18 3.4 Chapter Review and Activities

As exciting and exhilarating as education is, it also comes with its stress and anxiety. There are numerous supports available to help you. Supports and resources include your own personal network, student support services, and academic course supports. Be sure to access these supports throughout the semester to make sure you keep on track. All too often, people wait until they are overwhelmed before seeking support. At that point, stress and anxiety are harder to deal with, so try to reach out early on. There is nothing wrong with needing a little help. In fact, it’s perfectly normal.

Exercise: Support Systems

Use the information from the lists you created throughout this chapter and make a chart of support contacts for different needs. You identified barriers to education in the previous chapter (e.g. addictions, poverty, abuse, depression, slow reader, test-anxiety, physical limitations). Match these barriers with supports for an easy reference during your school year. The chart should have three columns, the barrier or need, the supporter(s) you can turn to, and the contact information for that support. Remember to draw your supports from your personal network, your community network, community support services, student services, and course support resources.
Here is an example:
Sample Support Contacts
Barrier/Need Support Contact Info
When I get discouraged My friend, Sarah (Phone number)
When my anxiety flares up My counsellor, Bob

Yoga class

 (Text or email)

Community Centre
When I have temptations re: alcohol issues My Celebrate Recovery (CR) group (Sponsor’s phone number)
When I have financial struggles Financial aid officer, Lois (Email address)
When I have trouble with essay writing College writing lab M W F 9am-2 pm
When I have learning issues Education advisor, John Student Services (Karen) ext 3243
When I get overwhelmed Meet up with my walking buddy, Janine, to take a break, get exercise and fresh air, and clear my head. (Text)

Make the list as long as it needs to be. Fill in all the expected issues (big or small) that come to mind.

Key Takeaways

Accessing supports and resources is a wise thing to do while in post-secondary.

Personal supports include:

  • Friends and family
  • Support groups
  • Teams, clubs, or committees
  • Special interest groups

Student support services include:

  • Education advising (or academic advising)
  • Financial aid
  • International support
  • Indigenous support or aboriginal gathering place
  • Accessibility services
  • Counselling
  • Assessment services
  • Employment services

Course supports include:

  • Writing labs
  • Learning centres
  • College and local libraries
  • Peer tutors
  • Study skills workshops
  • Tutorials
  • I.T. support

License

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Student Success Copyright © 2020 by Mary Shier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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