#2: Welcome
My name is Soyla Santos
Im an academic advisor with the University Advising Center
I have received both my BFA and MFA from UTA
I have worked here at UT Arlington for nearly 12 years
with the goal of empowering students to succeed academically and beyond.
I have comforted and challenged students, and I have witnessed many triumphs and defeats.
If you want to know how to make success happen at UT Arlington, then youre in the right place.
Because Im here to share the nitty-gritty of student success.
#3: My Dads favorite phrase is Make it happen.
My Dad came from a big family.
He is the middle child of 17 siblings.
When he was a kid, he used to work in the cotton fields for 25 cents a day.
He gave that money to his mother every day.
When my parents divorced when I was teen I lived with my Dad
But he would French braid our hair, buy feminine products, practice softball and more
Without ever complaining and without us ever know how he knew how to do those things.
He Made It Happen
My Dad took a couple of college classes when I was in high school,
But it wasnt until I was in my junior year of college that he decided
That I wasnt going to graduate before him.
He graduated with a BBA in Finance a semester before me.
He Made It Happen.
Growing up, there were many times I wanted to give up on things or
I just didnt want to do something because I didnt see the point.
Its then I
#4: Mindset is the mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.
It is basically your life philosophy.
In terms of academic success you have a couple choices.
You can believe that your intelligence and talents are fixed- meaning that you can only learn so much.
Or you can believe that your intelligence and talents can be developed with effort and persistence.
The latter is know as Growth Mindset.
Understanding and utilizing Growth Mindset is the first step in academic success.
#5: Consider this scenario.
Its Friday afternoon and your professor has just assigned a group project due on Monday.
What is your first thought? Which one of these thought bubbles would you put over your head?
Why did you choose fixed? Why did you choose growth?
#6: How can mindset influence academic success?
Your mental preparedness also includes your mindset.
When you apply Growth Mindset to your academics.
You should think of yourself as a professional.
A professional responds with maturity.
Professionals use proper etiquette with professors, staff and peers.
Professionals do not need outside motivation to learn; they are motivated by their own goals.
Professionals develop strategies that work for them when they are struggling.
They learn from their failures and thrive on challenges.
This Growth mindset propels a student from good to great.
#13: Start with a strong foundation:
You have to be hardyable to withstand difficulties
You have to have couragebe able to be true to your convictions
You have to have passionfeel strongly about what you are doing.
Then
you need optimismto help you stay motivated
You need creativityto see the possibilities
Finally,
You must be committedyou have to follow through with your decisions.
Commitment is the tipping point to greatness.
#14: You can see grit a lot in the art world.
Take Thomas Kinkade for example.
He is no Michelangelo, and there are many artists much greater than he is,
but he pushed himself harder than others and was able to make a name for himself.
They say that the early bird gets the worm, right?
They dont say the best bird gets the worm.
Your work ethic is important.
#15: The elephant in the room is a major problem that is obviously present
but avoided because it is more comfortable to do so.
We all have excuses for why we dont do things.
Some of us blame others for why we cant do things.
And that is a big problem and a big obstacle to overcome to achieve success.
When students come into advising with 1 million and 1 reasons why they received a poor grade
But none of those reasons involve them as a student taking responsibility
I am concerned.
#16: Its not a straight shot either. Its a series of small races one right after another.
#17: So, the best way to embrace GRIT is to know that you are adaptable
#18: You know how to shake it off. This is another lesson from my Dad.
#19: And you have zero excuses. This may not happen overnight,
but its part of changing your mindset.
You are in control of so much more than you think.
#21: Audacity. To Boldy Go where no one has gone before
#22: Sometimes people assume that being audacious
means that you have to live on the wild side of life.
But that is not always the case.
Consider the people in your life that you would consider audacious.
They are the people that seem to be able to do everything
They volunteer. They make straight As
They have great relationships and seem to light up the room.
They are audacious because they
Challenge themselves. When others make excuses, they push forward
They take risks, not to the extreme, but educated risks.
They ask themselves, do I care what others think? And the answer is no.
Im going to answer the question in class whether Im right or wrong.
Im going to volunteer at the Big Event even if I dont know anyone else that is doing it.
I can do things on my own.
Most of All, being audacious is being above average. I dont mean that in terms of grades.
That is important But I mean in terms of setting goals for themselves.
#23: On 14 October 2012, Felix Baumgartner completed a free fall from 24 miles into the stratosphere.
He became the first person to do so with any form of engine power.
Now, thats audacious.
But he had to study to do this. He was a student first, and then he dove towardthat made him a learner.
He had to actually experience the fall to truly understand