Welcome to the Winter 2012 term.
I will be your Editor In Chief (EIC) for this term. I will begin this editorial with a few notes about my role as EIC.
Being EIC means several things. Most notably, I am in charge of organizing and motivating writers and production staff. I am responsible for the financial success of The Iron Warrior. I will be writing an editorial in each issue of The Iron Warrior. Also, I am responsible for all content published in The Iron Warrior.
I encourage anybody who has considered getting involved in The Iron Warrior to attend a general meeting. The general meetings are on Mondays at 5:30pm in E2 – 2349A. Whether you would like to write one article, many articles, take pictures, learn about layout, or just have an article idea, you are welcome to attend.
As the dictator of allowed content, I will not hold back articles due to personal bias. However, articles will be held back if they are so poorly written that the copy editors refuse to edit them, are too inappropriately biased, contain false content, are more of an advertisement than an article, or are unacceptable due to several other technical reasons. Writers will be provided with opportunities to correct any concerns about their articles.
I am accountable to an advisory board. This board is made up of the incoming EIC from the off-stream term, the current EIC, an elected member from each society, and a member of the EngSoc Exec from each society. This board’s primary function is to make decisions on any action that will affect The Iron Warrior beyond the term of the current EIC. The advisory board can also be used as a resource by the current EIC for gathering input towards decisions.
It’s a new term, it’s 2012, there are many new students on campus, and A-Soc is filled with new Exec so 2012 is going to be a very exciting year. Many of you will graduate. Technology will continue to surpass our expectations for how integrated it can be into our lives. Some claim that the world is going to end in 2012, but I don’t hold anything against the Mayans for getting tired of listing years after 2012. For instance, there is a drop down box when entering my credit card expiry date online. It has dates ranging from the current year to about ten years out. I don’t take that to mean the world started this year and is going to end in ten years. But, if somebody found this list of ten years far in the future, they might be inclined to believe that all these actions have a specific reason. (Translation: the Mayans didn’t actually predict the world was going to end in 2012, the same way credit card companies aren’t predicting the world will end in ten years. The Mayans just didn’t want to keep listing more years in their calendar.) Thus, no, I was just ordering a pizza. I wasn’t ordering the end of the world.
There are many new students on campus. About a fourth of students on campus started last September. I welcome those people to campus. Now, there are some things you should know about the winter term. First, our engineering societies are different. The executives, directors, and members are all different. The geese spend more time in hiding. They, like many many things, move slower in the cold. The used book store is full of books. This term is the term prior to graduation for many fourth years. Due to this, they are taking the time to unload their unwanted textbooks into the used books store.
Jobs: this is your first term looking for jobs. Make sure to pay close attention to JobMine. Differentiating yourself from your peers is one of the most important tactics in getting good interviews and job offers. Take the time for cover letters. It is better to do a good job at applying for a few jobs, than to do a poor job at applying for 50. Any program with a 4S stream is in luck this term. Many of the upper years are either graduating or going to be on campus for the spring term as well. If you are in a program that also has a 4S stream, you should be bold with your job applications.
Like most terms, some people are likely to have told themselves that this term is different. This term, they will not slack off. This term, they will not miss sleep. This term, they will attend all lectures. Well, good luck. The truth is that living up to these expectations is very hard. I have told myself this many times, but have failed almost as many. There is always that show I wanted to watch, that book I wanted to read, that web site I wanted to surf, and that thing I volunteered for that took up all my time. Fortunately, I am starting to learn how to pull through.
The first important part of pulling through the tougher terms is to know your schedule. This includes knowing when your classes are, when your meetings are, when you need to work on your deliverables, and when your deliverables are due. Storing calendars electronically can significantly reduce the mental overhead of this task. Knowing your schedule will allow you to plan in advance. Look for when a bunch of deliverables are due at once, and distribute the times you plan to work on those deliverables.
The second component is to know how much time you need for completing tasks. Waterloo has high entrance averages. This means that most of the people in your program were the top in their high schools. Now, the university still needs to be able to distinguish how we perform relative to each other. I have learned to admit that some of the people around me are smarter than me. They know more about certain subjects. Most importantly, they get better grades than me with less work. This is something I had to accept. By accepting this, it has helped me to plan my time accordingly and work towards the third element of pulling through.
Saying ‘no’ is very important to success. I am starting to find that out now. Hopefully, you can learn from me here. I am extremely busy this term, and my ability to say ‘no’ to people will determine if I do well in, barely pass, or fail this term. The ability to say no helps to say no to a roommate who wants me to join him going out; to set a time limit for a parent who wants to spend a long time on the phone; to say no to a friend who wants me to join them at a party; and, to say no to myself when I think, “Just one more episode!” By knowing your schedule and knowing how much time you take to produce your deliverables, you will know when to say no. If you are capable of doing this, you will be much closer to success.
Now that this article is terminating, I hope that you better understand my role as EIC, are aware of the excitement that the new year has to offer, and have learned from my experience in time management.
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