John, Sheena and new co-host Sara Hayes discuss healthy ways to having a successful and healthy semester. They are joined by special guest Holly Tinney from the Office of Student Involvement to talk about Get on Board Day, how to get involved, and the importance of getting involved to student success.
Originally aired August 19, 2018.
John Jackson: Welcome to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, the Capstone, and Fall 2018, the first of the year. Probably a little rusty.
Sheena Gregg: Speak for yourself, speak for yourself.
John Jackson: Have you been at home practicing?
Sheena Gregg: I have. Me and my husband, eating breakfast, we pretend we’re on a radio show. Not really. That’s … no.
John Jackson: But, I doubt you’re rusty. You don’t get rusty. You just come in and just go at it, and you’re nice and smooth from the get-go.
Sheena Gregg: I’m a woman. I talk all the time, so yeah.
John Jackson: It is easy for you. Summer for Sheena, what was summer for Sheena like?
Sheena Gregg: Gosh. I can not … I’m trying to remember. It was really hot, and I don’t know if it’s this whole pregnancy thing, and having a heater in my belly, but I think it was just really trying to survive the heat and being pleasant to people, because I have just physically, not been sick, but just emotionally not been myself, which is usually extremely pleasant. In public places, I’ve tried to not be this grouchy person.
Sheena Gregg: That defined my summer, honestly.
John Jackson: Have you controlled your emotion? Have you lost it on anybody?
Sheena Gregg: I’ve not lost it on anyone, probably privately, I have my little moments, but yeah. I’m probably, like I was already a road rage kind of driver, now it’s just gotten a little bit worse, so I try to minimize my driving.
John Jackson: Because you’re always like all sweet and bubbly and that just doesn’t change, does it.
Sheena Gregg: No, no. I try to be nice. Well, I don’t know come labor and delivery time. Let’s not record me then.
John Jackson: You got a little bit left. I do have to ask you, my wife, when she … I mean, she had Taylor, our oldest, at the end of the summer, and there are those things that come along with pregnancy, like the bottom of her feet, during the summer, were round. I mean, she was like those things that you get that you punch and then they bounce right back up. I didn’t punch her, and her bounce right back up, but if I had, or if she had tripped and fallen, she would have bounced right back up.
Sheena Gregg: Yes. So, I’ve not experience that. My feet have gotten bigger, so I had to go up a shoe size. I’ve also, thank goodness for silicone rings, because I can wear those versus my wedding ring, and look like, “Oh, I go workout.” Not like, “Oh, my hands are really swollen.”
Sheena Gregg: So, there’s been some modifications over the years for us pregnant ladies, so that we have a little bit of normalcy.
John Jackson: Nice. I’m sure the rings weren’t for pregnant women, but that’s a good use of that.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, for sure.
John Jackson: So, quick overview of what the show’s like, for those that are new joining us, first semester on campus, or fourth semester on campus and never listened to us. This is the start of our fourth year, mine and your third year together?
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: So, yeah. Second year together. Second year, something like that.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah.
John Jackson: Anyway, the fact of the matter is, Terry Siggers has not fired us yet. We are still on the show.
Sheena Gregg: This is correct. I mean, we have very riveting information, and so for our first-time listeners, we are Fit2BTide, we are a wellness show, and when you think of wellness, sometimes you might have the perspective of just thinking exercise or nutrition, but what John and I like to try to do, is we like to travel the spectrum when it comes to wellness, so that’s going to be looking at it from the mental health piece, the spiritual piece, when it comes to absence or existence of diseases. John, what would you say to that?
John Jackson: Emotional wellness.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly.
John Jackson: Social wellness, and everything falls under environmental wellness.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, for sure.
John Jackson: So many people leave it off, but everything that’s around us on an everyday basis. And as a new college student or as a college student in general, you’re probably surrounded by a lot of things that you’ve never been surrounded by before. So, hopefully what we’re able to accomplish through the semester is to bring you into contact with some experts in different areas that can help you with all of these issues, because there are a lot of issues that come up. We’re going to talk about, being the first show today, we’re going to give an overview of some of those things, and kind of where the show is going for the year, and how to avoid some of those pitfalls.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly. And, for our first show, we’ve actually got some really great guests. We have … we’ve got some new folks joining us, so today is not going to be an exception when it comes to having a fabulous show, but you guys, we’ve got to take our first break. You are listening to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone.
