Iowa City in Pictures

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One of the things that attracted me to the UI was Iowa City. I have talked about my love for this city before but I thought it would be best to show you the beauty of Iowa City through the lens of a current Hawkeye.

Coming from Chicago, I never thought I would ever fall in love with another city, much less a city smaller than my beautiful Chicago. But here we are!

Walking between classes or just taking a walking break, I have made it a habit to snap photos of the small things I see around Iowa City.

Here is a small gallery!

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How to stick to a routine!

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Hello, current and future Hawkeyes,

As we begin to get wrapped up in the spring semester, we stumble across a new obstacle: sticking to a routine.

Trust me, I know it’s hard because its cold outside and everything is slower, which is not exactly the right combination to feel motivated, but I have collected a few things that have helped me get back into the swing of things.

  1. Wake up early: I do not mean at the crack of dawn but maybe an hour or two before your first class starts. You can choose between using this time to do some light work or like me who uses this time as reading time before getting to work. This has been so helpful for me because it allows me to plan the day ahead and fit in some self care in the morning, which is great!
  2. Be Kind to yourself: Sometimes we are behind on readings, and that’s okay. Do not beat yourself up, instead block out 2 to 3 hours on the weekend to get those readings done. PRO TIP: Time your readings with how long it takes you to do your laundry, that way you have time in between your study session to get up and stretch and then come back but at the same time you are doing chores.
  3. Have a routine buddy: My roommates and I have gotten used to each other routines and somehow created a routine for the three of us. We wake up together, get ready together, go to class, eat dinner, study and then go to bed around the same time. Having someone go along the day with you will help you stick to your routine but also ensure you are not isolated.

Other tips include:

  • Google Calendar: I love my Google Calendar. I have it synced up to my Apple Calendar which allows me to see my agenda on my phone. The app also lets you customize colors for every class, event and task. Highly recommend
  • Paper Agenda: Digital calendars are great but sometimes its helpful to write everything down and see your day on paper. Also it is so satisfying to cross something out!

Have a great semester Hawkeyes

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Hello Fall!

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Hello, current and future Hawkeyes,

Well, it’s officially fall here in Iowa City which means those famous Iowa winds are making a come back and students have switched shorts for jeans and sweaters. I always get a little happy once the leaves start to turn because it means we are slowly approaching the holidays when everything seems a bit happier.

If you are like myself whose family is filled with big fall fans, this time of the year could make you feel homesick, and trust me I am! (no matter how old you get, you will always miss home) So I’ve compiled a list of things to combat home-sickness during this time of year <3

  1. Decorate your room: My roommate and I just hung up fall leaves around our dorm and it has made the biggest change in our moods. While Iowa City’s trees are taking a while to turn colors, our room is scattered with orange and yellow leaves giving the impression Fall is here! Growing up my mom always switched our summer tablecloths with a pumpkin-themed tablecloth to symbolize the change of season. My dad would make sure he bought the pumpkin garbage bags to store leaves in and decorate our front yard with. Being away from college has made me miss these traditions but now in college, I get to pick how early I decorate for fall, which is the sliver-lining of feeling homesick during fall.
  2. Treat yourself to a fall coffee: Getting a PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte), Chai Latte, or a Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cold Foam on the first day of fall (and at least once a week before Winter) has been a tradition of mine since I started drinking coffee in high school. Of course, I have carried on that tradition into my college years. My ideal day is if the weather allows it, grabbing a pumpkin coffee drink (usually a cold brew with pumpkin cold foam) from any of the great coffee shops in town and sitting on the Pentacrest to do some light work. Instantly cures my yearning for my grandma’s cafe de olla  (Mexican coffee) craving. While nothing will ever compare to my grandma’s coffee, this routine slightly cures my homesickness.
  3. Take a break and watch the leaves start changing colors: This is probably my favorite activity to do during fall and what better city to explore the beauty of nature than Iowa City. There are some hidden gems scattered around the city that showcase the beauty of fall. For example, behind the English and Philosophy Building, which already has a great view of the river, beautifully showcases the fall colors. College Green Park, which is just 5 to 10 minutes away from the Pentacrest is a sight to see! Growing up in Chicago, my family and I would drive around to see the trees change colors, and slowly the Chicago streets would be littered with orange, red, and yellow leaves. It’s great to translate my home traditions to Iowa City, my new home.
  4. Make your dorm smell like fall: Whether that is using a Febreeze Apple Cinnamon Spray or a Glade Pumpkin Spice plug-in, making your dorm smell cozy further improves the fall vibes and makes you ready to welcome in the season.

