Students on campus shared how they plan to finish the last 6 weeks of the semester.

Demetria Joiner, a junior majoring in management, said her goals for the rest of the semester are to finish her classes, go to work and complete all of her extracurricular activities.

“I plan on meeting my academic goals simply by doing all of my homework and studying non-stop,” Joiner said.

While last semester proved to be a challenge for Joiner, she said this spring semester was much better.

“I did not have any challenges this semester. I know last semester was really hard for me, but this semester was more relaxing,” she said.

Joiner is not graduating this year, but she already has graduation goals.

“My graduation goals are to have a 3.5 GPA at least and to graduate on time with honors and a big scholarship or a good job,” she said.

For students struggling this semester, Joiner said she has some valuable advice.

“Take the time out to study and relax, focus on yourself first before anything else and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it,” Joiner said.

Italia Mendez, a senior majoring in community health, said her goals are to get through her internship, pass all of her classes and then graduate.

“I plan on achieving my goals by staying motivated and (focusing) and making sure I get all of my work done and my internship is going okay,” Mendez said.

Mendez said her biggest challenge academically is all of the work and papers she has to get done.

“I just need to work on my time management and stop procrastinating,” she said.

Like others this during this past winter, Mendez said she has definitely suffered from seasonal depression.

“I am not a fan of the cold, so when it is cold outside, I am either mad or sad,” she said.

“Once it starts to get warm, I start to get more happy, and that puts me in a better mood to stay motivated and focus on my work.”

Mendez is also graduating this semester. Her goal after graduation, she said, is to get a good starting job that will help lead her on the right career path.

Sheila Kennedy, a junior majoring in music education, said her goals for the rest of the semester are to finish strong with her finals and juries.

“A jury is a final that all musicians have to do,” she said. “You are given special songs by your professor that you prepare all year long for.”

The key to college students accomplishing academic goals, Kennedy said, is for them to put hard work into everything they do; when it comes to everything they do, they need to do it in a timely fashion, which is what Kennedy intends to do.

“I’m going to work hard and study,” she said. “As a music major, you have to have really good time management because you spend a lot of time on campus.”

In addition to Mendez’s winter turmoil, Kennedy said she has also been affected by seasonal depression.

“I have struggled with depression for a long time, and the February month really affects me because it is the last month of winter and it is hard to force yourself out of bed for class,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy is not graduating this semester, but she said she is still preparing for graduation.

“I need to make sure I survive senior year first, and when I graduate, I want to teach kids,” she said.

Kennedy’s advice for college students is to keep physical health in mind, she said.

“Take care of your physical health,” Kennedy said. “Make sure you eat, sleep and drink water because if you are not right physically, then mentally you will not be able to work on yourself.”

Shamaine Ware can be reached at 581-1212 or sdware@eiu.edu.