By Ana Robles

Staff Writer

Brookhaven College students gathered in Room S003 of the Student Building to attend the latest SkillsShop offering strategies on how to concentrate and study more effectively. Participant and Brookhaven College student, Michael Young is a father of a 1-year old daughter. He says that his daughter requires a lot of his time and the new strategies he learned will help him plan and commit to a study schedule, “Yes, it was helpful in many ways that I will use in my study habits.  I will plan out study times and stick to them,” he said.

The SkillsShop was held on April 23 by Brookhaven counselor, Dr. Laura Gambill, who focused on the importance of goal setting and motivation, time management, learning styles, note taking, reading comprehension, study environment, taking and stress management.

Gambill opened the class by asking participants describe their current goals. “Transfer to Texas A&M University, major in Psychology and join the Marines and be an officer,” said one student.  Another student said, “Graduate from Brookhaven this semester, go to SMU and then go to law school.”

The speaker went on to remind the group to set goals into achievable, measurable, specific terms.  She suggested planning specific study times and sticking to them.  “You kind of have to become a police person with yourself,” she said.

Gambill said, it is important to believe in yourself enough to attain all the goals you set.  She asked the group to share what motivated them. “Just telling myself I can tell do it,” said a participant.  “You have to be proactive,” Gambill said. “You have to believe in your ability to achieve.”

Gambill also said it is important to evaluate your personal learning style. Aural learners use hearing to absorb information, utilizing tape-recorded lectures or reading aloud. Visual learners may have to use graphic representation as well as highlighted noted. Tactile and kinesthetic learners use touch, input and are physically adept. These types of learners may type out written notes, make note cards, or study while exercising.

She also stated that most people are “mixed” learners. For example, a visual and tactile learner may need to use graphs, and highlight their handwritten notes or note cards.

The importance of stress management was emphasized during the SkillsShop, “It’s very powerful,” Gambill said.  She went on to share a story of her experience working with women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Most of the women in her study identified stress as the most powerful and common reason for their diagnosis. “It literally destroys our immune’s system innate ability to kill cancer cells,” Gambill said. “So, the next time you’re stressed, I want you to think long and hard how you’re going to bring that level down.”

When discussing the importance of studying environments, Gambill asked if students used the campus library and if it was a good environment to study. “It’s really annoying, their cell phones go off and they just sit there and talk,” said one student. Michael Young, another Brookhaven College student stated, “Brookhaven doesn’t have enough study rooms for just studying.  They’re all open and it’s noisy.” According to Young, there are only two rooms on Brookhaven’s campus compared to over twenty group study rooms on a campus in Collin County. Gambill offered to talk to someone about the issue.

When asked if they learned anything new, Brookhaven student and participant, Victoria Malloy said, “I learned about organization and the importance of finding a good location [to study].”

For more information on study strategies Gambill said students can go to www.how-to-study.com.