John Jackson: Welcome back to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone. We want to thank you for joining us this Sunday afternoon, and spending part of your afternoon with us here. We’re back again for the semester. Before we went to break, we were kind of talking about what the show is about, Sheena.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly.
John Jackson: And I’m going to go ahead and say that our topic today, go ahead, I mean, how would you describe our topic? Because I’ve got … I have some thoughts on what this topic is.
Sheena Gregg: Well, I think with it being the beginning of the semester, to me it’s almost like we’re giving a little bit of an overview of some of our best advice about having a healthy semester. I don’t know, did I give away too much?
John Jackson: No, no, no. I think that’s what we’re about. I was thinking about it earlier, just in any other normal circumstance, three years prior to this, I would say this show is kind of a mothering show. I mean, we’re passing out that motherly advice that we would give to students that help you … that, you know what? One of the things I have listed here is while you’re here at college, act like your mom and dad are looking over your shoulder.
John Jackson: That’s what this is all, I think this show is all about today, is what are some things that you can do, getting involved, and some other pointers that we have that … hey, we’ve been doing this for a while. You longer, you’ve been around here a long time. I’ve been around here quite a while myself.
John Jackson: We see the pitfalls of [crosstalk 00:06:53].
Sheena Gregg: We do. I think we’re both college educated, so we’ve been college students before. We’ve lived to tell the tale, but with our respective professions, we’ve got some actual expertise in these health areas, too, which is really great. Before we go into such an important topic for this show, you know, J.J., before the break, you were asking me about my summer. I have to ask about your summer. I mean, I didn’t really see you that much, because we weren’t in the recording studio. So what were you up to? Just out of curiosity.
John Jackson: This is very simple. And you said, as we were going to the break, you know one thing, as always baseball.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: Which involves a lot of couch time, and TV time, and occasionally going out to the ball field. And then, a lot of pool time.
Sheena Gregg: Okay.
John Jackson: And that’s it.
Sheena Gregg: Living your best life, that’s what it sounds like. Yeah.
John Jackson: That’s as good as it gets for me, and I have no problem with that.
Sheena Gregg: Okay.
John Jackson: Yeah.
Sheena Gregg: Okay. Fair enough.
John Jackson: Nothing exciting, but it was good for me.
Sheena Gregg: Okay. I’ll take it.
John Jackson: Did that answer your question?
Sheena Gregg: Yes, it does. So, now I feel equal, because you got to get some insight on my summer, so now I know exactly what you were up to.
John Jackson: Okay, so back to my point, of being a motherly show. Enough changing the subject. But, back to my point of being a motherly show, and you about to me a mother.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: One of the things that is, I’m going to say, probably 99% certain that it’s going to happen within the next five months, is that you’re going to have a baby. I am not sure what a gestational period for a Gregg is, okay? I’m assuming nine months, but how long does it take to create perfection? Maybe 15 or 16 months?
Sheena Gregg: You know? Gosh, that’s a … you bring up a great … I think I’m just floored that you actually used the word perfection with me, because you’re usually trash-talking me. So, I will take it. But, we’ll say a baby Gregg will take the general nine month gestation period.
John Jackson: I was a nine-monther, and I’m as close to perfect as it gets around here.
Sheena Gregg: Correct. So, I would say nine months. We’re looking at towards the end of October. We’ll see what happens. But, anyways.
John Jackson: That being said, in the interim, while I assume you wont just to have the baby and just hang around here. You’ll probably take a little time off from work.
Sheena Gregg: I will. I’m not going to be Face timing you all. I got stuff I got to do with this kid.
John Jackson: Our first guest today, I guess we can introduce her, and talk a little bit about what she does and why she’s here, and what she’s going to be doing with us.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: In the event that you don’t have the baby this semester, I don’t know what’s going to happen by January.
