Interview Questions

For my documentary on the UK Counseling Center, we found that some people we could interview were people who work there, such as psychologists, and possibly students who go visit there.

Questions I/we came up with to ask the professional are:

1. What are the most common issues students come share with you?
2. What in particualr made you want to work with college students?
3. Is there a reason why you chose to work at UK?
4. How frequent do students come visit that have mental health issues?
5. How do you help the students that come in with depression, anxiety or any stress related issues.

Questions I/we came up with to ask the students are:

1. Is the counseling center easy to access?
2. How often are they usually available for you to go see?
3. What makes them want you to keep coming back?
4. Would you ever advise someone with a mental health issue to visit this center?
5. Do you think they are helpful with the problems you seek them about?

I think interviewing these two types of people could help reach out to students by having them see real life people and how they react to this center. For some students admitting themselves can be the hardest part, but if they get the chance to see that there are people here to help them, it can create a safe gateway for these students. 

UK Counseling Center

In my previous blogs I have discussed how stress affects students performances and social behavior. I have also found articles providing tips to reduce stress to lead to a healthier life. Students deal with many things when coming to college which eventually can lead to mental instability. My documentary is primarily focused how the UK Counseling Center. 

The UK Counseling Center services for students provides a place where students can freely express certain issues that are bothering them. Where it is school related or family related, students are always welcomed to come by for guidance. There are many different types of counseling such as individual, couple, groups and workshops, major or career counseling, outreach programming or even alcoholic/drug treatment.

This topic makes for a good documentary because for freshman especially, not many people know about it and their services. Out of everyone I think freshman at first get the most overwhelmed while coming to college for the first time. With this documentary, we hope that it will bring more awareness to students on campus, and that there are people and services at UK that can help make their time here easier. One step to creating a healthier lifestyle is reaching out and talking about your problems.

The Counseling Center is located on the second and third floor of Frazee Hall, on Administration Drive, right next to the student center.

For most of the information collected in this blog came from the UK Counseling Center website. 

http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Counseling/students.html

Ways to Manage Stress

In my previous blog post I shared an article that discussed the effects of stress on college students and their performance in social life and in school. Stress can be brought on by not only school related topics, but with interpersonal subjects as well. Stress for some people can lead to some very unfortunate events. Ways to prevent one from getting too caught up with school, drama or any stressful issue can be as simple as talking to someone. I found an article one UK Library online database, "10 Simple Ways to Manage Stress"written by David B. Posen. This article gives 10 different tips for managing ones stress levels.

1. Decrease or Discontinue Caffeine-"The best way to observe the effect of caffeine is to get it out of your system long enough to see if there is a difference in how you feel. Three weeks is adequate. I estimate 75-80 percent of those who try it notice a benefit. They feel more relaxed, less jittery or nervous, sleep better and have more energy (a paradox, since you are removing a stimulant). There have less heartburn and fewer muscle aches. You, too, may feel dramatically better."

2. Regular Exercise-"In other words, stress is the state of increased arousal necessary for an organism to defend itself at a time of danger. Exercise is the most logical way to dissipate this excess energy. It is Mint our bodies are trying to do when we pace around or tap our legs and fingers. It is much better to channel it into a more complete from of exercise like a brisk walk, a run, a bike ride, or a game of squash."

3. Relaxation Meditation-"On days when exercise is not possible, relaxation techniques are an excellent way to bring down the body's stress level. Whereas exercise dissipates stress energy, relaxation techniques neutralize it, producing a calming effect. As little as 20 minutes once or twice per day confers significant benefit."

4.Sleep-"These dynamics can create a vicious cycle. When you get more sleep, you feel better and are more resilient and adaptable in dealing with day-to-day events. Most people know what their usual sleep requirement is (the range is five to 10 hours per night; the average being seven to eight), but a surprisingly large percentage of the population is chronically sleep deprived."

5.Time outs and leisure-"A mid-morning break, lunch, a midafternoon break and supper divide the day into roughly two-hour segments. These time-outs can include power naps, meditation, daydreaming, a social interlude, a short walk, a refreshment break, a change to low-concentration tasks or listening to music. Despite all our labor-saving devices, leisure is still an elusive commodity for most people. Statistics show that the average American works an extra four hours per week compared with 20 years ago. That translates into an extra month of work each year."

