Cool New Phone! How's it Work?

Not surprisingly, androids and iPhones were among the best selling items over the holiday season. For some students this will be the first semester with a phone capable of virtually anything, for others this is the next upgrade in a long line of technological disappointments. Regardless of your scenario, there are a few ways you can make the most out of your phone to try to make this semester even better than the last! Next I'll outline a few different apps that I have found to be a huge help staying on top of everything from day to day.

One of the best apps around if you're interested in taking notes digitally. Featuring cloud storage, superior organization, and an incredibly easy user interface, Evernote is every college student's best friend. Notes are easy to create and edit, but my favorite part is the notebooks to sort notes, pictures, and other files. Simple organization is a seemingly minuscule feature a lot of other note-taking apps I've used in the past lacked. Cloud storage allows for access to your files anywhere, so you're no longer stuck to one device!
Dropbox and Google Drive are a couple alternatives also worth mentioning!

Ever feel like you're on a social media Ferris wheel with all of the different sites you use? Buffer brings it all together in one app so you can spend more time catching up or staying current and waste less time switching between every account. Buffer will work with just about any other app and even has to option to schedule your tweet updates and posts so you can stay active without even being on your phone!

In my opinion, the biggest contender to Pandora for streaming music. Instead of listening to just a genre or station based off of certain artists, with Spotify you are able to create a library, playlists to share with others, access your music from multiple devices, and play specific songs you're looking for. My favorite part about Spotify is that streaming music from your mobile device is now free! A recent change that has kept my headphones rockin'. Whether from your phone or computer, Spotify is a great way to get in the zone with whatever music you desire.

If you're reading this first sentence to decide whether or not to keep reading or skip the boring finance part, do yourself a favor and keep reading. Even to an accounting and finance major like myself personal finance isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. However, it is an extremely important lesson that is better learned while we're young! Toshl Finance combines animation and practicality to start forming the right habits to ensure financial well-being later on in life!

The technology available is our ticket to an endless supply of resources to make our lives better. Instead of using your new phone as the fuel to your Candy Crush addiction (...not that I would know anything about that), try something new to help yourself out. Maybe you'll even be able to keep your new year's resolution!

The Happest 5K on The Planet!

 Happy August New Panthers,

Yesterday, I was able to participate and complete my second Color Run!! This is one of my favorite 5ks since you get drenched in color dust throughout the event and each year it gets better. As you embark on the 5k, you pass through 4 different color zones. Each color zone has a different color of dust being thrown at you and the layers of colorful dust continue to pile up! By the end of the race, you are completely engulfed in color from head to toe. Each participant must wear a white tee shirt and most teams get pretty extravagant with costumes. I have seen everything from tutus to wedding dresses being worn during the run. After you complete the run, they have a giant finish line party which features hundreds of color packets being thrown in the air at the same time. They also have music playing and stations to get rid of some of that color before you depart home! This is always one of the highlights of my summer! In a couple weeks, I will also be running in the Electric Run and there is still time to sign up for it!

See you all in the near future,
Haley

Thinking Green at University Housing

My fellow outreach assistants and I on top of the garden

University Housing is determined to decrease their environmental footprint through implicating various green procedures. One of the ways housing does this is, is by creating and maintaining their own garden on top of Sandburg Residence Halls. This green roof is the largest in Wisconsin and measures to 33,000 square feet. Some of the numerous environmental benefits include reducing storm water run off and filtering pollutant out of the air and water.  Nestled on top of the third floor this garden provides residences with healthier eating choices. Tomatoes, eggplant, basil, and peppers are just some of the fresh vegetables and herbs grown right above the cafeteria! As the summer continues, these fresh edible delights get picked and served in our very own cafeterias around university housing. There is also a garden located beside East Tower that serves as a community garden and has additional spaces for the residence halls cafeterias garden. All of these garden plots help contribute to healthy, sustainable eat choices in university housing!

The video below highlights all of the on campus gardens including the Sandburg rooftop garden!

See you all in around 20 days!
Haley

Black Cat Ultimate!

Looking for a way to get involved around campus and the Milwaukee area? Want something that can help you build life long friendships and enrich your college experience? Need something to replace those high school sports? Then think about joining a sport club at UWM! There are various UWM sports clubs that students can become apart of from paintball, to soccer, to sailing club! One of my personal favorite sport clubs at UWM is Black Cat Ultimate Frisbee! Black Cat Ultimate Frisbee is a sport club consisting of both a women's and men's competitive teams. They travel around the surrounding Milwaukee area and even all the way to Florida to participate in ultimate frisbee tournaments. Those interested can contact Black Cat in the fall each year and you can visit their webpage or facebook page for more information! Black Cat volunteers throughout the Milwaukee community, can provide some jobs to their members and creates everlasting memories. It allows students to really reach out and participate in and around the UWM community. Make sure you check out the video below and get involved!!


-Haley

Exercise on Campus!

In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is important to incorporate exercise into your routine. There are benefits for exercising now and in the future. Starting the habit of exercising now makes it easier to continue the habit later in life. 

I've come up with 5 top reasons why it is important for college students to exercise.