Sheena Gregg: I don’t either.
John Jackson: But, Sara Hendricks is with us today, and Sara has kind of been doing a little bit of an internship with me this summer, and she’s a doctoral student. I’ll let her go into some of the things that she’s doing, but Sara’s been around a long time, too. In this profession, is what I mean.
John Jackson: She’s a great resource. I don’t mean that she’s elderly or anything, by any stretch of the imagination.
Sheena Gregg: I know, the scowl. Listeners, if you could see the scowl on Sara’s face, as John is awkwardly trying to [crosstalk 00:10:15].
John Jackson: What I meant by that was, Sara has, I think she has the experience to talk on what can … the topic that we’re talking about today, how to be successful and be healthy. Sara being a doctoral student, Sara, I’m going to go ahead and ask you, is it health education, health promotion? I know they all kind of get tangled up there.
Sara Hendricks: Yes. It’s health promotion and health education.
John Jackson: Oh, it’s both? I got them both? Okay.
Sara Hendricks: You got it.
John Jackson: Okay. Good deal.
Sara Hendricks: You got one thing right.
John Jackson: Got one thing right. Okay. So, well tell us a little bit about, I mean, you got your undergrad at the University of South Alabama.
Sara Hendricks: Yes.
John Jackson: And, okay. That was a bit of a trek for you from your hometown. You get down to Mobile, what do you do to get involved?
Sara Hendricks: Yeah. I actually received both my bachelor’s and master’s from South Alabama. So, when I was a master’s student, I had the opportunity to become group fitness certified, and it was a wonderful opportunity, and I became involved with the campus recreation there. Really fell in love with it, and it has been part of my life since grad school, which was not that long ago.
John Jackson: Right. I’m with you. I’m with you.
Sara Hendricks: But yeah. It was a really great opportunity for me to just become more involved with campus as a whole. I was really able to be involved with the community, faculty, staff and students as well, and I really enjoyed it.
John Jackson: Right. And probably meeting a lot of people teaching your classes.
Sara Hendricks: Yes, yes. I did.
John Jackson: Absolutely.
Sheena Gregg: Sara, with your doctoral program, what do you see yourself doing professionally just with the health education, health promotion certification, and just having that under your belt?
Sara Hendricks: I’ve been battling this decision for a while. They really do a great job here at priming you to teach at university level when you finish. So, that’s definitely an option. Luckily, before I entered the program, I had an opportunity to live in Cambodia for over a year.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, nice.
Sara Hendricks: Yeah. And I loved it. So, I’m not entirely against the idea of traveling back and doing some work over there, but I had some experience working with women’s leadership, which I really enjoyed. There’s a lot of possibilities, and I’m open to a lot of anything that comes my way, really.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. Well, I think If you do that, I hope that you chronicle it on the internet in some capacity, so I can live vicariously through you, because that sounds amazing. I just had to say that.
John Jackson: Worldly Sara. And the reason Sara’s here today, in addition to providing this knowledge and information is because she is going to co-host when Sheena eventually has this boy.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly, yes. But, in the meantime, we get to be this happy trio together. So, I think it’s great, because sometimes, listeners, you might not want to hear what John and I have to say, and Sara has a wealth of knowledge, so you all will want to listen, even just for her, so it works out perfectly.
John Jackson: Right. Yeah. Anyway, we’ve got a lot of information that we want to share today, between the three of us and our guest.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly, exactly.
John Jackson: We’ll be moving into that in just a few minutes, but keep it in mind what we are trying to provide today is just kind of an overview of what we’re looking at for the entire semester. Bringing guests in here to help you to have a health semester, to have a successful semester, and how you define successful semester, maybe that’s something we’ll talk about after the break, but it is something that … a successful semester for Sheena might not be a successful semester for me. I mean, you have to define that, and have what those expectations are.
