The P.A.L. Program

How to stay stress free this spring semester!

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:41:05 -0800

Welcome back! Hope everyone had an amazing winter break! I know for me, getting back into the groove of school can be difficult. Juggling classes, extracurriculars, fun, internships and friends can be a struggle especially after 4 weeks off.

The stress of a new semester can sometimes be overwhelming. That being said, there are tons of campus resources to take advantage of! Here are just two to consider when planning out your time commitments at the beginning of the semester:

Externship deadline extended!

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:46:59 -0800

Hey everyone, the externship deadline has extended to Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 8am. Don�t miss out on your chance to shadow a UC Berkeley alumnus (or alumna) during your winter break.

Ever since my freshmen year, I have shadowed our Berkeley alumni every winter break. As an extern, it is the perfect chance to experience the job environment and to realize first hand whether that career is a fit for you. Hurry and check out all the externships at https://career.berkeley.edu/CareerApps/Externship/Students/ExternshipListing.aspx

If you are wondering what I did these past two years, feel free to swing by during my office hours and I would be more than happy to share my externship experiences.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:59:24 -0800

I hope that everyone is enjoying the time off!

Now, you're probably wondering: "Elodie, why are you blogging on Thanksgiving day?" The answer is this: my mom is taking the opportunity of me being at home to work on my resume, which is especially important since I'll be graduating soon.

Now, I'm not saying that you have to work on your resume right now (because, really, you should be spending time with family, unless family is insisting on updating that resume of yours), but here are a few tips on how to start/improve your resume!

Ah, the Thrill of the RSF

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:04:00 -0800

I'm not sure if you're taking advantage of the RSF (Recreational Sports Facility), but I find myself there more often in this post- and pre-traumatic age of life between exams. Running on the track was great last week with all that sunshine, and I could hear the stationary bikes calling my name on the rainy days. But just wait.

What I obsess over at the RSF are the classes. They're so great!! I don't know what it is about them, but going to the group exercise classes gives me such a better workout than if I had just done my own thing. Seriously!! Pilates is awesome anytime, and cardio kickboxing is a crazy way to end the day. And the toning express? My goodness is it intense. I'll confess that I've only been to the toning express class once; that was enough for a while. And, you know, if I were blessed with those elusive things called coordination and rhythm, I would attend more of the dance classes (sadly, my attempts at the dancing mostly just elicit giggles from my neighbors). You know what? Here!! Take the link and be happy: http://recsports.berkeley.edu/insidepage.aspx?uid=e228f552-e7f9-4797-af1c-bfc3ecd72594

Maybe it was the protein powder in my smoothie, but suddenly I feel an RSF urge. Maybe some mellow elliptical while I read a novel? Sounds excellent. See you there!!

PAL Movie Night!

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:33:15 -0800

Love the thrill of outdoor adventure? Love free food? Join the CNR PALs for our fall movie night as we present �Into the Wild.� For those of you unfamiliar with the film, it is a masterpiece about a young man who rejects his conventional life to adventure into the Alaskan wilderness and live off the land. The movie is based on the 1996 book written by Jon Krakauer. It�s one of our favorites!

Schedulebuilder

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:18:41 -0800

Hey guys, have you ever used Ninjacourses?! Guess what? The University bought the source code to Ninjacourses (which was founded by a Berkeley student by the way) so now it is available as schedulebuilder.berkeley.edu . That's right, Ninjacourses is now an official Berkeley tool! My scheduling process would be much more difficult if it wasn't for ninjacourses. So the question is now... why use Schedulebuilder if it is just like Ninjacourses? Because Schedulebuilder shows grade distributions! Ever used Courserank? Well now you pretty much have the most important feature of courserank built into Schedulebuilder! Of course, you should never base your decision about taking a class on grade distributions alone, but it is still a good tool. Schedulebuilder is functionally the same as Ninjacourses; even the layout looks the same so it will not be a problem to learn to use it if you are switching from Ninjacourses. If you haven't used Ninjacourses or other schedule planner applications before, now is the time! I remember the days before I found out about Ninjacourses where I would use Excel spreadsheets to plan my schedule. That method was organized and fun but it is not as convenient. Schedulebuilder allows you to search for all the classes you want to take, and then it will compile all the possible schedules you can have based on your preferences! Schedulebuilder is still in beta so there will be more features and bug fixes to come. So check it out! Again, the website is schedulebuilder.berkeley.edu

I just submitted my Apps!!! :D

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:06:17 -0800

So for seniors and uber prepared youngsters the stress of what to do after graduation can be pretty daunting. Well for me it was! After some soul searching for a couple of months I decided that I wanted to go to pharmacy school and then do a residency in clinical toxicology. At first I disregarded Pharmacy since I didn�t want to fill bottles at Walgreens, but then I really started doing my research and found about the TONS of things you can do with a pharmacy degree outside of retail. So here I am on my path to pharmacy school all ready for pharm school�.then�BAM! Apps slapped me in the face!....BUT then I slapped back and now I�m done with apps! Yay! (crossing fingers for UCSF)

Make the Best of Winter Break!

