Omaha trip!

Hey guys and gals!

Hope this blog finds you all in good health and handling the load of the semester well!  Its almost spring break, so hang in there!  I pray the weather will somehow improve so I can enjoy spring break!

My trip to Omaha, NE went really well.  I thoroughly enjoyed the area and had a smooth trip over.  They entire day on Friday was spent on the campus of Creighton University and included some very helpful presentations by some of the staff and admissions counselors.  They did a great job explaining what their campus and what the program was all about, what their beliefs, goals, and aspirations were, and why they felt they were a top notch school.  They really focused on getting to know each of us as individuals and explaining what their institution was about.  Their whole goal was to enable them to be able to decide if we would be a good fit there, but also so we could decide if we would fit in their program.  There was an onsite essay, which was interesting.  Then we moved to our personal interviews, in which they matched us with a Professor and we had a half hour with them to answer their questions and attempt to portray what type of an individual we were to them.  From there, I moved to a group interview where it was myself and three other applicants.  We were in front of a panel that included on current professor, one current senior level student, and one alumnus that was practicing in the area.  They presented us an ethical problem and we had to come up with a solution as a group and present it back to them, which was interesting.  From there it was a battery of questions ranging from, "If we were to look in your car right now what would we find and why is it there," to, "Give us an example where you had to act with integrity."  It was an interesting and fun process and I enjoyed it a lot.  I got to meet a few very cool people and explored the town with them a little to, which was nice!

The trip back was not so smooth, however.  I got stuck in SLC airport on Sunday night and finally got home on Monday night.  At least I know the SLC airport like the back of my hand now!  Spending that much time in the airport really opened my eyes a little more to the horrible choices some people make on a day to day basis.  Granted there are not very many healthy eating choices in the airport, I sat and watched people load up on Cinnabon or Krispie Cream, sometimes whole families, and I honestly couldn't believe how much they would eat.  It really shocked me, but it makes sense with the American lifestyle and the pandemic of obesity in today's society.  Therefore, my health tip of the blog is to be conscious of you eating choices!  Think about the things that you are putting into your body.  General rule of thumb I try to abide by is:  If you can’t pronounce the ingredient, it’s probably not good for you!  Stay simple, even in the situations like getting stuck in the airport you can make the healthier choices instead of grabbing the tasty treats that only satisfy you for a short period of time!

Well missing some school has kind of left me feeling slightly behind with quizzes and tests. This week is pretty packed for me, and then next week I’m going to RYO to give a presentation and then leaving again on Thursday for North Dakota for my interview with the University of Mary!  Spring break is going to be a much needed relief on my end! 

Hope you all have a great week!

Jeremy

Dr. DeNoble

Whats up campus?!?!

Just wanted to post a quick blog to talk about a gentleman who is coming to campus next week.

Victor DeNoble will speak Wednesday, February 23, 2011, at 12:00 pm in the Copper Lounge of the Student Union Building (SUB) of Montana Tech. DeNoble researched nicotine’s effect on the brain in the 1980s before his lab was suddenly shut down by Philip Morris in an effort to keep his discoveries secret.

He is the "inspiration" behind Russel Crowe's movie, The Insider.  

This is a part of "Through with Chew and All That's New" week on campus, which our goal is to educate students and faculty alike on the new marketing campaign and strategies, as well as the new products that the tobacco industry has released.

I encourage all of you to attend this speaker.  Even if you are not a tobacco user, or are sick of hearing about how you should quit, Dr. DeNoble is a great example of someone who stood up for what he felt was right.

Thanks guys!  I'm off to fly to Nebraska in two days for my interview.  Stay tuned for a blog next week!

Jeremy

Busy Busy Busy!

Hey ladies and gentleman!

Hope this blog posting finds you all in good health and getting through the semester swiftly!  I know things are picking up quite well for me!

Two weekends ago, two fighters from our team competed in an event in Belgrade, MT.  The event went well and both Travis and Kahl won in great fashion!  Here are a couple pictures of the action:

Above it Travis, who won by Knock Out.