John Jackson: I think that’s one thing to look at. Obviously there’s some things that, when you get through with a semester, this is a bad semester, and we’ll talk about some of those things.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, yeah. We’ll definitely talk about those scenarios. John, you’re right. What could be defined as successful for one student or healthy for one student could be completely different for another. I think it’ll be great, just with the diversity of folks that we have on this show today, just being able to bring that perspective. We’ve been teasing you about the fact that we do have another guest, but before we finally introduce her, we have to take another break, you guys. So, you got to stick around. You are listening to Fit2BTide this afternoon with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone.
John Jackson: Welcome back to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, and we are continuing our conversation this afternoon about having a healthy and successful semester, and some tips and things that you can do to get started on the right foot. I think that’s the key, Sheena. You got to get started right. I got to have this in my notes. You don’t want to get behind the eight ball to start with.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, no, no, no.
John Jackson: A quick story. We got to get to our guest, but I got to tell you a quick story. My son, who is like, okay, maybe some organizational issues. This is his first semester on campus. Great kid, he’ll do anything you tell him to. Great kid. I mean, I can’t say that enough. He’s got his schedule all out, and he’s got everything written down. He comes home yesterday for the first day of classes, or I’m sorry, Wednesday was the first day of classes, this past week.
John Jackson: He comes home, and he was like, “I missed my first class.”
Sheena Gregg: What?
John Jackson: “You missed your first class?”
John Jackson: “Uh, yeah. I forgot to write it down on my schedule.”
John Jackson: That’s not a good start. So, what we’re talking about today is getting a good start, and a great way to get a good start is to get involved, in addition to your classes, and we know classes are important, but in order to be successful, and to be involved as a student, you have to get involved. I can’t think of words that describe getting involved more than Get On Board Day.
Sheena Gregg: Correct. No. I mean, but you’re so right. I mean, getting plugged in, it kind of gives you a little bit more ownership and identity on campus, so we wanted to make sure that we really emphasize that today. You guys, you are so lucky, because our first guest of the semester is Molly Tinney, from the office of student involvement. Molly, welcome.
Molly Tinney: Hey, how’s it going?
Sheena Gregg: Good. We are so glad to have you, and now, tell us a little bit about your department and your role in student involvement.
Molly Tinney: All right. So, the office of student involvement, we are a one-stop shop for any student who wants to start an organization, get involved in an organization, we’ve got clubs from athletic to honor societies. I mean, we really … there’s something for everybody.
Molly Tinney: My role as assistant director is to work with the involvement geniuses. They are our student ambassadors who go around campus and speak to individuals and groups about different ways they can get involved. I also work with the honor societies, and then I do just an amalgamation of other student outreach and general involvement.
Sheena Gregg: Okay. Awesome.
John Jackson: I’ll look up what amalgamation means in a minute.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. You do that.
John Jackson: Tell us a little bit, we’ve got Get On Board Day coming up, tell us what all that involves, and how that can be a benefit to new students, old students alike.
Molly Tinney: All right. So, Get On Board Day is a huge event. It’s really high energy. The office of student involvement manages that event, plans it, implements it. Right now, we have about 300 students orgs and departments, and close to about 100 community partners scheduled to participate. So, on Get On Board Day, you’re going to have a ton of different tables and vendors on campus from August 30th from five to nine, and you’re going to be able to go and connect with those vendors and orgs and get information. I mean, it’s a huge event where you really … we want students to treat it kind of like a buffet, right?
Molly Tinney: It’s this one night where you can go around and sample a little bit. Put a little bit of everything on your plate, and see what you really want to get involved in.
Sheena Gregg: I love it. I was, before we started recording this show and doing the … in between breaks, I know some of us had just talked about, thinking back to our first year experience on campus, and I remember going to Get on Board Day, and back then, I won’t say what specific year that was. We had all of the tables out on the quad, and it was just so interesting to me to see the diversity of the student organizations that were available. I signed up for everything. But, I went through and went to the first meeting just to have a better idea, but it just seemed like such a great experience, because I was like, “Holy cow. There’s a lot of different groups that are out here.” I don’t know, I loved it. J.J., did you sign up for a plethora of student organizations when you were a student?
