Accomplishments

In the past four years at WKU, I like to think that I have overcome some pretty horrendous hurdles at times: Some “believing in yourself” stuff... A lot of “calling out to the Lord” stuff… Some “do or die” stuff... But to put it all into perspective, no academic accomplishments have given me as much satisfaction as that of the compliment Sharon, Martin, and I received tonight:

“You’re the kind of friends that you can serve hard marshmallows to...”

[The bag had been left open.]

I thought that was pretty cool.

Extenuating Circumstances

So Monday and Wednesday (today) were the days this week designated for our German presentations—5 minute presentations to be done in German. How bad can that be, right? Well, believe me, it was rough enough. I can pronounce German words all day long, but to compose the words in the correct order is another thing entirely—especially when the presentation is on a topic other than your name, your favorite color, your favorite foods, etc. So in my usual fashion, I decided to get it over and done with and made sure I did mine on Monday. It went well enough—another thing checked off my List of Things to Do before the semester can end. Of course, we didn’t have enough time for everyone to present on Monday, and so the rest were pushed to today.

So we proceeded with The Plan again today. The class runs from 10:20 – 11:15. At 10:45, in between presentations, someone commented on the fact that “Derek” was not in class. Odd—because he was scheduled to present. Speaking in his defense, Caleb assured Prof. S. that Derek must surely have some extenuating circumstances going on. Why else would he be missing class on such an important day?

At 10:46, the door literally burst open. And there was Derek. He was totally colorless, gasping for breath, and gulping big slugs of water from his water bottle.

“Speaking of the devil!” said Prof. S.

“I overslept!” Derek gasped out, practically bent over double. He told us he had only awakened at 10:37. Oops. He must’ve had some kind of adrenaline rush because nine minutes after awakening, he was in class and “ready” to present.

“See!” Caleb said. “I told you he had some extenuating circumstances!”

Prof. S. mercifully let him sit for a spell and recover before making him do his presentation.

Derek told us which dorm he lives in, but I can’t remember which one he said. On the campus map, it’s either number 20 or number 31. The destination is number 40, but what you can’t see on the map is the Cardiac Hill that lies between buildings 32 and 40. To give you somewhat of an idea… the fourth floor of building 32 is level with the first floor of building 40. And our classroom is on the second floor of building 40.

At any rate, that was a sprint that I would dearly have LOVED to see. And I have had to chuckle about the visual several times throughout the day.

At the end of class, Derek confessed that he had not, in fact, taken the time to brush his teeth. He mumbled something about "priorities."

"The Ultimate Steal" Contest

This blog is part of the Microsoft “The Ultimate Steal” Blogging Contest. Go to www.theultimatesteal.com for details.

Academic excellence, for me, comes from a combination of using Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Take my German class, for example: one continuous semester-long assignment. With small assignments due nearly every day, organization is critical to excelling in this class; for this, I rely on Outlook. All assignments are entered as appointments into my calendar at the beginning of the semester. I color-code and categorize them according to assignment type. By clicking and dragging my assignments onto my task list, I can create a to-do list, which I check off as I proceed throughout the semester. The reminders feature helps me accomplish assignments on time. In lieu of the more traditional student day planner, I frequently update and print my calendar, putting it into the front of my class binders.

Word 2007 is used when completing my homework assignments. It is especially helpful in that many menus have been eliminated, and thus, I can be more efficient with my time. The Styles and Formatting options Word has made available for document formatting is invaluable in producing exceptional papers.

Excel 2007 is my best friend in this class. With all the new colors and instant formatting options available in 2007, the quality of my charts is second to none. I use the hyperlinking feature to create a master index page, which helps me navigate to other charts within that file. Excel is especially useful for things that must be memorized, and I carry my Excel charts with me to class every day.

As a very busy student, the ribbon feature in Microsoft 2007 promotes efficiency in all my tasks and helps me do more in less time. For this, I am grateful.