And Kahl won in the 2nd round by TKO (Ref Stoppage)

All in all it was a good night at the fights and I was very happy that my team mates hard work paid off in victory.

In other news of my life, last week I received two very good tidbits of news.  As I mentioned in my last posting, I applied to Physical Therapy School in hopes to go on to get my Doctor of PT (DPT) degree.  I heard back from two of the schools and I have been invited to attend interview sessions with them!  What this essentially means is that my application impressed the admissions panel well enough for me to make the "first cut" in the selection process.  I will be flying to Omaha, Nebraska next Thursday to interview with Creighton University for the weekend.  Then in March, I will be driving to Bismark, North Dakota to interview with the University of Mary for their program.  I'm very excited that I have been blessed with the opportunity to share my knowledge, passion, and love for the profession to members of the programs in hopes of earning a chance to further my education with them.

As if that is not enough to keep me up at night, school is picking up quite well.  In on class in particular, we are creating presentations to educate the young men at RYO (Reintegrating Youthful Offenders) on pressing health topics and ways they can make healthier life choices, not only during their time at RYO, but after they are released from the facility and resume their lives amongst society.

Which brings me to the topic of my blog today,  making healthier choices while at college.  As college students we are faced with many different topics that we must chose to take a stand on.  We are subjected to many choices that can adversely affect our health and well being, but we can also take the initiative to create a healthier life for ourselves even amongst these times of chaos and stress.

The first step that I feel is most important for college students is Stress Management.  There is no doubt in my mind that almost everyone reading this blog has been under some sort of stress in their lives, and have felt the adverse effects of it on your body, your routine, and your lifestyle, whether it be acute or chronic.  Stress is defined as a physiological response to a demand placed on your body.  In some ways, stress can be positive.  It may help you "crack down" on that paper that is due tomorrow or cram for that test, and once the source of the stress is relieved (ie: you take the test), then your stress levels will lower back to normal.  In today's society, however, we perceive to many things as "stressors," which doesn't allow our body the time to return back to its natural homeopathic state leading to a variety of problems including excessive fatigue and exhaustion, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and mood changes just to name a few.  I encourage each and every one of you to search more into the topic of stress and the negative effects it can have on your body and mind.  You may be surprised as to how many things you may already notice in your life.  I encourage you to find a hobby, such as painting, drawing, writing, music, working out, etc., that will provide an "out" for you to release stress.

Stress release directly leads into the second topic I want to cover and that is the use/overuse of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.  Too many people in today's society feel that drugs/alcohol/tobacco are a proper way to relieve stress and that they are an outlet for unwinding or forgetting about the stress of the day/week/month.  My goal as a Peer Educator on campus is to simply provide facts and details on the negative health effects that these substances can have on your body, it is not my goal to seem like i'm passing judgement on people who use any  AOD (alcohol and other drugs). The University Health Center at the University of Georgia is very proactive in educating their students on this topic.  They ask their students the following questions:

BECAUSE OF ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS, HAVE YOU EVER..

.. missed a class, been arrested, thrown up, had a hangover, gotten in trouble, had alcohol poisoning, performed poorly on an assignment or test, gotten into a fight, been hurt or injured, driven under the influence and/or had memory loss? If you said yes to any of these, did the situation increase or decrease the amount of stress if your life?

I pose those same questions to you and encourage you to be honest with yourself.  I also encourage you to find a healthier release than using drugs and alcohol to decrease stress and pay attention to the way your body responds.  The simple fact is that if you are already under a load of stress, adding any form of drugs or alcohol only poses additional stress to your body as a system, even if your intentions are to kick back, relax, and de-stress.

The third and final topic of lifestyle that is affect during our college years is our nutritional habits.  Nutritional habits and choices are a topic of discussion throughout any walk of life and in any professional setting.  This summer, I worked at Verizon Wireless Health and Wellness in Bellevue, WA.  During my time there, as "Fitness Coaches," we set up a segment in which we entered the kitchen once a week and calculated the caloric value of the food choices that the members of our gym made.  Most people were shocked to realize that when food is prepared by someone else (a cafeteria), even though it may seem like a relatively healthy choice, may have significantly more calories than when you prepare it yourself.   Nutrition is especially important in college students because of the stress that we are under from day to day.  Healthy eating plays a crucial role in your ability to deal with times of extra stress. Carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals are all important for energy, mental concentration, and emotional stability.

