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The Student Experience: Interview with Lisa Meng

 

We discussed the undergraduate experience from the perspective of a recent grad with Lisa Meng, a University of Toronto Psychology graduate. While starting school in the Fall can be very stressful, having the right tools and insights can make the experience better.

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Lisa is passionate about understanding how to build meaningful human relationships and interactions. She has worked with the Bloor Street United Church refugee outreach program, where she learned a lot about connecting with individuals from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. She worked as a creative marketing and business administration assistant at Pfau Academic-Writing over the summer, where she engaged with others online, in order to share helpful information and foster a sense of community in this time of uncertainty.

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Why did you choose university over college or just getting a job?

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For me, a large part of that was, which I think a lot of people a lot of students can probably relate, due to family pressure. I think it was kind of expected that I would either go to university or college. I think at that time when I was just graduating high school, I was also pretty uncertain about what exactly my skills were and what I wanted to do. I was not completely confident enough to just go straight into the job market. In a way, the university kind of gives you more of a sense of structure to your life and identity.

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How can someone prepare for the transition from high school to university?

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One piece of advice, which I really wish I got that I haven’t heard anyone say this yet is to know the differences in curriculum between the provinces: I was coming from British Columbia, which has a high school curriculum that is just a little more relaxed compare to Ontario, especially for the sciences. Research the differences in curriculum and try to study and make up for that difference during summer before you start university. Take a look at the school board websites to see if there are any significant differences between the high school curricula. And then, I think after that I would look on certain websites, like Facebook, to connect with groups of students already enrolled in university and ask them about their experiences.

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What are some on-campus resources that students should know about?

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In the beginning, I wasn’t really involved with anything. However, when I transferred here from UTM to UTSG, I became a part of the New College Residence. There are many different colleges, and you can go to your own college for resources. The one that I really liked was the College Writing Center. The writing center offers one-hour sessions to help students to improve their writing. I think you can only sign up for a maximum of one each week, but it is a great resource included in your tuition fees.

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Lisa’s Book Recommendations and Resources

Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid by Robert J. Sternberg

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Thank you, Lisa, for sharing the excellent advice with us and our readers! 

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Missed the podcast? Listen here:

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For more advice about writing, check out our weekly podcast or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

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To get more help with your assignments, book a 20 minute discovery session with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Sleep Hygiene: Podcast Episode Live!
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We interview Erin Spencer, a registered Occupational Therapist, on sleep hygiene and building routines.She provides education on sleep hygiene, building routine, re-engaging in activities post-injury, ergonomics and mindfulness. In her personal time Erin enjoys running, hiking, baking and exploring the GTA.

HIGHLIGHTS

Her journey to becoming an occupational therapist

How students can manage stress

Importance of sleep in healing

Tips for sleep hygiene and healthy sleep routine

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To get more help with professional development and writing, book a 20 minute discovery call with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Careers in the Arts – Social Work: Podcast Episode Live!
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We interview Janelle Lewis, a Program Resources Worker in the Regent Park community of Toronto and volunteer with vulnerable populations. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Janelle’s reasons for pursuing social work

Challenges and rewards of being a social worker

The process of becoming a social worker

Attending grad school in the fall

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To get more help with professional development and writing, book a 20 minute discovery call with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Finding Your Dream Career: Interview With Luki Danukarjanto

Luki Danukarjanto is the CEO of FOCUS.inspired, a unique business that focuses on helping individuals to find their professional passion. A number of our readers are likely graduating and headed into the workforce during a very tricky time. It can be hard to not get discouraged about your professional future during COVID, but if you know what you are passionate about it, it can help you to stay on track.

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Luki refers to himself as a career catalyst and “DJ” for professional development. Luki was a management consultant for 12 years before transitioning into career counselling in 2015. Since then, he has published a book, the SWIKE web series, and spoken at many schools about his passion for career development. 

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What do you think is the greatest challenge for young adults as they develop their careers?

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So my perspective is that there’s a lot of these kind of generalisations when people talk about young adults. Students and young adults go through school, they’re supposed to graduate they’re supposed to get a job they’re supposed to get married and have kids and moved to a house in the suburbs and and all that sort of stuff and then retire and have a good life. But that kind of supposed to and and that typical life trajectory is often not not true anymore. A lot of people who when they’re going through life, they actually have multiple career paths.

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You developed the acronym SWIKE to inspire a lot of your work. What does that mean and where did that idea come from?

