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My College Experience

My College Experience

Beth Munshaw

Prep 1300

November 21, 2021

Professor Trevor Fray

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My College Experience
My College Experience

Durham College offers many resources to students to ensure they have an enjoyable and

successful experience on and off-campus. These tools are provided to create well-balanced and

organized individuals. Being a first-year student, I have taken the time and initiative to explore

several of these resources myself in order to better my time management skills, mental and

physical health, and search for guidance in situations where needed.

Firstly, Durham College offers a helpful resource called SALS that can benefit students

in a range of ways. SALS provides practice quizzes, tests, worksheets, a list of ways to achieve

better time management, and more. I have used SALS on multiple occasions to better myself

academically. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I was feeling very overwhelmed

with the workload. I have recently been informed of new tips to get work done more efficiently

and effectively through the Time Management and Getting Organized course in SALS. This

platform taught me to reflect on myself and find what time of day I work best. Here I learnt that I

like to work at night because that’s when my mind feels most calm, and I get the most focused

work done. Another important factor I learned through the Time Management and Getting

Organized course was that not only does making a ‘To-Do List’ keep you informed on what is

due, but it also gives you the satisfaction of checking it off when you finish a task. Someone like

me, who is very driven, will be motivated by little things like that to get work done on time.

Secondly, maintaining good health is key to a successful student of any age. Physical

activity is proven to improve your memory, brain function, quality of sleep, and reduce feelings

of anxiety and depression. For these reasons, I attend the gym at Durham College often to

maintain a steady physical and mental health state. Connecting back to my first point, the

information in the previous SALS course mentioned encourages taking breaks between studying
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My College Experience
time to reduce the chances of academic burnout. About three times a week, after hours of

studying and note-taking, I will head to the gym and incorporate physical activity into my

schedule in order to gain the many psychological and physical benefits that come with it. When I

get home, my brain feels refurbished and ready to tackle my assignments once again.

Finally, the last of many resources I have used to my advantage at Durham College is the

help of the people in the Student Services Building. I was having a difficult time figuring out my

payment process for the second semester and resorted to calling Student Services. I eventually

visited the building and was guided through all the steps of the payment, leaving me feeling

stress-free. I had other questions concerning other matters as well, for example, I needed my CPP

form filled out and they dealt with all of it for me. My experience with these services was

amazing and am glad I am now aware of this friendly and assuring space.

In conclusion, Durham College offers many additional materials for students to grow and

become the best versions of themselves. My experiences have led me to become a more

organized and balanced individual by bettering my time management skills, prioritizing my

physical and mental health, and having access to friendly guidance in important situations.