Doing these have helped me beat my homesickness during this season which reminds me so much of home!

Hope you stay warm Hawkeyes!

 

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Study Tips

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Hello Hawkeyes!

I hope you are all keeping warm as Iowa winds finally caught up with us.

Congratulations to first-years, y’all have made it halfway through your first college semester! Only 8 weeks to go, but who is counting, right?

As a sophomore year, I have tried almost every study tip in the book and I have compiled a list to share. So whether you are a first-year or beyond, here are some of my favorite study tips!

  1. Color-Code your notes: I am a big fan of this method. My approach to this method is writing all my notes down in black and then going back and highlighting important terms in one color, and something I have questions on another color. This helps me not only comprehend what I am learning but also helps me see what I am having trouble grasping.
  2. Ask Questions: Whether it’s in class or during office hours or even through email, using your professor and TA is the greatest study resource available for UI students. All our faculty are committed to our success and are more than willing to help us study. I recommend taking in a couple of questions on either lecture material or an assignment that way you can get the most out of the meeting.
  3. Take breaks: Our brains can only hold so much information at a time and studying for long periods of time is not helpful at all. I usually stick to a 30-minute time block of just hardcore studying and then taking a ten-minute break, which can either can consist of taking a small walk or filling up my water bottle. Stepping away from my notes has really helped me retain more information.
  4. Become a morning person instead of a night owl:  Our body and brains need sleep, which is why I avoid studying late into the night. Once 10 o’clock hits, my books are closed and put away, I know I cannot retain anything after that so what’s the point of staying up for nothing stay, instead, I can be productive and get some rest, which is very much productive. I think there is a stigma in college that the later you stay up the more productive you are, I think that is not reasonable at all. Get some rest, wake up early and do some light studying before classes!

I hope you take some of these tips into consideration!

Happy midterm season Hawkeyes <3

 

 

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Life of a Journalism Student at Iowa

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Hello Hawkeyes!

As we make our way through the spring semester, I thought I’d hop on to share what my life is like as a journalism student here at Iowa!

I didn’t always know that I wanted to study journalism in college, in fact, I did not know until my junior year of high school. I thank younger Emily, for choosing to take a journalism class because it was the only reason I am here at the UI studying journalism.

In just my first semester of college, I have had the opportunity of applying to internships at NPR, reporting on city elections, and talking with local and state politicians. I would not have the confidence or the tools to do these things if it wasn’t for the support of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. SJMC offers peer mentors for every class in the major as well as staff members who are experts in curating internships for students.

The Adler Journalism and Mass Communication Building is a beautiful building where many SJMC classes are housed as well as various study spaces. My favorite place in Adler, however (next to the Student Center) is The Daily Iowan’s newsroom. The Daily Iowan is my home, simply put. As the independent newspaper of the University of Iowa, The Daily Iowan reports on things happening in the University of Iowa community, but also the Iowa City community and in the state of Iowa.

In addition, the SJMC is made up of the most supportive staff ever. Every professor takes time to address the needs of their students and encourages every student to drop in and say hi! Not only are the professors welcoming but every J-student is welcoming and supportive, some of my best friends are j-students.

I 100% recommend making friends with people in the same major as you because you already have something in common with each other and chances are that you will find more things in common.

I can not wait to see what the next 6 semesters hold!

As always, Go Hawks!

Emily Delgado <3

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Why Attend UI?

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Hello future Hawkeyes!!

As I start the spring semester, I have been reflecting on the fact that around this time last year, I was trying to decide on what college I wanted to attend. Although I was still waiting on a couple of more schools, by January I had started to narrow down where I wanted to attend.

The University of Iowa was one of the first schools that I heard back from and although I did not plan on staying in the midwest for college I somehow fell in love with UIowa.

I knew it was the place for me the minute I stepped foot on campus. I was not expecting to feel such an instant connection to the campus, but I did and it was a great experience.

As a Latina, I was not expecting to feel so at home in PDW, but I did. The University of Iowa does a great job in making sure every student finds a sense of community. I found my community in my Living Learning Community (LLC) and in The Daily Iowan.

The University of Iowa not only provides support for its students but it is a great institution with a diverse range of programs for students to chose from.

I’ve only been here for half of a semester and I’ve already fallen in love and can not wait till the next three years!

 

 

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Finals Survival Guide!

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As finals week is quickly approaching preparing for those late-night study sessions is at the forefront of my mind.

