Before University of Montevallo students can officially start their Christmas break, they must first complete this semester by taking their final exams. Final exams week will be filled with lots of studying, lots of coffee, and not enough sleep.
legacy.montevallo.edu
This week can be a very challenging time for students due to the bulk of information students must retain in a short amount of time. UM Psychology/ Social Work Major Ebonie Johnson tackles this by studying for her Monday and Tuesdays exams the weekend before, and studying for her Wednesday and Thursday exams on Monday.
Studying is the main highlight this week but it's important to incorporate breaks in between. "You know. Do what I do. Study for a little bit and then take a break or eat something, take a shower, hang out with your friends a little bit and come right back to it", says UM Accounting major Amber Horton.
Also getting enough sleep is important, though students often neglect this. Stress is also associated with final exams week.Carmichael Library has set up a "Blow away your stress bubble station" to help relieve students stress just a little.
College semester getting you down? You're not alone. Stress is part and parcel for the average college student and many have problems working through this. But just because you're stressed does not mean that you have to stay that way. Students that feel like the pressure is a bit too much to handle turn to the counselors on campus.
Enter: UM Counselor Marcia Hamby. Hamby speaks with students with a wide range of different symptoms manifesting from stress, from anxiety to depression. She offers different ways to relieve this stress in the forms of various activities that can be used to relax. Hamby states that there are many activities that can help relieve stress depending on ones interests.
If you are more artistic, try writing, painting, or building figures to calm your nerves. More on the athletic side of things? A good workout will make you feel all the better. In fact, Hamby recommends that anyone under stress get a good days exercise in to help shed that stress. Tying it all together with good, regular, healthy meals, and you should be back on the right track fast.
Finally, a good support system goes a long way. Hamby states that this can be a good group of friends, either here on campus or back home,
The University of Montevallo recently held their annual Midnight Breakfast. The event is put on by the campus' Student Government Association (SGA). They put on this event to allow students to take a break from all of their studying and have a little fun before finals start.
Students Waiting to take pictures
The event took place Sunday December 7th at 10 p.m. and lasted until midnight. It is kind of ironic that they call it midnight breakfast even though it does not begin at midnight. The event had tons of things for students to do besides just getting the chance to eat breakfast. Some of the things that students were able take pictures and get a snowglobe with those pictures inside, there was a photo booth that they could take pictures in, they also could sit at the oxygen bar and just relax.
Taking Snow Globe Pictures
Student Marcus Moore said "my favorite activity is the oxygen bar, it helps me relax." When students were through with all of those activities they could just hang out with their friends or just dance and forget about all of the stress they have been feeling do to finals coming up. Student Maddy Parkin said that this really helped here cut loose and have fun before having to take all of her finals.
It’s almost that time again for people to start preparing to
file their taxes. Sherry Carter, owner of Carter Tax and Financial Services in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
is getting prepared differently this time. Carter recently had a baby girl this
past September. Tax season couldn't have come at a more worse time.
Sherry Carter; owner of Carter Tax and Financial Services
Carter won’t be able to spend as much time with her new baby
as she would like. During the tax season, she puts in at least “14 hours a day.”
That’s for six days out of the week. However; Carter has come up with a
solution to balance work and the baby.
She has planned to work both at the office and at home. Her
husband will be staying home to take care of their baby girl also. But she
doesn't have to worry about being smothered by her parents
The new baby has two older brothers, KyAndre Burns, 15 and
Rodrick Carter, 9, who help their parents out as much as their schedule
permits. Both boys are active in several sports such as Karate, basketball, and
track.
Carter has her entire family to help her nurture and care
for her newborn. This tax season is well prepared for.
For more information on Carter Tax and Financial Services please contact Sherry Carter at (205)-366-0448
The University of Montevallo hosted the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship on November 22. For the women's race there were 223 runners from 30 teams. Montevallo's women's team, who was ranked number 1 going into the race, made program history by winning the regional championship. Marking the second time that the women have made it to the National Championship race.
Freshman Katie Nelson placed 6th overall and was still in shock over her team's success. "It's just unreal. It's crazy, we've had such a great season, and I feel we just keep getting better."
Cheyenne Thompson crying with joy over win
Sophomore Cheyenne Thompson placed 7th cried tears of joy when learning of her teams big win,"…I've never had a girls team that's done something like this before…and it kind of overwhelmed me when coach told us." Thompson says she is thankful for her team.
Saying Head Coach Barksdale was proud of his team would be an understatement. "It finally happened…our goal and what we had been talking about was winning a regional championship…and we haven't done that yet. This is the first in school history." He also said his plan for preparing for nationals was to keep doing what they had been doing. "I'm a big believer in things happen for a reason, but we also say if we keep doing what we are doing, great things will continue to happen."
