Student Spotlight

Arielle Parker, Marketing Intern

We are excited to announce Nick Guelda as our Student Spotlight of the Month!

Name: Nicholas Guelda

Major: Mechanical Engineering

What Is A Peer Educator: A peer educator is someone who works closely with Academic Prep Program instructors to develop course syllabi, create innovative assignments, provide course instruction and facilitation, and work with students both one-on-one and in small groups.

Hometown: Louisville, KY

Clubs/ Extra Curricular: Pi Tau Sigma Honors Society

Hobbies: Painting and Cooking

Favorite Food: Greasy cheeseburger

Music: Bluegrass/folk

Favorite Movie: Anchorman

Pet: None

Favorite Restaurant: Ramsey’s

Color: Blue

Holiday: Christmas

Best Place Traveled To: Chicago

What Would You Do If You Had A Million Dollars: Buy a yacht?

Why UK: Beautiful campus and close to home

Favorite Class At UK: Thermodynamics

Favorite Place To Study: The quiet study in Young Library

Favorite Teacher: Dr. Poole

Advice To Others At UK: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” –Albert 

Einstein

Life After College: Hopefully moving to a big city and working as an engineer.

Why Does He Like Working As A Peer Educator: I love to have one-on-one interaction with students every week.  We are able to get to know each student, which is unique. 

While You're Away: Keep Your Home Safe and Running Smoothly Over Breaks

Alex Newby, Marketing Intern

Nicole Brown, Marketing Intern

As the semester winds to a close and students head home for the holidays, many leave their houses or apartment unattended for long periods of time, putting their house in danger. Not only are houses more likely to be broken into when they appear empty, but the possibilities of winter weather and general upkeep issues put homes at risk.

Officer Alan Saylor of the University of Kentucky Police Department (UKPD) said that houses on or near campus might even be at more risk during the holidays than other homes in Lexington.  “Students leave at a certain time and they return at a certain time over Christmas Break and people that are looking to break into homes or steal things know that your house is going to be empty” said Saylor. It’s very timely and very predictable,”

Even if you are in town over the holidays, take extra precautions. Just because you’re home doesn’t mean something can’t happen while you’re away during the afternoon.

To help keep your house safe from intruders and other dangers this holiday break, we’ve compiled a list of ways to help look out for your home and belongings while you’re gone!

• Take everything home that you wouldn’t be able to replace. Grandma’s antique pearls, the watch your dad gave you, or any of the other things that have sentimental value and would be hard to replace shouldn’t be left alone.
• If you’ll only be gone for a few nights, leave a TV flickering near a window. If you’ll be gone the entire break, buy some light timers to turn your lights on and off occasionally. Either option will help make it look like someone from your house is coming and going. Don’t leave easy-to-steal things out: cash, iPods, laptops, jars full of coins, anything that would be easy to grab and go with should be hidden or taken home.
• Consider purchasing renter’s insurance or checking with your parents to see if your apartment/house and the belongings in it are covered under their plan.
• Don’t publicize or post on Facebook or Twitter when you’re leaving or when you’ll be returning. Even though your page might be private, there are still people that could take advantage of that information.
• Stop your mail and newspaper delivery. An overflowing mailbox shows that someone hasn’t been home for a few days.
• Double check that you’ve locked all the windows and doors and taken any spare keys inside.
• Hide your ride by bringing in your bike or parking your car off the street.

If you suspect a problem or notice any suspicious activity, call the Lexington Police Department at 859) 258-3600 or UKPD at #UKPD (8573), free from any cell phone.

Another part of protecting your home while you’re away is keeping it running smoothly. Proper planning and cleaning will keep your house in better shape and help keep the bills down. Try these tips:

• Leave the heat on! Set your thermostat to no lower than 60 degrees to keep the pipes from freezing.
• Rid your pantry and fridge of any perishables that would expire while you are gone.
• Take out any trash and recycling.
• Make sure to remove any clothing from the washer and dryer.
• Insulate doors and windows to keep the potential cold out. An easy way to do this is to roll up a towel and place it along the seam.
• Unplug any appliances to save energy.