John Jackson: Despite the amalgamation of programs and things that were out there, I was busy playing baseball, I’m sorry.
Sheena Gregg: That’s okay.
John Jackson: Yeah. Baseball was my Get on Board Day.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. Those were your people, you know?
John Jackson: Yeah. Those were my peeps. Unfortunately. But, since then, I’ve seen all that goes on with it, and the value of it is just … you just can’t emphasize enough, when we look at the things that we talk about, those wellness things, there’s none of those that you can’t benefit from by getting involved. Especially the social aspect, which is huge. I know a lot of people come to college with some friends, but once you get here, you get all new friends, and you all have different interests. But, being able to get involved in groups that have similar interests that you do, I think is just huge.
Molly Tinney: Yeah. Absolutely. The benefits of getting involved on campus, it really helps you find the thing that you’re passionate about, it gives you an avenue to learn about new things that maybe you’ve never considered before, it makes a large campus feel small. It gives you a support system. Something that we know, at UA is that if a student is involved in one to three organizations, they’re 50% more likely to graduate. Not only graduate, graduate on time.
Molly Tinney: There’s really no downside to getting involved on campus.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. I mean, that’s a huge statistic. Because I’m sure if I was going back to college again, I would want to graduate.
Molly Tinney: Absolutely.
Sheena Gregg: Getting plugged in. And now Molly, I know we’ve talked about this during our breaks, but you actually did not do your undergraduate experience at UA. Where were you at?
Molly Tinney: I went to Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, where I had the absolute time of my life. I started off, I should have made the decision on where to go to college based on academics and career, but I just wanted to be in the marching band, so I went there to be a member of the Marching Southerners. I instantly, being a member of the Marching Southerners, singing in the acapella choir, those for me were really important, because it gave me a community of people who I could ask questions. When I didn’t know anything about anything, I had that group of friends that I could talk to, and it really helped me navigate campus and feel like I belonged.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. That’s awesome. That’s awesome.
John Jackson: I have to ask you about this singing acapella thing.
Molly Tinney: Uh-oh.
John Jackson: Real quickly. Off the topic, tell me about that.
Molly Tinney: I mean, it was amazing. We sang all types. We sang kind of more traditional style chamber music, some of it in Latin and French, and all of that. I know that’s hard to believe when you hear this accent going on, but my singing voice is actually a lot different than my speaking voice.
Sheena Gregg: Okay, okay. Well, we’ll put you on the spot with a performance this afternoon.
Molly Tinney: Oh no. I don’t know. I didn’t do my warm-up’s.
Sara Hendricks: I think you all should do a jingle, so maybe she could be the voice for a jingle.
Sheena Gregg: I know.
John Jackson: Well, maybe that’s an idea.
Sheena Gregg: I’m liking your addition already.
Molly Tinney: I make little jingles all the time, just because. I’m happy to work on that.
John Jackson: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. That’s really cool.
Sheena Gregg: Well, I think just given the fact that you were able to really find your groove and have that sense of community is huge. With today’s show, certainly we’re really wanting to talk about how to have that successful semester, and I think we eluded to getting plugged in as being a huge piece to that. We want to make sure too, with the show this afternoon that we all get to share our perspectives on what is the definition of a healthy and successful semester? We want to talk about that more. I want to hear from Sara’s perspective. I know John’s got some opinions on that, Molly, you kind of shared your experience from undergrad at JSU. I’ll be sharing some perspective as well. But, you guys, we have got to take another break. It’s probably hard to believe, but we’ve got to do it. So, stick with us this afternoon. You are listening to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone.
John Jackson: After the first Sunday of the first semester of Fall 2018, and I hope it was a good weekend for you. For so many of you, first weekend Fall semester, I hope you’re not just now getting up. Hopefully you got up early and got it going after an early Saturday night, Sheena?
Sheena Gregg: Yeah. Oh yeah, totally, totally.
John Jackson: Yeah. Anyway, you’re listening to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone, and we are here to tell you how to be healthy and how not to be unhealthy.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: Did I say that right?
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: How not to be unhealthy.