6. Realistic Expectations-"When expectations are realistic, life feels more predictable and more manageable. There is an increased feeling of control, because you can prepare yourself (physically and psychologically)."

7.Reframing-"This is one of the most powerful and creative stress reducers I know of. Reframing is a technique used to change the way you look at things in order to feel better about them. The key is to recognize that there are many ways to interpret the same situation. Is the glass half empty or half full? There are many ways of seeing the sane thing, so you might as well pick the one you like."

8. Belief Systems-"Beliefs cause stress in two ways. The first is the behavior that results from them. For example, if you believe that work should come before pleasure, you are likely to work harder and have less leisure time than you would otherwise. If you believe that people should meet the needs of others before they meet their own, you are likely to neglect yourself to some extent. These beliefs are expressions of people's philosophy or value system, but all lead to increased effort and decreased relaxation--a formula for stress"

9. Ventilation and Support Systems-"People who keep things to themselves carry a considerable and unnecessary burden. We can do much for ourselves by developing a support system (a few trusted relatives, colleagues or friends to talk to when we are upset or worried)."

10. Humor-"Laughter relieves tension. In fact, we often laugh hardest when we have been feeling most tense. Humor is an individual thing--what is funny to one person may be hurtful to another."

For my documentary project I am researching the UK Counseling Center- Consultation and Psychology. This facility provides safe, confidential psychology counseling to any student enrolled at UK. In my next blog couple blog post I will be discussing more in depth about this facility and what is has to offer.

The Link to this article

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/sas/detail?sid=7f563d37-d527-4e2e-86b9-0500d6503376%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4106&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=3503253

Stress with Students

Everyone knows college is a time to branch out, meet new people and do things outside of your comfort zone. Most people don't really put into consideration the amount of stress it puts on college students health. Students can start to develop certain types of stress disorders when they arrive to college due to the change in atmosphere. The expectations to get an A on every test, in every class makes students feel like they are underachieving.

An article I found at UK's library called The Impact of Stress on Academic Success in College Students explains how stress can impact the way students go through school and can even impact their mental health. A study provided by Lazarus and Foldman in 1984 says, "in that they state stress is more than a response to environmental demands, bul is also related to personal perception. If an individual perceives a situation as stressful, then it is indeed stressful. Also, if an individual is susceptible or vulnerable to the negative effects produced by stressors, the situation may pose a threat or may be harmful to the individual." I believe there is a direct link between students mental stress level and the way they perform in school or even in the real world.

Some health care professionals try to identify stress through a psychological way. Another piece of evidence from this article I found was that "The researchers found that if there is an increase in the severity and intensity of the stressors, or hassles and uplifts, a person's well-being is significantly affected. In other words, there is often physiological or psychological disequilibrium when the stressors are severe and intense. " It is a very important to manage stress levels, especially during school  for students who are still continually developing.


I commented on... http://zaskiahassanwrd.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-lady-kats.html?showComment=1412614275552#c861019103656396876

Source of Article:http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e1e326e4-81a4-40ca-9b0f-2a1fcbcb654c%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=112

What makes a good documentary?

While making a documentary, many things must be kept in mind. Even though the information portrayed on screen is essential, there are other qualities that catch viewers attentions. The quality of production can either make or break a documentary. If it looks sloppy, unorganized or unprofessional people will not take it seriously or even worse, watch the full thing. Good camera quality, important and useful information, a clear audio and visuals also contribute. Little aspects of documentaries that viewers notice is the lighting and music. If the group is looking for a dramatic feel for their video then they wouldn't want to have upbeat happy music. They would look for a more serious tone to capture the mood.  For this upcoming group assignment it is a necessity to have a clear understanding of the main focus of the documentary within the group. If everyone in the production process can agree on decisions can make the end product much better.

