What are your hopes for the new year?

"I hope Obama doesn't freak out when he sees it all... He's got a lot on his plate."
- Debra Lindsay, Humanities Secretary II

"Peace, security, and love for everybody."
- Bonny Copenhaver, Dean of Humanities

"I hope Obama makes it through his first term."
- Dawn Anderson, Records Clerk

" I want to keep my job for the new year. With all the budget cuts, I want all my co-workers and I to keep our jobs."
- Pam Carey, Assistant Director of Records

"More financial aid, and gas prices to stay low."
- Beverly, Business Office Cashier

A quick reminder, the campus will be closed next week (December 22-27) for the Holiday Weekend. It will reopen on December 29th. I won't be back in the office until January 5th. If you think of a story idea for next year, send me an e-mail here. From everyone here at Vol State, we wish you a Merry Chrismahanakwanzaka (pronounced Chris-ma-haana-kquanzzika) and a happy new year!

Volunteer State Community College. Vol State.

Holiday Wishes

What are your holiday plans?

"I'm going to visit my grandkids for a couple of weeks, it's always exciting."
- Maxine Bowlen, Secretary Academic Affairs

"I'm getting plenty of rest, I'm going to church on New Years and afterwards I plan on staying up and hanging out with the girls."
- Sharon Hebb, Information Specialist

"Just survive it!"
- Betty Gibson, Assistant to the President



"I'm going to North Carolina with my baby [puppy] boy!"
- Gina Garera, Coordinator of Student Activities

"I plan on cooking Christmas Breakfast for my family and watching Christmas shows."
- Nannette King, Custodian







"I'm traveling to Kentucky to visit my crazy family."
- Erin Montgomery, Secretary in Retention Support Services




Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Christmas For Kids from a Chaperone's perspective

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Studio Clean Up

This semester, a few Art majors and myself cleaned two of the studios and the computer lab in the Art Building. Here's a fun recap of what we did:

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Thinking about giving college a try?

There's still time to register for Spring 2009.

With the downturn of the economy, there's never been a better time to go back to school and get a degree.

Why go back to school?

There are plenty of reasons why to start or go back to college. Check out this website for forty fun reasons why to attend college.

One of the biggest reasons why you should get a degree is the opportunity to get a better job. Statistically, people who have an associates degree will make more money over their lifetime than someone with just a high school diploma.

So, what keeps people from coming back to college?

For the excuse that college is too expensive need only look here. The cost of tuition for an in-state student for one semester is only $1,365.50. Compare that to the closest public university, Tennessee State University in downtown Nashville, in-state tuition of $2,566, and the closet private college, Cumberland University in Lebanon, in-state tuition of $7,910; Vol State is the cheapest way to get a college education.

Struggle with math, writing, or reading? Vol State has classes and labs across the campus to help you out.

Feel like you won't fit in? Vol State has students ranging in age from 65 to 17.

If you'd like more information, e-mail the admissions office at admissions@volstate.edu.

Interested in student international travel-study?

Are you interested in traveling overseas to study? The Vol State International Education Committee has money available for student travel-study. The TnCIS Summer Abroad is part of the program. The goal is to have a minimum of 25 students from Vol State participate in the Summer Programs TnCIS has established for the summer of 2009.

Brazil, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Scotland. South Africa, Spain and the Netherlands offer travel study programs for our students.

Financial Aid will be available in the form of scholarship assistance from the international education committee. Interested students must make time to attend one of the sessions to learn about the programs and the opportunities.

Informational sessions for interested students - summer 2009 TnCIS

Date	Location	Time
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008	Main Campus, Mattox Building Room 104	10:00 A.M.
Thursday, December 18th, 2008	Main Campus, Mattox Building Room 104	6:30 P.M.
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009	Livingston Campus	2:00 P.M. & 6:00 P.M.
Friday, January 9th, 2009	Main Campus, Mattox Building Room 104	10:00 A.M.
Thursday, January 15th, 2009	Main Campus Mattox Building, Rooms TBA	12:30 P.M. & 5:30 P.M.

Additional Schedule of Committee Activity and TnCIS Deadlines

• Tuesday, January 20th, 2009: Deadline for Scholarship Applications due to Academic Business Division Office 4:30 P.M.


• January 26th – January 30th: Committee meetings to award scholarships


• February 19th: TnCIS Application Fee deadline, $100 Nonrefundable Application Fee


• March 19th, 2009: Full Payment Fee to TnCIS (Program Fee and Airfare)

Interested students must make application to a TnCIS Program and pay the $100 nonrefundable fee. Payment of this fee is not applied to the program cost and does not guarantee either acceptance by TnCIS or Financial Aid (scholarship) assistance from VSCC. It is recommended you attend a session above before applying to TnCIS through their website http://www.tncis.org/

Meet Megan Hightower

Megan is a 18 year old Business major from Lafeyette.

It's your last week of the semester! How happy are you?
"Pretty excited, no more tests and getting closer to graduation."

What do you plan on doing differently next semester?
"Making plans and sticking to them."

How are you handling the stress so far?
"Pretty well."