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:06:53 -0800

Wow, can you believe it is already November? Where has the semester gone! Hopefully you all are surviving midterms and finding some time for fun!

With just a little over a month left a school it is time to start thinking about winter break!

Here are some interesting ideas to make your winter break useful:

The difference between major advisors, college adviors, and faculty advisors

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:29:32 -0800

A major advisor specializes in a particular major. My major is Nutritional Science. If I have questions about the nutritional science coursework, graduation requirements, or department policies I would see Melissa Pon (the major advisor for Nutritional Science).

Similar to how a declared student would go to a major advisor for advising, an undeclared student in CNR would talk to a CNR college advisor for advising.

I know that some majors do not have a faculty advisor, but for Nutritional Science our major does have a faculty advisor and I visit my faculty advisor if I have questions about research in general. I also see my faculty advisor for Tele-Bears before I see my major advisor.

Source: http://cnr.berkeley.edu/site/sao.php

Grad School?

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:10:17 -0800

To go or not to go? Well, there's no real easy answer, honestly. It seems sometimes like everybody's going and it's just natural to think, "Well, hey, maybe that means me too". Perhaps. But I would argue that whether your aim is to go to grad school or not, that the important thing is just to keep your options open. Regardless of whether you go or not, it doesn't hurt to have the extra curricular activities, it doesn't hurt to get good grades, it doesn't hurt to have experiences that enrich you and broaden what it is that you're all about.

Immune Boost

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:52:09 -0800

There is never time to get sick during the school year. When I first heard about the Mumps outbreak on campus I started thinking about how important it is to NOT get sick ever because there is absolutely no room in my schedule for it. Besides having to cancel plans with friends and catch up on a huge workload from school, I can�t exercise when I am sick. Once I stop working out, it is sooooo much harder to start up on a consistent schedule again. I am determined to not get sick � no mumps, no colds, no flus � nothing.

How To Stay Healthy

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:24:52 -0800

Hello everyone! Hope that everybody's been doing well, and that few of you have gotten sick. With the Mumps outbreak and flu season coming up, here are a few basic tips to stay healthy!

Mumps and Flu

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:01:17 -0800

Hey guys! I know everyone have been hearing constant reminders about getting the mumps and flu shots, so I just want to take a moment to talk about these vaccines. Due to a recent mumps outbreak, the University is issuing FREE MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccinations to UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty. More information can be found here: (http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/news/mumps.shtml). Now most people should have had their MMR shots prior to enrolling at Cal but it is highly encouraged to get a booster. Vaccines usually contain an inactivated or modified version of a certain virus combined with an adjuvant in order to enhance your body's natural immunity against the virus and create antibodies specific to it. Although the antigens that come with each vaccine should theoretically be "stored" in our body's memory B cells in the immune system, it is possible that these B cells might not work properly after a while. Unfortunately, antibiotics do not work against viruses so the only way to treat a viral infection besides taking invasive anti-virals is to wait it out and treat the symptoms. Who likes to be in bed sick?-- Nobody!

What's After Berkeley?

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:04:05 -0800

Whether graduation is years away or just around the corner, you can�t help but think about your future and what kinds of things you may want to pursue after your undergrad experience at Berkeley. Many students choose to apply to grad schools or professional programs, but that is just one of endless possibilities!

Study Help at the SLC

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:57:17 -0800

As a hard-working Berkeley student, it�s important to understand all of the resources our school provides for us. One such resource is the Student Learning Center located in the Cesar Chavez building (behind and below the Golden Bear Caf�). For those of you unfamiliar with the SLC, it offers all kinds of study-related help to students including drop-in tutoring, personal one-on-one tutoring, study groups, mock exams, and more! Perhaps the best part of the SLC is that it�s FREE! Sounds too good to be true? Well think again!