Donny Barnes racing toward the finish line
The Men's Cross Country team also did great by recording a program best of placing 9th overall. Sophomore Donny Barnes placed 6th over all said this win was big. "It was hard because we knew we weren't even ranked tenth coming into the race."
Coach Barksdale gave the men a goal to place 9th overall, and they achieved that by one point.
The National Championship race was held on December 6th in Louisville, Kentucky and the women placed 25th overall.
The year has just about came to an end and when the month of December roles around so does finals.
Finals week is approaching and student athletes in season are beginning to dread the week. The struggle of trying to study and still go 100% in practice takes a toll on the athletes and they still do there best to continue to succeed in both.
Many of the athletes say that the stress of having to juggle between both is the worst.
University of Montevallo's Women's Head Coach Cindy Hilbrich says "I think it's very stressful for the girls during this time; today we practiced from 1:30 to 3:30 and I don't think that the energy was there that we had last week at practice, last week we had a really good week of practice and the energy just wasn't there, some of them had finals at 4:00 and a lot of them have finals all day tomorrow so it's definitely tough because their focus is not on basketball it's on their grades."
Student athletes take on more weight of school during finals week than what a normal student does and most still are able to achieve the same grades and grade point averages as a regular student. An applause is needed for these tremendous students that choose to take on more than just school.
With graduation only days away Seniors are awaiting their grades and anticipating walking across stage.
Chloe Allen, a Senior in the Mass Communication program, is one of those graduating. Allen is known well in the Mass Communication building, and despite not being around for classes next year she promises to come back and visit.
Allen interviewing a coach.
Allen started her college career at The University of Alabama and was shocked when she walked on Montevallo’s campus. Going from 40,000 students to 2,000 was a big difference.
Allen said she was afraid moving to such a small school, but she quickly found a home here. She was able to work with the teachers one on one and that made a world of difference.
“They give you the experience. We are out there, filming the games, u-streaming, we’re anchoring, we’re writing our own stuff,” Allen said.
Allen began at Montevallo trying to learn all she could, but she quickly moved from behind the scenes to in front of the camera. Allen said being on air came with it’s drawbacks, however, having to learn how to handle all types of criticism.
Allen covering the Peach Belt Conference.
“Having tough skin in the real world. You are going to be scrutinized. If you’re going to put your face in front of the public eye You are basically handing yourself out there to be looked at under a microscope. And for me with sports, that’s going to be the same thing. That’s a man’s world,” Allen said.
Allen is ready for the challenge of being a woman working in sports journalism, saying it drives her to work harder.
Allen is incredibly thankful for her Montevallo family and all the people who have helped her along the way.
“They really kinda unearthed who Chloe is and I really feel like I owe the world to the Montevallo and Mass Comm family.” You can find Allen's reel here.
On December 7, 2014, The University of Montevallo hosted its Annual Midnight Breakfast Event. Midnight Breakfast gives students a chance to relax and blow some steam off before finals week begins. Student Brittney Gressman enjoy the event and all of the activities that come along with it.
Students dancing during Midnight Breakfast
"There are a lot of activities to choose from," she said. "You can listen to music, you can take pictures in the photo booth, and you can get breakfast." The event began at 10:00 p.m. and lasted until midnight. Students spent the two hours laughing amongst friends and enjoying the vibes. Jacob Guyton said that he needed this night off, especially when it comes to finals week. "All
the thoughts about finals, your studies and everything kind of go out of the
window," said Jacob. "You
don’t even think about it anymore.You’re just living in the moment, having fun
with your friends. Just getting a chance to hang with everybody on campus,
listen to good music. You know take pictures and enjoy the festivities.
President Stewart shares a laugh
Midnight breakfast offered other activities as well. Students were able to take pictures and get them placed in a pen or a snow globe. This was a great way for friends to have memorabilia from the fantastic event. There was also a photo booth where you could take pictures. The best thing is that the activities were absolutely free. To keep up with the Montevallo events, visit The Montevallo Events Page.
It's December. A time where people are partaking in Christmas cheer. Whether it be shopping or caroling, it is the most exciting time of the year. At least for most people. This time though is a stressful time for students at the University of Montevallo. The reason being is because finals is near.
Aaron-Joshua Crocker studying
Finals time is the most stressful time of most college students semesters. Countless hours are spent studying, but that is only part of it. Student Aaron-Joshua Crocker knows that studying is only half the battle during this time. "You have final projects, and sometimes you have end of semester papers and tests in certain classes so I think it is a very stressful time for everybody regardless of how many exams you have." Students not only have to make time for test studying but also for making sure that those projects and other tasks get done.