1. It helps control weight
• A change in diet, daily schedule, or just overall environment can make your body react in strange ways. Stress is another huge component that can make your weight fluctuate.
2. Improves your mood
• When you exercise your body produces endorphins, which make you happy. If you are mad at someone or stressed about a class, take a 30 minute walk. You can listen to music or call your mom, but whatever you do...get moving. It'll make you feel better.
3. Boosts Energy
•  It seems like you would be super tired after exercising and it's true, you probably will be. But once it becomes part of your routine you'll realize that you have more energy. 
4. You'll start sleeping better
• Probably because you're so tired from exercising right? Nope (well, sometimes). The healthier your body is, the easier it is to relax. 
5. It's just fun
• Personally running 5 miles is never something that has appealed to me or sounded like fun, but the first time I ran 5 miles was incredibly satisfying. In order to qualify as "fun" I take Zumba or exercise with a friend. Some people can read while running on the elliptical.You can make it fun for you and sometimes even be productive. 

Working out on and around campus is really easy. The Klotsche Center and Pavilion is open most of the year and has convenient hours. It has everything including a weight room, track, basketball/volleyball courts, a pool, racquet ball, and classrooms. The classrooms hold group exercise classes. There are GroupX classes like Zumba, Guts and Butts, Group Cycle, Kickboxing, and many more. All of those classes are free as long as you are a full time student.

The Klotsche Center also coordinates Intramural Sports. If you played a sport in high school and want to continue, this is a great way to do that. You can form a team with your friends or use it as a way to meet people. All the information about Intramural Teams can be found on the Klotsche website.

If you don't know how to get started when it comes to exercising or you need some personalized help, Klotsche has personal trainers. They will work with you to come up with a program that is best for you. I can say from personal experience that this is an amazing resource to use.

UWM also offers classes called Sport and Rec classes, which are one or two credit courses that only last half of the semester. Those classes range from rappelling to organic cooking, flower arrangement to outdoor survival, tango to bowling. It's a great way to have fun, earn credit and get exercise into your daily routine.

If you are living in any of the Residence Halls you'll have access to a small exercise room. They aren't as extensive as the Klotsche Center, but if you just want to run on the treadmill or lift some weights it's really nice not to have to leave your building. Make sure you check those out once you move in.

All around Milwaukee are different biking, walking, and running trails. This is a great way to get moving outside and see a lot of different parts of Milwaukee. Here is a website that had different routes planned out http://www.walkjogrun.net/running-routes/USA/WI/Milwaukee.

Exercise is a huge key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. There are many benefits, mentally and physically, so remember that when debating whether or not to go to the gym. Exercise is beneficial now and later on in your life.

Healthy Eating at and around UWM

Earlier I wrote about maintaining a healthy lifestyle when coming to college. If I would have to say the top three things to focus on when having a healthy lifestyle are:

1. Food
2. Exercise
3. Maintaining Habits

I'll be writing on the other two in the next couple of weeks, because they are all equally important.

Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

This morning in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel I read an article called "Big Man on Campus". This article is all about the dreaded "Freshman 15". Staying healthy when coming to college is a challenge. I'm sure that majority of college students would agree with me. The problem isn't that UWM lacks resources to stay healthy, it's figuring out how to fit it into your life and maintain that lifestyle.

According to the American Journal of Health Behavior the main reason incoming Freshman gain weight is, " Students entering college may be making independent decisions about their diet, activity, and television viewing behaviors for the first time. New environmental and social factors may emerge during this time period to have a greater influence on their behavior." The freedom of moving to college and making your own choices can sometimes have a negative impact on your health.

When I started school I was lucky enough not to gain the Freshman 15, but I did gain the Sophomore 10 (I'm not sure if that is a thing, but we'll go with it). My junior year I decided to get in shape. UWM and University Housing had a lot of options that helped me out. I'm down 20 pounds from a year ago.

The best thing to do when first moving to school is get into a routine that involves eating healthy, exercising, and practicing healthy lifestyle habits. UWM has a lot of different resources that can be utilized to maintain a positive lifestyle. I'll blog more in depth about all of these different resources but here is a preview of what I'm going to write about:

• Klotsche Fitness Center
•  Klotsche Gym offers everything you could need to stay in shape: swimming pool, weight room, track, basketball and volleyball courts, exercise classes, personal trainers, and nutritionists. If you are a full time student, Klotsche is a free resource and is conveniently located on campus.
• Healthy eating options on campus
• Wherever food is offered on campus (Sandburg, Cambridge Commons, RiverView, the Union, and the North West Quadrant of campus) healthy eating options are available. UWM offers vegetarian, vegan, and organic options at all of the restaurant facilities.
• Healthy eating options off campus
• Sport and Rec Classes
• The College of Health Sciences offers one and two credit courses that are focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Some examples of classes are: Rock Climbing, Ballroom Dance, Belly Dance,  Meditation, and Healthy Cooking Classes.
• Norris Health Center 
• Norris is the main health resource on campus. There are full time doctors, nurses, therapists, and pharmacists to help with any health concerns you might have. 
• How University Housing supports a healthy lifestyle  

Let me know if you have any questions or blog topic ideas about Health. It's the field I'm going into, so I would love to write more about this topic.