In the Clouds: What Information Storage is All About

Eric Weinberg, PhD., Academic Tecnology Coordinator 

Five years ago, when someone began talking about clouds we assumed they were talking about the weather. This is no longer the case. Often, when people talk about clouds today they are referring to the practice of storing information off-site on a distant computer. Whether it is pictures, email, documents or music, our personal files increasingly exist somewhere else.   It may seem like an abstract concept, but many of use the cloud whether we know it or not. Some of the most ubiquities cloud storage services are Apple’s iCloud, Google Documents and Dropbox, but others exist. Both Amazon and Facebook are integrating cloud storage into their services. Simply upload a photo or email an attachment and you are in the cloud. In all cases, we are storing personal information on computers that are owned by these companies.

What does this mean?  First, our documents are not being stored in some mythical land in the sky. They reside in giant data-centers located in temperate climates, and many are run by self-sustaining power systems.  Inside these centers, there are thousands of racks of computers and giant fans that are constantly recycling the air.  These centers are tremendously efficient, and help reduce global energy usage. Most of these places are extremely secure, and have disaster contingency plans.  These are all positives. Another benefit is that we can access our information no matter where we are.  This means I can get my photos on my phone, tablet, or on my friends laptop. Another advantage is that backing up to the cloud is often seamless. Once you setup the cloud, your documents are automatically uploaded when you have an internet connection.

Besides these positives, there are also drawbacks to storing our lives in locations far away. First, our data is subject to seizure request by federal authorities, and companies can be forced to comply with requests.  Second, we are constantly using network bandwidth when viewing and editing documents.  Although this is not a major problem for most of us, as we use the internet for more and more services, cloud storage may affect such things as TV and telephone.   It is also forcing cell phone companies to increase their bandwidth and costs of cell phone contracts.  Moreover, large video files are still too large for cloud storage.

Consumers’ most significant worry is security.   Data security has always been a concern of consumers.   This is the reason why many of us have passwords on our computers.  We have, however, usually been comforted by the physical security of our front doors.    Cloud computing complicates this.   Although data-centers are secure, they rely on passwords and encryption for access and our information travels across the internet quite frequently.

The drawbacks of this system were made very public a few months back when technology blogger Matt Honan’s personal files were erased from Apple’s iCloud by hackers. Gone were a year of his personal photos and many other files.  Most disturbingly, the hack was accomplished through simple deduction. The hackers used the users’ personal information to reset account passwords and then logged in and deleted the blogger’s accounts.  This is no longer possible.   The applicable companies have since tightened their security and there have been no such incidents since. Still, hackers are always searching for a way to circumvent security.

What does this mean for us? Most importantly, do not use cloud storage as the only location you store important personal files. Back up documents occasionally to a home computer or external hard drive.  If you are really paranoid, you can also put this hard drive in a fireproof safe. Secondly, do not use easy-to-guess passwords.  Hackers have programs that are good guessers so do not give them an easy way in. Also use different passwords for your accounts. Don’t let someone into all of your accounts by guessing one password. In short, use the cloud, but stay grounded.

A Broken Leg: The Tale of a Girl on Crutches

Ali Cicerchi, Assistant Director

I remember when I was little, I thought getting braces and having a cast seemed so cool! Well, braces were not fun, and it turns out neither is having a cast. At 24, I broke my fibula (the skinny bone that runs along the outside of your leg). I had a cast and was on crutches for four weeks.

Having a broken leg, as an adult, is really not fun at all. The biggest problem with crutches is not only can you not walk, but you don’t have the use of your hands as well. Maybe you’re thinking, well duh! But the list of things you can’t do alone anymore is enormous. Things that proved to be difficult include: bathing (obviously), cooking, cleaning, running errands, carrying anything — be it mail, groceries, or even a purse. Overnight, I became fairly helpless. I have a beagle who had to go live with my parents for five weeks because I could not take care of her. My dog is extremely neurotic and while at my parents she peed on their floor, chewed their doorknobs and chewed her pet bed in half. My parents were not happy and let me know it. It was stressful to hear and yet, I was unable to do anything about it.

