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Finding a school with solid roots in social justice and activism will provide you with many life skills and opportunities to make a difference. Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, a national event sponsored at Gannon by the Center for Social Concerns and the Social Concerns Club, is one of many social justice projects students can take part in. Other service outlets from the CSC include GIVE Day and Alternative Break Service Trips.

Thanksgiving break is in sight – it is roughly 55 pages of memorized lines for “Nevermore,” two short poetry explications and one 10-page Media Ethics and Criticism paper away.

OK, that sounds much worse than it actually is. I’ve been working on these things for the last few weeks to prepare for the end of the term. There is always a time to just buckle down and get things done.

Now is that time.

So, I’ve been trying to research good ways to relieve stress and manage time wisely so that I can accomplish everything I need to before it’s time to enjoy some family time and turkey.

In researching this ever-relevant issue, I decided what a better way for me to implement these things I learned than to share them with you.

First, I learned the most important part of managing stress is to recognize your sources of stress. Is it applying for college? A paper that’s due in a few days? Maybe several papers due in a few days? Whatever it is, identify it and acknowledge it – that’s the first step to moving towards progress.

Next, you need to set specific goals to tackle the situation. I decided I was going to set the goal of two pages each night for ethics until next Monday, one interview for Feature Writing per two days, and one scene per day for “Nevermore.” It might still seem like it’s a lot, but it really helped me to know that while I was working on one thing I wasn’t eating in to time of working on the other project because I already had time set aside for it.

Now – and this one is probably the hardest part – don’t procrastinate. That’s right, you. Don’t procrastinate. (That “you” was partially directed towards me…) Seriously, that’s the number one enemy to stress. Playing Farmville on Facebook or Tetris or whatever it is that provides hours of mindless enjoyment might be fun right now, but at 11:30 p.m. when I’m staring at a blank Word document wondering where my day went, it won’t matter how high of a score I got (or how many crops I harvested).

Here’s my favorite part: allow down time. No matter how busy things get, I still need my “Nicole time.” It’s as easy as that, “(Your name here) time.” Set aside as much time as you can allow – whether that’s an hour or just a few minutes – where you can do whatever you’d like. You can snack, listen to music (check out Joe’s blog to talk more about that), take a hot bath, sit outside; it doesn’t matter. Just something that makes you happy so you don’t burn out.

Well, I guess none of that is really new information, but sometimes hearing it again is a good reminder that it’s okay to feel nervous sometimes about the upcoming events and deadlines. It’s how you deal with it that matters.

Good luck!

Peace,

Nicole

Mozart: Good, but no Biggie Smalls.

I love music; all kinds. I listen to anything; Mozart, Brad Paisley, Rancid, Biggie Smalls. I’m picky about which singers and bands I like, but I’m not biased toward any certain genre.

My favorite band is Eve 6. Here’s proof: I once drove four hours – one way – to see them in concert. Other than Eve 6, I would have to sit at this computer and type for hours to name every band I love.

As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s an important time of the year in the college search and application process. We turned our Edge camera on Miles Vida, assistant director of admissions at Gannon, for some pointers.

Whether you’re a high school freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, find out what steps you should consider taking at this point in your college search, and get answers to some of the most frequently asked college search questions.

Comment below with questions of your own, and we’ll follow up and get you the answers! Or, you can email questions to edge@gannon.edu.

Want more Edge video? You may also like our “Inside Gannon” video on Gannon’s new program to provide free city bus service to students.

For fun, food, music or the bare necessities, GU students know where to go to get what they need. Check out the rundown as we ask:

Where is your favorite place to go in Erie?

Joe Witkowski, sophomore sports and exercise science major: “Forward Hall is my favorite place to go in Erie, because they bring a lot of good bands, both local and otherwise. They bring in a lot of good rock music in general.”

These days, the leaves have gone from a vibrant, life-filled green to a variety of shades of red, orange and brown that many of us probably have not had the time to sit back and enjoy. We have, however, had the time to realize one thing quite suddenly – winter is on its way.

With that bit of knowledge, you can do one of two things: dread it and pray for winter to hold off for as long as possible, or embrace it and anxiously await the white covered glistening sidewalks that lead us to class. I choose the latter.

When I see students walking around in army fatigues on campus – even those who I am good friends with – I get a little, well, fatigued. What are they doing? Truthfully, they intimidate me.

Gannon University’s ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program isn’t scary, though. In the words of Melanie Zack, senior nursing major and contracted cadet: “It’s like a family system.”

Students in the program are either contracted or non-contracted cadets. Non-contracted cadets have not signed a contract indicating their commitment to the military. Contracted cadets have signed up to enlist in the U.S. Army.

Group projects always freak me out. It started back in elementary school when – after my third-grade teacher came back from her sabbatical in Africa – we had to get together to work on a project about an animal native to Africa. Sounds cool enough, working with a bunch of friends, talking about cool animals and dressing up to speak in front of class. I was stoked.

That is, until my group was supposed to meet at my house to work on it, and not one person showed up. My mom made the obligatory phone calls to ask their parents if their children were coming. Not even a single parent had heard about the project, and they all insisted that their kids were too busy to come over at the moment.

So, what did I do? I did the whole project myself; one little third-grader researching cheetahs.

Gannon students express their faith in many ways; some through service, others through thoughtful discussion and still others through music.

The Chapel Choir, directed by Pam Verity, sings at mass, which is held in the Mary Seat of Wisdom Chapel, located on Gannon’s campus. The choir sings and plays at Sunday Masses, held at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., and at community mass on Thursdays at 11 a.m.

“Going green” has become immensely popular over the last few years, from celebrity endorsements to trendy shopping accessories to the realization that a little more eco-consciousness on everyone’s part actually can help the future of our planet. We are slowly evolving into a more earth-friendly society.

Gannon has been doing its part to help mother earth by continuing its recycling program and by adding new elements each year.