Are you planning on doing anything after you final exam?
"I'm going shopping."

What exam are you studying right now?
"Business, I'm studying about carrying out the monetary policy for the Federal Reserve System."

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Ways to cut down on the cost of gift giving.

Isn't it crazy that Christmas is 21 days away, Hanukkah begins in 17 days, and Kwanzaa begins in 22 days? And it seems like the holiday season couldn't have come at a worst time. Everyone is strapped for cash these days, and spending hundreds of dollars on gifts for our family and friend may not be realistic this season.

So, I developed a list of ways to curb the bite of holiday shopping to your wallet:

- Try homemade goods. I'm actually knitting scarves myself for gifts instead of buying them. Can you bake? Why not make fudge or Christmas cookies? Get creative! Check out this guide to making cookie dough in a jar.

- Give your time versus your money. Sometimes the best present you can give to a person is your time. "Give “coupons” for babysitting, house cleaning, errand running, etc. As the mother of two very young children, babysitting coupons are among my favorite gifts to receive!" according to this eHow.com guide to frugal gift giving.

- Skip department stores and head to second-hand stores. According to Erin Huffstetler of About.com, "There's no rule that says gifts have to be bought new. Scour thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and other second-hand sources for gift-worthy items at prices well below retail."

- Buy a gift for an entire family instead of individually. From the same eHow.com guide the second bulletin, "If there is a family of two, three, four, or more on your list, you can save a lot of money by purchasing one gift for all of them. Consider the gift of a movie night with a $5 Blockbuster gift card packaged in a basket with a bag of microwave popcorn, a couple of sodas, and some movie-size candy. This is a great family gift for $10 or less."

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Book scholarship winners

Congrats to the winners of the early registration book scholarships! These students received between $125 and $500 for books.

Pamela Dobbs
Bianca Bogdan
Nicholas Pieterse
Christopher Hobdy
Donald Toohey
Kim Rhodes
Matthew Laughlin
Jessica Bybee

Meet Samuel Eto'o.

Samuel is a 18 year old University Studies major from Hendersonville.

What percent would you say you're done with Christmas Shopping?
"Like 30 percent."

Are you cutting back on how much you're spending on gifts this year?
"No, I'm actually spending more money than last year."

What do you want for Christmas?
"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"

Is this your favorite time of year? Why or why not?
"Yeah, I like the music."

What has been your favorite Christmas gift of all time?
"A soccer ball."

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College

Tips on handling end of the semester stress

By this time next week, most of us will be in over our heads in final exams. For me, I have one final exam, a presentation, and two projects due.

Tips on how to deal with the end of the semester stress and final exams:

1. Make sure to keep time for yourself. "You can focus better if you take time off for yourself," said Terry Bubb, Director of Advising. This could mean anything from hitting the gym in the Pickel Building, walking a lap or two around the Library lawn, reading a newspaper, or playing a game for 30 minutes a day. This gives your mind a chance to rest and focus on something other than your Spanish Vocabulary for a little while.

2. Start studying now, versus waiting until the night before. Attempting to cram an entire semester's worth of Biology terminology in one night won't happen. "Try memorizing a few things before you go to bed. You're more likely to retain information if you sleep," said Bubb.

3. Make sure to get a good night's rest and eat a balanced diet. Avoid over caffeinated drinks and junk food. Who can honestly say they function well hyped up on 4 cups of coffee and candy bars out of the vending machines? It goes with staying balanced in number one, keeping your routine will help relieve some of the stress.

4. Forget your GPA (for now). Calculating the grade you need to past your class with an A will only add more stress. For the time being, ignorance is bliss. Check out this blog for more information.

5. Reward yourself at the end of the semester. Save the partying until after you're finished with your exams. This gives you a goal to work towards.

Also check out a blog I posted a while back entitled "Study Tips."

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Meet Torey Oster and David Richardson.

Torey, 19, is from Mt. Juliet and is majoring in Elementary Education. David is also 19, and majoring in Physical Education and Wellness. He is from White House.

How many classes do you have exams in this semester?
Torey - "4."
David - "4."

Are there any that you're worried about?
Torey - "Writing. I'm not that good at writing."
David - "English. I'm not good at writing papers."

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how stressed out would you say you are?
Torey - "About a 7."
David - "9."

Are you happy with your performance this semester?
Torey - "Yeah."
David - "No, I'm really stressed out. This is my first semester in college."

Are you looking forward to next semester?
Torey - "Yes, I'll know what to expect this time."
David - "Yes, so I can turn everything around."

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.

Happening this week...

December 3rd – One Nation, One Flag, One People basketball game
Service personnel are honored at basketball game as part of a nationwide event
$5 and kids under 12 free
Games start at 6 & 8 PM – in the Gym

December 5th & 6th – A Joyful Christmas Celebration concert
Students perform pop, jazz and holiday songs as part of a CD release concert. Funds support music scholarships at Vol State.
$5 suggested donation for admission and $10 for admission and a CD.
7:30 PM in the Auditorium

Vol State. Volunteer State Community College.