Sheena Gregg: That’s very politically correct. And well, correct. Yeah.
John Jackson: Yeah. So anyway, we all kind of have some things that, probably, based on all of our experiences, some to-do things and some to not-do things. Based on the experience, based on our years of watching students be successful and unsuccessful. I guess, Sheena, what we were talking about earlier, was how do you define successful or unsuccessful? It’s different for everybody.
Sheena Gregg: Right.
John Jackson: For a lot of people, it’s grades, but other things factor in.
Sheena Gregg: Sure. I think, aside from grades, I think when we look at it from a holistic point of view, is really having that great balance of you’ve found your place socially in terms of feeling connected to the university, so you’ve got that great social wellness going on. You’re feeling academically stimulated in your classes, and you’re having a priority with that. If there’s other components of your health that are priority, like maybe your spiritual health and getting plugged in to something related to that. Of course, as a dietician, I get a little partial to maybe even having some balance with those nutrition behaviors, actually making eating a priority. It’s kind of funny how certain health behaviors, like sleep, exercise, and nutrition tend to go in the back burner when we’re so hyper-focused on the academics piece in the beginning, because it kind of is the unknown, because we’re having to manage this new schedule for the first time. You know?
John Jackson: Yeah. I agree, and I think like what you and I do, and obviously we’re a little partial to that, but you have so many students that are … come in for the first time, they’re on their own for the first time, and from a physical activity, exercise standpoint, my angle on this is, you’ve gone from a very, very structured environment where you went to school eight hours a day, and then when school was over with, if you participated in any activities, you were active for that period of time after that. So, you were getting some physical activity. It was kind of pushed on you.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: If not, maybe you’re not the most active person in the world, and this is an opportunity for you to do that. But, if you’re used to that, you’re not going to have somebody making you do it now. So, here you are, in this environment where you’re kind of … you’re on your own, and when you get out of class, which isn’t eight hours of class, it’s … you’ve been in class for a few hours this morning, maybe a couple hours this afternoon, lot of time to sit around in between. What are you going to do when class is over with? It’s easy to go home and take a nap.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly. Because really, as a college student, you are king or queen of the castle. You kind of are deciding how are you going to utilize that time? Are you going to choose to be physically active? Are you going to choose to actually go get something to eat? Are you going to choose to have some quiet reflection time for some self-care for your mental health? Are you actually going to take a shower? There’s a lot of things, there’s a lot of decisions that are to be made when you’ve got this time that you get to be the owner of.
John Jackson: I think, yes, absolutely. I think you kind of skimmed over it, but I think too, people are so used to, students in high school are so used to having mom and dad, or mom, whatever, cook dinner for them. Maybe cook breakfast for them and have a good lunch at school or whatever. But, you don’t have that now. You got that choice, you got that freedom, you can eat whatever you want to.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly.
John Jackson: And that’s dangerous. You know? That’s dangerous. We say the Freshman 15, we know it’s about six to eight pounds.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: But, that’s the average, six to eight pounds. If you’re not in college, do you get that six to eight pound gain? You’re going to gain some weight, but maybe not that much.
Sheena Gregg: Right, right.
John Jackson: So, you’re in an environment where food’s all around.
Sheena Gregg: No. For sure. I mean, just kind of thinking about different perspectives, for you Sara, what would you kind of define as your perception of a healthy semester?
Sara Hendricks: For myself, I think it might be different from the students that I teach, actually.
Sheena Gregg: Sure.
Sara Hendricks: But, I just see so many students come through and everything tends to become due on the same dates or the same weeks. The students become so overwhelmed, and honestly, to make the healthiest, happiest semester is just staying organized throughout and being prepared.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, I agree.
Sara Hendricks: I just think a lot of students underestimate the amount of work that it’s going to take when all of these assignments start rolling in. Then, you see the stress on them when they’re coming through. It really, I feel like, makes their semester worse, and it could be so much better if they were just in control of their schedules. Like J.J. was saying about his son, he forgot to write that he had class on his schedule, so he totally forgot. I’m sure that immediately created a lot of stress for him on the first day.