Aside from lifestyle changes, it’s difficult to get around on crutches. I learned very quickly that the world is not always crutch-friendly. For example, I went to the movies and the handicap stall was at the end of a line of about 25 bathroom stalls. The larger stall is easier to move around in and yet would take quite a while to get to. Or, here on UK’s campus, the closest door to where one can park with a handicap parking pass, is not necessarily closest to the elevator. The door itself may not even be a handicap accessible door.

This injury has forever changed my perspective. It was a very humbling experience to have to routinely ask for help to do even the tiniest thing, like having someone get my lunch out of the microwave.  Thankfully, I was only temporarily handicapped. However, I was routinely stared at in public while using my crutches. Some people talked to me as if my IQ had dropped 30 points because of my injury. One girl on campus shouted at me one day as I tried to go down a set of stairs if I really thought I could do it. I can’t imagine how anyone with a permanent disability faces reactions like these on a regular basis. This was not everyone, thankfully. Many friends and strangers went out of their way for me in the weeks I was on crutches.

I have some general advice I would like to share if you or anyone you know winds up on crutches:

1. Be your own advocate when dealing with doctors! My first doctor at an urgent care told me I had a sprained ankle.
2. Write down questions you have for a doctor. It can be very overwhelming once you are with the doctor.
3. Ask for help! People realize you are going to need some extra help.
4. If someone you know is on crutches the two best things you can do for them — bring them food and offer to hang out with them doing something they can easily do like watch a movie. 

Individual Academic Consultations

Arielle Parker, Marketing Intern

Being a student in college can seem overwhelming at times. Between attending classes, studying for exams, doing homework, socializing with friends, working, and being involved in extracurricular activities, college can seem like one big balancing act. I often ask myself where does the time go? After all, there are seven days in a week, which means that we only have 168 hours to balance our busy schedules.

As a senior heading towards my final semester, I have found my classes to be just as time consuming as my freshmen year if not more. It seems as though the dreaded group projects and typing lengthy papers for classes on a weekly basis have become the norm. Between my classes, my internship, holding a VP office for a campus organization, and finding time to socialize with friends, I sometimes feel completely overwhelmed. Let’s just say there are days when I’m prepared to feel completely unprepared, which is why I sought advice from Academic Enhancement. I attended a free Individual Academic Consultation, which has helped me manage my time efficiently so I can fit my classwork, activities, and social life all in one day without feeling completely stressed out.

“Individual Academic Consultations (IACs) are one of those resources available to all students who want to optimize their academic potential and enhance their success. If a student is invested in networking, has many interests and wants to be involved in campus activities and organizations, yet make sure not to compromise academic success, IAC's are great for honing time management and organizational skills”, explains Academic Enhancement’s Director, and Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education, Dr. Karin Lewis.

Academic Enhancement provides Individual Academic Consultations with a learning specialist available to all UK students, staff, and faculty at no charge

These one-on-one consultations focus on strengthening academic skills and navigating college life. Each consultation is individualized, and students are encouraged to discuss any topics of academic conern with a specialist, such as concentration, stress management, procrastination, and a variety of other strategies.

These consultants aim to provide knowledge of the skills that people need to succeed, and give helpful advice based on some of their own past experiences. Along with gaining helpful tips and great advice, these consultations also provide a learning assessment for students. During these consultations, students can take the LASSI, which is a free learning assessment.

According to Cody Davis, one of Academic Enhancement’s EPE 174 Instructors, the LASSI is an effective assessment for students who wish to strengthen many academic factors.

“The LASSI is an excellent resource that simply provides a foundation or starting point for the discussion in an IAC.  The survey is a self-report tool for students to evaluate themselves on important factors in college student success.”

To make the most out of a consultation, we suggest bringing a class schedule, work schedule and class syllabi. For scheduling an appointment, log on to a computer and follow these five easy steps!

·        Login to myUK

·        Click on "myInfo"

·        Click on "myAppointments"

·        Select "The Study"

·        From here you click on “Academic Consultation” and can choose which type of consultation you want, along with the date and the time that is most convenient for you.

·        If you have questions or encounter any trouble scheduling a consultation, please contact us by calling 859.257.1356 or send an email: thestudy@uky.edu

If a conflict arises after you’re scheduled Individual Academic Consultation, you can revisit the appointments page and select “Cancel”. 

For more information about Individual Academic Consultations visit our website at www.uky.edu/ae