Workshops educate students for life

Students attend the Life Skills workshop to learn test taking skills. Some skills that were taught were using mnemonic devices, visualizations and mind maps. Students were given the opportunity to thi

There are skills that can help people be successful in life, and students gathered to participate in one of five different workshops that gave brief overviews of some of those skills at 2 p.m. on July 1.
Life Skills is a recent addition to the activities on campus, and has been hosting events for three semesters. This event was the last for the semester. The workshops included learning how to organize and manage time, tips for studying and test taking, how to present and be a better public speaker, ways to improve one’s dating life and learning how to balance schoolwork and life.
“I really hope that [the students] get some practical application to what they’re doing every day; that they just get some ideas,” said Christina Martin, a senior studying family and consumer science.  “I mean, sure, they’re not going to learn to be masters at this by going to one workshop, but they’ll be able to kind of peak their interest and then keep doing more research.”
Heather Harker, a sophomore studying music, attended the Walking the Tightrope of Life workshop to learn how to balance schoolwork and life.
“It’s another additional way of getting a better grip on things that are happening,” Harker said. “I have a really hard time with managing things.”
Students began the workshop by telling why they attended. Responses included needing to balance life better and learning how to prioritize.
Another workshop offered was learning how to improve test-
taking skills.
“I also like the fact that we are trying to focus on study skills, especially with memory tricks and with studying effectively for tests,” Martin said. “I know a ton of students who say ‘I get the material but I get to the test and I freeze and I can’t do it.’ And this is the workshop for them.”
A few of the tips given for test taking were using mnemonic devices, mind maps or visualization. Some more general tips given were to attend class, take notes, review the notes regularly and get enough sleep.
Matthew Smith, a freshman studying chemistry, added another personal tip to the list.
“If I generally eat healthy and I get enough sleep I focus just fine,” Smith said. “But if I start eating unhealthy and getting lack of sleep … then stuff gets harder for me. Sugar makes my body start shutting down, actually. If I eat healthy then my body has enough energy to keep going.”
Each workshop gave advice that can be helpful not just in school, but later
in life.
Conliegh Zolman, a senior studying elementary education, and John Zolman, a sophomore studying neurobiology, are married and taught the Dating 101 workshop.
John Zolman said if someone is not happy with their dating life, they should change it.
“We want them to act and not be acted upon. To take action in their lives, not only in dating, but in other things. [To not] just be upset that things aren’t going the way they want, but do something about it,” Conliegh 
Zolman said.
Life Skills workshops will continue to be held every semester. Events will eventually be added to BYU-Idaho’s Activities Web page. Until they are added, keep an eye open for future events being advertised around campus.

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