Sheena Gregg: Right.
Sara Hendricks: So, for me, a healthy semester would just be organize, prepare, so you’re able to have more time to do the fun things on the side that you really want to do, too.
Sheena Gregg: Oh, I love that. Molly? I know you kind of eluded to being plugged in, being kind of a core value of having that successful and healthy semester, but I don’t know, how else would you define a healthy, successful semester experience?
Molly Tinney: For me, I think that having a good, healthy semester is being organized, but also balancing my responsibilities with that free time. When you do work really hard, you also should schedule in some time to do something that you enjoy. Being in college, you’re the most free that you’re ever going to be, probably. So, you should take this time to learn about some new things, and get involved, but make sure that you kind of set the limits on … you don’t want to do too much and get yourself overwhelmed. And for me, I like to kind of find that happy medium between staying organized and doing all the things that I have to do, but also making the time to do other stuff, so I’m connecting with other people, and just keeping myself healthy.
Sheena Gregg: I love that. We’ve talked about this a little bit, when it comes to being plugged in, in relationship, I would say, even for me personally, it’s just having that specific group of people or individual that I really can confide in about those stressful moments, in terms of just being really transparent. I think sometimes as college students, we want to really give off this persona like, “Oh, everything’s going great. Everything is awesome. I’m being successful.” But, to have your core friends or family members that you can really confide in and say, “Hey, I’m getting kind of stressed out. I’m getting kind of overwhelmed.”
Sheena Gregg: There’s just something very cathartic and helpful about getting to be transparent about how you’re really feeling. Mental health is a big component on the health spectrum, and I feel like that can be a huge component too, because it can be more stressful when you feel isolated during the semester.
John Jackson: Okay, so we got about a minute and a half here before break. We’re going to machine gun this, okay.
Sheena Gregg: Okay. Sorry.
John Jackson: And we may do this a little bit this last segment. Okay. Your top to-do list, your top to-don’t list, your whatever. Let’s roll this. What you got, Sheena? Your best advice. A couple things.
Sheena Gregg: For me, have a plan with your food. It doesn’t have to be you planning every single meal, but kind of know if you’re actually going to have lunch, and what time that’s going to happen. Think, “Oh, at this point in the day, I’m going to be on this side of campus. This is probably where I need to go for lunch, or I should pack something.”
Sheena Gregg: Having a semi-game plan with your meals is what I would say is helpful. I’m coming from a very concrete perspective as a dietician.
John Jackson: I knew you were going there with food.
Sheena Gregg: Yeah.
John Jackson: Sara, what say you? What’s your topic?
Sara Hendricks: I’m going to say, don’t hide behind your phones this semester.
John Jackson: Beautiful.
Sheena Gregg: I like it.
John Jackson: Beautiful.
Sara Hendricks: And try to connect with people in your classes, or somebody you’re walking next to, try to actually make new friends in different ways.
Sheena Gregg: I love it.
Sara Hendricks: The original way.
John Jackson: Great. Molly, can you hang with us after the break?
Molly Tinney: Yeah.
John Jackson: I think we need to continue this. We need to go to a quick break.
Sheena Gregg: So, you guys, as J.J. said, we got to break this up. We’ve got more tips to go, because I’m very curious to what John is going to say, and I know Molly’s going to say something fabulous. We got to take that break. You are listening to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone.
John Jackson: Welcome back to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John on 90.7, The Capstone, and we’re continuing our show this afternoon. Kind of finishing up talking about how to have a healthy and successful semester. We finished that last segment with kind of going around and hitting some of the high points for us. I know you guys have probably some more things. I got a long list to go through here, so I know I won’t get through all of it.
John Jackson: Molly, if you had to give your top couple of things, top tips, what would they be?
Molly Tinney: The first one would be to attend class as many of those classes as possible, and stay awake in the duration of those classes.
Sheena Gregg: Snaps, man. Yes.
John Jackson: Great.