Luckily for me, I’m used to finals week. In high school, for 5 days it was just back-to-back tests or presentations, but what got me through that week was my finals survival guide!

  1. A good playlist- I am one of those people that can not study in complete silence, I have to have something playing. I often switch from those Youtube, “cafe study” or “lofi study” videos and my own study playlists and study break playlists. I have linked some, so give them a listen. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/54ffGeJN7OJb1avD6UbL82?si=b8766edd394147ae
  2. Productive study space- Whether it’s your dorm or a lounge or even a study room in one UIowa’s many wonderful libraries, there are extensive study spaces on campus! So far this semester I have found my dorm and the business library to be some very productive spaces. My roommate and I designed our room to be home but at the same time a study space, which I really recommend. We turn on our soft lights, turn on the speaker, refill out water bottles, and just do work. If you find a space that nurtures productivity, you will get so much done!
  3. Study-buddy– As I mentioned above, my roommate and I study together and it’s great! I say this because not only is it someone who can make sure you are focused but you can ask them to quiz you on the content or help you proofread an essay. It is also nice to have someone there when you take a study break!
  4. Take Study breaks!- I don’t think I can stress this enough, taking study breaks is so important. Our brains can only take so much and if we cram, information will be less likely to remain. That being said try every 30 minutes to get up, maybe walk around, get a snack, to give your brain, and yourself a break 🙂

Good luck with finals!

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Advice on Picking a Major!

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Hey all!

As college admission season is well underway, I thought I’d pop in and share my experience of picking my major and also how you can go about that process, which I know is a scary one!

To start off, I just want to say that it is okay to not know what you want to do or have an idea of what you even are interested in.

For me, it was a journey to find my major.

Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher. I knew what grade I wanted to teach, how I wanted to set up my classroom. I was fully prepared to be a teacher… but then I found out what lawyers were.

In middle school,  I started considering law school. I was such a law nerd that I had somehow memorized the Constitution. I had a copy of the constitution in my room.

Going into high school, I was still on the government track but now I wanted to be in the FBI. That’s how I framed my high school life, I took political classes and joined the mock trial team. My counselor would send me emails about criminology scholarships and which schools had good criminology programs.  This is how I started compiling my college list.

In my junior year, I took a journalism class and we were in charge of the school paper. By the end of the first month of school, I had fallen in love with not only writing for the paper but with the environment in the newsroom. That’s when everything clicked for me because writing came naturally to me and I could see myself being a journalist in the long run.

As you can see, I didn’t know until a year before starting my college admission process, what I wanted to do with my life, and that is okay!

My piece of advice is to just be open to everything.

I also think that knowing your strengths is really helpful. For example. I know I’m a strong writer and I love to read so I always knew I was gonna go into a field that really played to those strengths. If your strength is math, then look for a field that plays to that.

My last piece of advice is to, and as cliche as it sounds, just follow your heart.

No matter what, you want to be happy with your decision and always know that changing your major, once you are in college, is totally normal.

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Fall Essentials

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HAPPY FRIDAY!

I am that person that gets really excited once the weather starts to drop and starts to hit around 60 degrees because that means fall is right around the corner! 

I have compiled my essentials for fall, more specifically college fall essentials!

  1. The oversized sweater: During the fall, I live in sweaters just because they are super comfortable and because you can style them in so many ways.
  2. Boots: Weather is so unpredictable these days that having a pair of boots handy just because one never knows. 
  3. Flannels: It’s a basic fall essential. Flannels just scream fall! 
  4. Cinnamon: Whether it is putting it in your coffee or oatmeal or even putting cinnamon essential oil in your diffuser, cinnamon just feels like a warm hug. 
  5. Jean Jacket: The thing that I love about jean jackets is that they are super handy when commuting. They have big pockets that can hold your headphones, phone, and even wallet. 
  6. Hot Coffee/Tea: I’m usually an iced coffee and tea drinker but in the fall, I like drinking hot coffee because it’s just comforting. 
  7. Travel mug: Reusable mugs are not only sustainable and great for the planet but they help keep your hot coffee or tea nice and warm.

All in all, the main essential needed in fall is whatever makes you comfortable, which is a common theme throughout my list! 

Have a great day!

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Hello!

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Hello all! My name is Emily Delgado and I’m a first year student at UI!! 

I’m beyond excited to be here and document my experience at Iowa for you. 

I hope all your classes are going well and that you are enjoying your time here! 

Coming later this week is my list of fall essentials, which is perfect timing now that the weather here in Iowa City is starting to drop! 

 

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