Group studying is another great study habit to have.
So do all students go through the same thing during finals week? Senior Alyse Hartdegen seems to have a different take on the matter. "For me it's pretty easy. I don't have a hard work load this semester so for everyone else it's pretty stressful.
So what can be done to help with these stressful times. First of all some good study tips is to first recopy your notes in different types of ink. Secondly copy someone elses notes to make sure that you have everything down, and finally use notecards. Other study tips can be found online if you want to find something that suits you better. Maybe the best study habit to practices is sleep. "Get some sleep," Hartdegen advises. "That's my biggest issue I like to stay up all night and study the night before and it always hurts me.
Most students would
come to the library to prepare for finals, but one group of students made it
their goal to attract students in a different way.
The University of
Montevallo’s Art 327 class transformed Carmichael Library’s lobby into an art
gallery for both the education as well as the enrichment of the Montevallo
community.
The subject of the
exhibition was no stranger to Montevallo’s campus though; former professor and
student Virginia Barnes created all of the artwork on exhibit.
About Virginia Barnes - Seen in Carmichael Library
Student Elizabeth
Byrd helped to organize the event and explain the significance of Barnes’s
work.
“This exhibit is Virginia Barnes print making works that she and her family
have given to the university of Montevallo. We are really luck y to have been able
to pick out nine beautiful works of her collection and have them here at
Carmichael Library”
Barnes works mostly
focused on things like floral patterns, but also took life in other forms which
all helped to make her art well known.
“Barnes was not only an accomplished artist but also an
innovator, using multiple methods to bring make beautiful pieces of art like
these.”
But what separates
Barnes work from other artists?Art 327
Professor Catherine Walsh explained the impact of Barnes work both on
Montevallo’s campus and in the art world.
Tools used by Virginia Barnes
“Virginia Barnes was a professor at Montevallo for 20 years.
From the early 1940’s through the 60’s. She was a painter and a print maker but
was most known and celebrated through her innovative print making processes.
Barnes used
methods like screen-printing and a number of different techniques that
pioneered the way for several artists today.Students can find her work displayed in Carmichael Library until
February 1st of 2015.
Alabaster's annual Christmas parade took place on Dec 6th. The parade began as Thompson High
School marching band opened the show with some Christmas tunes. This is one of the largest parades in the state, as there were over 100 entrants.
The day started off with rain and many people were questioning whether the parade will still take place. After the city confirmed that the parade is on, roads began to close and people started to line up.
Noah Galloway
The parade started at McEarnest Ford dealership, went down HWY 31 south, turned by the police station and ended at the CVS. The theme of the parade was "The Gift of Christmas", which was decided on by the city's elementary schools.
All local schools and athletic teams participated in the parade. Local businesses also participated by parading their floats and throwing out candy. One local celebrity made an appearance as the Grand Marshal. Noah Galloway led the parade in the Jeep.
Each participant had a chance to stop in front of a panel of judges. There were five categories for winners, which you can learn about on City of Alabaster Parks and Rec website. To see more pictures from the parade visit AL.com.
On Monday night, December 1st, the University of
Montevallo’s Concert Choir presented the 4th Annual A Montevallo Choral Christmas at the
American Village Colonial Chapel. Special guests included the UM Festival Brass
Quintet. The program was directed by Dr. Melinda S. Doyle. Both innovative and
traditional arrangements of sacred and secular Christmas music were performed.
University of Montevallo Concert Choir
The choir for this program was made up of about 50 singers
and five brass players. “The Concert Choir is our top choir here at Montevallo.
It’s our travelling choir. We do many gigs throughout Montevallo not only
campus wide but off campus as well,” said Doyle.
During the performance, the audience was encouraged to sing
along with the choir. “Singing congregationally is a lot of fun and being able
to have the opportunity to sing with such a great choir and to also sing with
such phenomenal brass players is a real treat and that’s not something that
happens every day,” said Doyle.
Crowd Singing with Choir
Doyle also said,“It’s always nice to work with American
Village because they promote it, they support us, and as it turns out the owner
of American Village has a close connection with Montevallo since his son and
him and his assistant Mike Jones were all graduates of Montevallo So it’s a
connection to make that concert work.”
The Concert Choir has been invited to perform for the prestigious European Choral Series being held in the Czech Republic in the Summer of 2015. To help make this trip possible, tax-deductivle donations are made payable to: UM Foundation. Donations can be mailed to
University of Montevallo
ATTN: Dr. Melinda S. Doyle
Department of Music
Davis Music Hall, Station 6670
Montevallo, AL 35115
Please indicate "2015 EURO CHORAL" on the subject line of your check.