Stress may also weaken your immune system and increase your body's need for certain nutrients. A balanced diet will help you stay focused, alert, energetic, and healthy during these times. However, if you live off of fast food or frequently skip meals, you are more likely to perform poorly or get sick during stressful times.  I challenge each of you to keep a log of everything that you eat or drink for three days, you may be surprised!  Include every snack, glass of water, coffee, meal, etc, and see if you are eating as balanced of a diet as you thought you were.

A great source of more information on a variety of pressing health topics for college students is Student Health 101.  Its a free monthly journal that has a variety of articles covering different topics each month.  Whether you are looking for relationship advice or more information on how to succeed in college, read the issue at http://readsh101.com/mtech.html.

As always, take advantage of your resources on campus.  The counselors, peer educators, and health staff are here for you and I.  Never hesitate to ask questions about issues you may have regarding your health or healthy behaviors!

God Bless,

Jeremy

Intro Blog!

Whats up Montana Tech?

Hope you all are having a great start to the spring semester of 2011.  I'll be blogging this semester, which will be my last here at Montana Tech.  The goal of my blog will be to give you a glimpse into not only my life here on campus, but to promote positive health and wellness choices for all of you students out there and to offer advice on staying fit, making educated choices, and being informed about current topics in today's ever changing world of fitness.

First, I would like to start off with a blog introducing myself to you all.  I am a senior in the Applied Health Science option of the OSH degree here on campus.  I will be graduating in May and have been applying to Physical Therapy schools in the hopes of joining next fall and starting my journey in earning my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.  I am currently certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org.) as a Personal Trainer and have had some on the job experience in that aspect as well.  I plan on taking the exam to earn my CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach) certification and use both of those tools to help with performance enhancement and injury rehabilitation in the sports medicine world.

Athletics have always been something close to my heart and I love the feeling of working hard towards a goal and being competitive.  This fire lead me to my current "hobby" of Amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA.) For those of you who are unfamiliar, MMA is a style of fighting where many different forms of martial arts are combined into one sport.  The variables include wrestling, boxing, jui jitsu, judo, kickboxing, etc and is a very diverse sport, demanding you to be efficient in each discipline to be able to succeed.  I love it because it keeps me fit, entertained, and helps me relieve stress.  I'll share a few pictures with you:

We have a great program going here and my team mates are the best around.  We may not be the biggest club or have the most experience but we push each other to our limits and are like a family, which is one of the best feelings you can ever experience in sports.

On to my family, I have two younger brothers, Cody (17) and Trevor (13), who are good kids as well.  They each have their own paths they are starting to discover in life and I'm glad that they trust me and look up to me for advice, its a very good feeling!  My mother is also one of the strongest people I know and has done a pretty good job of raising us boys!  Here are some pictures:

The whole Family at my mother's house about two years ago.

My beautiful Mother! 

Cody and I wish Bishop Thomas at Cody's Confirmation.

All three of use boys.  Trevor is in the middle and Cody is far right.  Taken on the pier near Pikes Place Market when the family came to visit me in Seattle this summer.

My family is amazing and they support me in all my endeavors, which i'm very blessed to have! 

So that's my life in a nut shell!  I want this blog to be a very open forum type of a situation.  I would love to hear questions from the reader's so I can address issues and topics that YOU want to hear about, not just what I want to talk about!  So please, feel free to email me at JCBasler@mtech.edu with any thought, questions, ideas, ANYTHING that you want to hear about or gain more information on.  If it is an appropriate suggestion, it will be covered!

Also, look for me for the Student Health 101 video interviews and get your voice heard!  They take about 30 seconds, are very low stress, and it gives all of your peers a chance to hear your position on the topic of the month.  Please check out Student Health 101 at http://readsh101.com/mtech.html

Thank you all for reading and keep checking back!