Hey Fellow Scientists,
I’m Abigail Longaker, your current USUSA Science Senator. I wanted to send out a quick message to everyone in the college, just so you can know who I am and how to contact me if you have any concerns or questions about the college. I’m here to represent all of you and to make your voices heard both in the College of Science and at Utah State in general. My email is
sciencesenator.ususa@usu.edu
and my office hours are posted at
https://ususa.usu.edu
if you would like to meet with me in person.
On another note, I want to offer some advice for this school year. I want you guys to take care of yourselves. That’s the best way to ensure that you’ll have a happy and successful year because you can perform at your best when you’re feeling your best. I’m planning on graduating this spring and the biggest tip that I have learned over my past four years is to get enough sleep. You might have heard the saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I used to believe that this was the way to live, but not anymore. Sleep is very, very important and sometimes it feels almost impossible to fit in enough hours, but really try and prioritize it. I emphasize this so much because I have a story to share about how I learned this lesson the hard way.
It was the second semester of my freshman year and I was studying for a biology exam right before spring break. I don’t think I had fully figured out the best way to study and it seemed like however long I studied, I never could entirely remember all of the material. So, to deal with this, I would study for hours to try and get it down. This led to me staying up very late and the night before this exam was no different. I ended up staying up until 4 in the morning. I was absolutely exhausted, but I had finally studied what I thought was a sufficient amount and I thought that if I just made it to spring break, I could sleep then. I set an alarm and immediately fell asleep.
Now, this part still makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. I woke up the next morning to my roommate walking into our shared room. We had the same class and when she saw me she got this kind of horrified look on her face. That’s when I looked at the clock and realized that it was about 40 minutes AFTER the exam had started. I immediately started to panic and broke out in a cold sweat.
I didn’t know what to do because I never thought this would happen. This just didn’t happen to me. Before this moment I had always heard and read about people who would pinch themselves to try and wake themselves up during a horrible moment, but it wasn’t until then that I really wished it would work and I would wake up in time to take the exam.
This story has a semi-good ending though. I talked to my RA and she told me to email my professor and explain what happened. I also ran across campus in my sweats trying to reach my professor’s office, so I could talk to him in person, but luckily for me he wasn’t there, and I didn’t have to entirely humiliate myself. My professor ended up dropping the exam for me and increasing the weight of my other exams and assignments, so they would mean more and make up for the missing exam. I ended up with my first A- ever because of it, but I’m still so grateful to that professor for helping me out and showing mercy when I messed up.
That experience constantly reminds me that I need to get enough sleep, so I never have to deal with that situation again. It’s also taught me to listen to my body and mind better and to make sure that I’m taking care of both while balancing everything else, so I can put my best self forward. I hope you all make yourself a priority this year and find both success and happiness in all of your endeavors.
Thanks for giving me time out of your day to read this!
Abigail
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