Molly Tinney: Yeah. Because half the battle is just being in class, even if you don’t necessarily feel like it that day, you will maybe by osmosis, soak in some type of knowledge, and that is better than no knowledge. I would say go to class.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly, and if you’re at the end of the semester, and you’re begging for those bonus points, and your professor’s like, “Dude, you’ve been Bye Felecia this entire semester.”
Molly Tinney: Absolutely.
Sheena Gregg: Okay.
Molly Tinney: Yeah.
John Jackson: I want to preface my list by saying this is the point in the show where we normally do, Sheena talks about a food.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: And, that will be back on our next show.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: I will say that, so for those of you that are missing that, I love it. Okay. I got a long list here. My things aren’t as profound as what you guys have, but I got a whole lot of shallow things here. Okay. Number one, act like your mom and dad are with you every decision you make.
Sheena Gregg: I like it.
John Jackson: Now, that’s kind of deep. Okay? We could go with that, but stay with me. Get or stay active. Don’t put it off. Go ahead and get started. It’s like getting in class to start with, and staying in class. You want to do that. Don’t get a minor in possession.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: I mean, that’s simple, but you know.
Sheena Gregg: It is our duty to tell you that, yes.
John Jackson: Yes. Think of your professor … you all stop me whenever you want to. Think of your professor as a professor. They’re teachers, and they want you to learn, but you have to communicate with them. Don’t be scared of them. You have to talk to them. Don’t wait until the end of the semester to go up to them and say, “Hey, what can I do for extra credit?” No. It doesn’t work that way. Go up to them from the get-go. They want you to learn, not do what you have to do just to get a grade.
Sheena Gregg: Correct.
John Jackson: Anybody want to interrupt me, because I’m still going here.
Sheena Gregg: No, I’m being blown away right now, you just keep going. Yes.
John Jackson: Do not expect the same grades that you got in high school. How about that?
Sheena Gregg: Preach.
John Jackson: You got to be realistic about things. Hey, don’t expect a lot of handholding from your professors like you got from your teachers in high school. It doesn’t have anything to do with being at a big university or a small college, it just has to do with growing up. You all with me on that? I see heads nodding. But, okay?
Sheena Gregg: Yeah
Sara Hendricks: Yes.
Molly Tinney: Yeah.
John Jackson: Okay. We have great advisors here. Don’t rely on them to get you through school. You got to go through your own stuff, and make sure you’re going to … if you want to graduate on time, don’t depend on anybody else to help you with it, okay?
John Jackson: Be careful with social media and where your photo goes.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: It may not be you on social media, but you allow people to take pictures of you, who knows where they end up? Right?
Sheena Gregg: Man, screenshots are forever. That is going to be our theme.[crosstalk 00:38:52].
John Jackson: Screenshots are forever. That sounds like a commercial.
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: Okay. Just a couple more here, okay?
Sheena Gregg: I want them.
John Jackson: Am I all right?
Sheena Gregg: Yes.
John Jackson: Okay. Everybody has problems, okay? You just may not know about everybody’s problems, okay? Everybody’s going through similar things that you are. Get help. There are so many things, we’re going to be talking about that on this show. There are so many things, there are so many entities on campus. There is basically nothing that you can’t receive help for. We’ve had everybody on this show that helps you with everything.
Sheena Gregg: Exactly.
John Jackson: All right? Okay. You were just staring at me. Seemed like it wasn’t making sense.
Sheena Gregg: I’m just dumbfounded, because I am so blown away by the knowledge that you are giving in our last five minute segment. That is like the best way to end our show this afternoon.
John Jackson: Absolutely. I will end on a high note. Praise from you.
Sheena Gregg: Yes, I mean, take it.
John Jackson: It doesn’t happen often.
Sheena Gregg: It’s very rare, but J.J., good job. Sara, we are so excited to have you.
Sara Hendricks: I’m so excited.
Sheena Gregg: You have a fantastic radio voice. Molly, always a pleasure and thank you for coming for our first show of the year. But, you guys, this is it. You are listening to Fit2BTide with Sheena and John. We hope you have a great Sunday afternoon, and we will catch you next time.