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So I guess the start of writing the book was I had a colleague , who I used to work with who actually wrote a book. I’m like, oh, wow, that’s that’s amazing. I would have conversations over coffees with a lot of folks and it ended up being that a lot of the conversations were the same, right? So I figured, well, instead of me having to say all that stuff over and over again, why not just write a book. It was like 500 pages. And, I don’t know what this is. It’s like a reference manual. So, a friend in publishing helped me get in touch with with an editor. The whole concept of SWIKE came about where originally it was that the stuff you didn’t know you needed to know. So then SWIKE developed into the stuff I wish I knew earlier. It references my interest in mentorship.

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How you advise students to be able to shift from the learning to pass the test mentality to one of mastery?

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Yeah, I would say for them, it’s getting over that fear of failure, right? There’s a lot of judgement involved. And it goes back to kind of that conveyor belt of life. That you should be doing this. Oftentimes, others are not as critical as people think. Most people are afraid of people judging them and things like that. And I just had a conversation with someone with the perspective that fear is made up. It’s something that doesn’t really exist. One of the things is a lot of people misunderstand fear versus danger, right? Danger is real. But in terms of fear, like getting up in front of someone and doing a speech or presentation, well, that’s not going to kill you. Then once you’re past that, then you can just start learning and try to follow your your passions.

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Luki’s Book Recommendations

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Stuff I Wish I Knew Earlier: How to Unlock Your Career Potential by Luki Danukarjanto

Mindset by Carol Dweck

How to Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick

The Straight-A Conspiracy by Hunter Maats and Katie O’Brien

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Thank you, Luki, for sharing the excellent advice with us and our readers! 

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Missed the podcast? Listen here:

_

_

For more advice about professional development and writing, check out our weekly podcast or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

_

To get more help with your assignments, book a 30 minute discovery session with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Finding Your Dream Career: Podcast Episode Live!

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We interview Luki Danukarjanto, CEO of FOCUS.inspired, on helping individuals to find their professional passion.

HIGHLIGHTS

Stuff I Wish I Knew Earlier (SWIKE) from Luki’s book

Education system reform

Developing practical skills for the workforce

Challenges young adults face and how to overcome them

Advice for the graduating class of 2020

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To get more help with professional development and writing, book a 20 minute discovery call with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Succeeding Professionally as an Introvert: Podcast Episode Live!

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We interviewed Faris Khalifeh, a Quiet Confidence Coach on leveraging strengths as an introvert to better succeed professionally.

HIGHLIGHTS

Strengths unique to introverts

Using written communication as an introvert

How personality types influence professional development

How COVID-19 has impacted introverts and small businesses

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To get more help with your assignments, book a 30 minute discovery session with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

The Art of Poetry and Creative Writing: Podcast Episode Live!

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We interview Christie Wong, Creative Writing Instructor and Coach at PFAU Academic Writing, about the importance of creative expression, through writing.

HIGHLIGHTS

Poetry content and styles

How to incorporate poetry into daily life

Resources for improving poetry writing

Information about her upcoming poetry course

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Scroll through our course calendar & sign up for Christie’s next poetry class here

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To get more help with writing, book a 30 minute disovery session with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Careers in the Arts – Teaching: Podcast Episode Live!

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We discuss finding a career in the arts as a recent graduate with Andreia Florea, a grade 1/2 teacher, with 15 years of teaching experience.

HIGHLIGHTS

Differences between a corporate and teaching career

Transferable skills students gain from a B.A.

Rewards and challenges of being a teacher

Advice for students interested in teaching

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To get more help with your assignments, book a 20 minute consultation with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Health and Academic Performance: Podcast Episode Live!
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We discuss the connection between health and academic performance with Dr. Kevin Preston, a Chinese medicine doctor and holistic wellness expert.

HIGHLIGHTS

Benefits of meditation during COVID-19

Practical health advice for students

Lessons from Chinese medicine

How the school environment affects health

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To get more help with your assignments, book a 20 minute consultation with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio, and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.

Finding a Job During COVID-19: Podcast Episode Live!
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We discuss the challenges of finding a job during a pandemic with job search expert and content marketing specialist, Alif Huq.

HIGHLIGHTS

Job market changes during COIVD-19

How to stay motivated when job searching

Social media strategies and what not to do

The art of marketing yourself online

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To get more help with your assignments, book a 20 minute consultation with us and start your journey to reaching your full potential on the page, and in life.


Both the written, visual, audio and audiovisual content of this post has been created by and is the intellectual property of Lisa Pfau and PFAU Academic Writing. Please do not replicate any of the above content without our consent. However, please do feel free to share this post and its authorship widely.