When using flashcards, it’s important to note the picture's superiority effect. This effect essentially states that when images are drawn in relation to the subject at hand, it improves your ability to retain the information. Thus, you should always write a definition and draw a picture on your flashcards for optimal results.

3. Ms. Lewis & Mrs. Brown: Annotating- You may be wondering why and how annotating is beneficial. Through annotating, key takeaways from texts are highlighted, notes or questions can be written in the margins, and a more complex level of reading takes place. When forced to interpret sections of media, your brain is enhancing its critical thinking skills and analyzing the text at a higher level than would occur without this process. As previously mentioned in a prior paragraph of this article, the process of writing down information improves the ability to store knowledge. Although this is important, it is not the only benefit. Annotating has also been shown to improve motor skills, memory, and visual & language processing. These various tools being utilized forces multiple parts of your brain to work at once, strengthening each section of your brain.

4. Ms. Leonard: Cornell Notes- Cornell Note taking is a specific way of writing down and tracking information. This method divides the paper into 4 sections. The first section has the title of what you’re taking notes on at the top, using a horizontal line to divide it from the rest. The next section has a vertical line down the paper, leaving room at the bottom. This line creates a section for questions on the left, with key takeaways on the right. The last section is horizontal on the bottom that provides the pupil with an opportunity for writing a summary to recap what was learned. Cornell notes were created in the 1950s by a professor at Cornell University named Walter Paul. Cornell Notes have been shown to increase critical thinking skills & the ability to store vital information. A study from 2008, conducted by Wichita University, showed that once students began to use Cornell notes, their grades increased by 17%.

5. Ms. Leonard: Priority Mapping- Priority mapping is the process of listing tasks in order of importance. To expand, the tasks with either the nearest due date or highest value would be at the top, whereas low priority tasks would be at the bottom. Studies show that priority maps increase attention span and productivity rates. The National Library of Medicine depicts how priority mapping stimulates your brain to take action on the task at hand, as opposed to procrastinating the execution of it.

In conclusion, the previously mentioned study tips all provide beneficial effects to the human brain and should be exploited when necessary to enhance your education and enforce the process of learning & retaining information. Although I believe that Ms. Stepka’s study tip might be the most important. She suggests avoiding procrastination and cramming when possible. If you use these methods throughout your school year, the results on your exams should substantially improve!