My Experience Writing a Proposal

While thinking about a topic for my proposal I kept in mind some key factors that go into one. I wanted to choose a topic that would catch an interest in my classmates as well as other students on campus. I thought the Christian Student Fellowship would be a great topic because not many people know too much about it and it seemed interesting to further research. Having a group peer edit my draft definitely helped get some input on what direction I wanted to further take my paper in.

For the presentation portion of my proposal it became very difficult to decide what facts I should mention and which ones seemed to bore people. I wanted to make it seem interesting because I didn't think anyone else had my topic. While practicing what I was going to say I kept going over the time limit because I usually get really nervous while speaking publicly so I had to take away two slides of my powerpoint which kept the people wanted to ask more questions.

Christian Student Fellowship

The picture above is taken at the Christian Student Fellowship here at the University of Kentucky. My topic for our proposal project is on the Christian Student Fellowship. The CSF is a non-denominational organization that is spread out all over campus. This group has been teaching and helping students become better leaders throughout the community for over 50 years. CSF is a great way to meet new people and also to get together to worship God. CSF is usually ran by recent graduates at UK that feel the need to help give back to the community. Their main building is located on campus, on the corner of Woodland ave. and Columbia ave.

The reason why I think the Christian Student Fellowship should be further researched is because it creates so many opportunities for students get involved on campus. If only this organization would get more recognition around campus it could really create bigger and better opportunities for the students, university and all of community around us. If UK would incorporate or recognize the benefits from this program I think it could attract more students that don't really know much about it. The more people that hear about CSF the more fundraising events they can put on. CSF does a great job getting information out on their website and showing their upcoming events. The have weekly schedules for students to attend and a fall retreat coming up on October. This retreat is located at Woodland lake camp in Amelia, Ohio, October 10th through the 12th. This retreat includes fun active group activities as well as coming together to speak about God. 

The information I have is from http://ukcsf.org/weekly/synergy/

My comment was on Leah Grant's blog  http://leahgrantwrd.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-topic-for-this-proposal-is-rupp-arena.html?showComment=1411331390078#c4827429782042096353

Keeneland History

This is a picture of Keeneland race track from one of it's beginning years. Keeneland opened in 1936 and is a national landmark here in Kentucky. On October 15, 1936, Keeneland hosted its first day of live thouroughbred racing. Their goal when opening was to create a place where the community could go and enjoy watching what Kentucky is most known for.

Had Headley, a respected horseman, and one of the men to bring racing back up after the great depression stated that, "We want a place where those who love horses can come and picnic with us and thrill to the sport of the Bluegrass. We are not running a race plant to hear the click of the mutuel machines. We want them to come out here to enjoy God’s sunshine, fresh air and to watch horses race.” This shows the real dedication and heart these fans had towards keeping Keeneland open even at its lowest times.

Some questions that came across my mind while researching Keeneland was how many races usually occur there during the year? Also how did Headley find the support and money to bring racing back up to what it is today?


This information was found on http://www.keeneland.com/discover/our-founding

Rupp Arena

One of the most talked about event in Lexington is the University of Kentucky's men's basketball team. But where it all takes place at is even more monumental. The famous Rupp Arena is located downtown Lexington. Not only accommodating Uk's basketball team, but other major events. When thinking about this assignment and what to research i was intrigued on many things here in Lexington. From being out of town I feel like I should have at least some back round knowledge on an important seasons that happens every spring and where it takes place.

In 1974, the Lexington-Fayette County Recreational, Tourist, and Convention Commissioners finally decided that this complex should be built. Soon after being built, Bob Brewer, Chamber President, named it the largest multipurpose facility in America. The Grand opening was held in early October, 1976. The Lexington Center (Rupp Arena) held more than 23,000 people and has a sound system that still lasts today known as "Big Bertha".

Not knowing too much about this complex, I had many questions that crossed my mind. One was why and who came up with the name Rupp to be the widely known name for this building? While reading I also noticed, that why did it take 50 years for the idea of this complex to get fully developed and approved? Was there any concerns with building this center?

The picture above is from 

http://www.rupparena.com/arena-information/history and http://www.lexingtoncenter.com/about-lexington-center/history with some of my other research.