Monday, April 24, 2017

Interview with a Lead: Meghan Littles



Meghan Littles is a senior psychology major at UMSL. She has been an ambassador for four semesters and is currently a lead ambassador.

Q: Why did you choose UMSL?
A: I had heard really good things about the psych department here, and for me, UMSL struck a really good balance between financial cost and academic value.

Q: How quickly did you get involved on campus?
A: As a commuter student, it took me little longer to get involved on campus. It can be tough when you have to drive home every night to be involved with some of the extracurricular organizations. The first organization I became involved with was Golden Key. I began volunteering as a general member, and that eventually led to me becoming president last semester.

Q: Speaking of your past Golden Key presidency, in what other ways are you involved on campus?
A: I am the current president of Psi Chi. I also work as a teaching assistant in the psych department. I work as the lead research assistant in Dr. Emily Gerstein's lab, and previously worked in Dr. Matt Taylor's multicultural lab. I have also been involved with the Honors College's Honors Professional Development event as a student speaker the last two years. And of course I’m a lead ambassador for the UMSL Ambassadors and I’ve been a part of the program for two years now.

Q: Wow, that's a lot. How do you balance your extracurricular activities and your schoolwork?
A: It is very challenging. The only way I have been able to manage is to be self-aware and know my limits in certain areas. I knew that I needed to excel in academics and have extracurricular activities in order to build a strong application for graduate school. I just kept my end goal in mind, the reason I was doing each activity, and that helped me focus on the tasks I had at hand.

Q: As for graduate school, where are you going? Are you excited?
A: I will be attending Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in the fall to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. Yes, I am both excited and pretty nervous.

Q: What is one thing you wish you knew coming into college as a freshman?
A: First, I wish I had known that getting a poor grade on an exam from time to time isn't that big of a deal; stuff happens. Second, I wish I had realized that professors are regular people too, not these big scary grade-givers that you can't go and chat with. And last, I wish I knew sooner that you can get 5 cents off per gallon at the Huck’s down the road by showing them your student ID.

Q: How do you spend your free time?
A: YouTube videos and TV shows. When I have the energy, I also really like to go exploring around St. Louis to find new places that I haven't seen before.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Staying Focused at The End of the semester



Is this semester making you feel drained? The weather is getting nicer, the days are getting longer and your attention span may be getting shorter. You probably got bombarded with quizzes, projects and exams right after spring break. It can be very overwhelming and you can just lose your morale at the time of finals. We don’t want to throw out all the hard work we’ve done all semester just because of a little stress. So, here are some tips to help you finish out the last semester strong:


Catch up on your rest.
Try to get as much sleep as possible. Sleep is very essential to our health and can change the way you perform. It really does make a difference.
UMSL now offers you a place to take a nap during the day. Look into to Whole U today.

Avoid procrastination.
We hear this a lot but it’s very common. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Prioritize your time. Make yourself a check list and put those that are most important at the top of your list. Checking off those items feels so awesome.

Reward yourself.
If you follow the checklist method it’s easy to add a little reward system in. Finish a paper, celebrate with a Netflix movie. Study properly for an exam, reward yourself with dinner out with friends.

Keep your goals in mind!
Finishing off each semester strong gets you one step closer to fulfilling your dreams of becoming a nurse, lawyer, teacher or whatever it may be.
Keep studying strong! You’ve got this!

Monday, April 17, 2017

UMSL takes on Spring



This last week some of our ambassadors attended UMSL events celebrating springtime!

There were three egg hunts on campus. The first egg hunt was hosted by the University Program Board outside of Oak Hall. UPB hosts this annual hunt every year in the evenings to make the egg hunt more challenging. This year egg hunt was alien themed and 15 prizes were awarded to students. The eggs for big prizes are hidden in more difficult to find place than smaller prize eggs.

The second egg hunt was hosted by Residential Life and Housing and was a program put on by some of the Residential Advisors at Oak Hall. This egg hunt was like a scavenger hunt with big prizes, such as movie baskets.

The last egg hunt was a program at Mansion Hill. It was combined with Tiny Tritons since many of the UMSL students that live in that building are also parents.

And the final spring program was the Residential Housing Association Backyard BBQ at Oak Hall. There were games, raffles, photo booths, food, and tons of prizes. If you missed out on any of these events, be sure to check out the Get Crunk event with PLHCSA on Thursday, April 20th at 8pm in the Villa Courtyard.

Monday, April 10, 2017

UMSL April Events


While the UMSL Ambassadors tend to only work large events under the Chancellor's office or those at the Touhill, we love attending and partaking in events all over the UMSL campus. And this April UMSL has a great a lineup of events.

The National Society of Leadership and Success is hosting a live stream event starring Trevor Noah on April 13th at 4:30 pm in the SGA Chamber that is free to all students, staff, and faculty. Viewers will be able to pose questions via Facebook and Twitter and get them answered on the spot. Plus all attendees will be enter to win a pair of tickets to the Mirth Week Trevor Noah Comedy Show.

The U Short Film Festival, hosted by SEMPA, is Thursday April 20, 2017 starting at 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm in Gallery 210 Auditorium. The U Short Film Festival will be showcasing short films created by UMSL students. The event is free to students, staff, and faculty. Bonus note: there will be free food.

In the last week of April (24th- 30th) UMSL University Program Board presents Mirth Week. A series of de-stress fun events for students to engage in as the semester comes to a end.



  • April 24th: Leadership Awards Banquet | 6pm – 7:30pm | MSC Century Rooms
  • April 25th: Last Lecture Series | 7pm – 8:30pm | MSC Century Rooms A/B
  • April 26th: Mirth Week Carnival | 12pm – 5pm | RWC/MSC Commons
  • April 27th: Throwback Time Machine | 7pm – 10pm | Pilot House
  • April 28th: Free Fun Friday- Food Trucks | 11am – 2pm | MSC/Rec Plaza
  • April 29th: UMSL Goose Chase 5K | 9:00am | Recreation & Wellness Center
  • April 29th: Mirth Week Comedy Show featuring Trevor Noah & Hasan Minhaj | 8pm – 11pm |Touhill Performing Arts Center
  • April 30th: Mirth Week BBQ | 12pm - 2pm | University Meadows