Lily Gonzalez

SCCC Students’ Study Habits 

Finals week can either be a piece of cake or the worst week of your life depending on what your teacher decides to have your final over. Some teachers at SCCC decide that finals week is not only a break for their students but a break for themselves as well. On the other hand, some teachers take the final very seriously and give students a final they need to study either a whole week before or maybe even a month ahead. 

Regardless, as finals week continues, it tends to become a little stressful around the SCCC campus. So, Crusader News jumped in to see what some students’ final study habits are and what some teachers decide to do for the last week of their classes: 

“When I’m studying for my finals my teacher gives us a study guide, our exam is usually all the chapters we’ve gone over in the semester, so I go back to all the exams I’ve taken and chapters we’ve done and study off those. When I’m preparing for a final, I tell myself ‘I got this’ and ‘Try to stay as calm as possible’ so I don’t freak out and fail.” –  Lindsey Hodges, sophomore surgical-tech major

“When it comes to finals, I write down the sections I am having trouble with and what the exams are about. I tend to focus on the hardest exam. After I have studied it for a while, I take a break and grab a snack to refresh my mind and not overwork myself. After I get it all down, I begin studying for the next exam.” – Athziry Marquez, sophomore nursing major

“Throughout the years, I learned that my most effective studying habits consist of finding friends to study with, especially for science classes. It’s important to step out of your comfort zone in order to expand your knowledge to a different level. Personally, making friends in my classes was the best decision because now for all tests, we meet up and study together by quizzing each other as well as helping one another. Each person has a different learning style, therefore, with study buddies we turn each other’s weaknesses into strengths. That is how I make every semester a successful academic semester!” – Jamie Flores, sophomore dental hygiene major

“With finals coming up I usually tend to isolate myself from going out so I can actually stay focused on my work and put school first because it’s so easy to get distracted. I usually put all my electronics on Do Not Disturb and I play music that helps me study. During that process I take about 15–20-minute brain breaks so I won’t burn myself out and I can actually retain the information I studied over. I eat some snacks and then get back to studying. I give myself at least 3-4 brain breaks especially for finals that I know I struggle with or really need to study.” – Jenni Lopez, sophomore dental hygiene major

Interesting or “Fun” SCCC Finals 

Having a good teacher can be rare but having a good teacher who also allows you to have a good final is almost entirely hard to find. These are some of SCCC’s students favorite finals from this year: 

One is a final from Don Hayes, SCCC anatomy and physiology instructor. In this “food final,” everyone brings a certain food.They eat and watch a movie or funny videos on YouTube. Hayes allows a class to do this when he believes they have had a good year and have tried very hard in class. 

Another example is art instructor Dustin Farmer’s art history major. Farmer has students do a PowerPoint over an artist or sculptor. He then asks the class to present and the final is based on what they have learned from those artists or sculptures for that semester. 

Librarian and first-year seminar teacher Cassandra Norin even does a murder mystery final. She has students bring food, watch a couple videos, and have a good time. Cassandra is more of the fun teacher type so she wouldn’t allow her final to be boring. 

Summer Plans

With that all being said, the 2023-2024 school year has come to an end. As it has likely been very memorable and exciting to meet new people and see new and old faces, the one thing many are most excited about is summer. Summer is often the most talked about thing during the whole school year. Yes, even when school begins. 

It can often be exciting to know and learn of other people’s plans and summer vacations coming up. For example, Alma Avalos, SCCC financial aid scholarship coordinator has been going on an annual “sisters’ trip” almost every year since about 2020. Her and her sisters plan a location and what they want to do on the trip which would include going out to eat, visiting the zoo, aquarium, or even a good-old shopping trip. This year they have planned on maybe visiting San Antonio for a couple of days. Summertime can be the best time to visit new cities or even just to get out of town. Usually, summer vacations are with family and friends, sometimes even boyfriends and girlfriends. It all just depends on who people plan the trip with. 

Summer plans can be the most memorable part of the year and the most talked about, so when planning a vacation some have a “go big or go home” mindset. Ryle Riddlesperger, former basketball player at SCCC, says he plans on taking a trip to Kansas City, Missouri this year to watch the Royals play at their stadium. Riddlesperger’s family planned on taking this trip last year, but it was postponed because of a basketball tournament. This year his family wants to make that trip up and also visit the Great Wolf Lodge as well. 

When it comes to summer vacations traveling close for the trip might be more likely than traveling out of the country. But sometimes, a person may get lucky with who they ask, and they might end up telling people that they are about to fulfill your dream vacation. But then again SCCC has many foreign students who have to travel across the country to return home. 

One such student is Lovasoa Andriatsarafara, a computer information systems major, who is going back home to Toamasina, Madagascar. Lova describes his summer vacation as a trip back home, but for those who don’t travel out of the country it is more likely a vacation. Andriatsarafara travels home, then spends his summer with his family. He visits the beach – which is gigantic in Madagascar – and he enjoys spending his days there. He also mentioned being excited about visiting his old friends and spending time and nights with them. 

Hearing summer vacation stories can be very interesting and fun to see things from other people’s point of views. Summer will fly by this year, but when the school year returns, we will get to hear all kinds of stories. Maybe even including some of these.