Katie Naymon

More by Katie Naymon

Career Body Language: 8 Nonverbal Ways to Shine in the Workplace

6/18/2013

The way we carry ourselves impacts every part of our lives. From facial expressions to how we sit and walk, we’re constantly judging and evaluating people based on visual cues. In the workplace, your body language can make or break how your coworkers and superiors view you. By now we’ve all heard about the firm handshake, but there are other ways that people judge us based on body language during internships, in summer jobs, and in school. We talked to Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman, a body language expert, and Joe Navarro, an adjunct faculty member of nonverbal communication at Saint Leo University, for body language tips to use in the workplace.

1. Perfect the handshake

Yes, you’ve heard this advice before, but it’s worth reiterating as it’s probably the first thing you’ll do when you meet someone in a professional setting. According to Dr. Goman, limp, weak handshakes come across as delicate and incompetent.

So what makes the perfect shake? “Make it firm, palm-to-palm, and web-to-web (the skin between your thumb and index finger),” Dr. Goman says. “Stand, square your body to the other person's, smile, and look him/her in the eyes.” You’ll be seen as confident, outgoing, and warm.

2. Don’t fidget

The Pros & Cons of Rooming With a High School Friend in College

6/6/2013

Going to college with your high school friends can be awesome. They’ll get all of your inside jokes, they make college feel a bit more comfortable, and you’re guaranteed to have a good friend the moment you step on campus for the first time. A lot of collegiettes go to college with a friend or two from high school, and some take it a step further: they room with them. Her Campus talked to collegiettes across the country about the pros and cons of rooming with their high school friends in college.

Pros

You can discuss the rooming situation in person

Since you and your classmate likely live close-by, you can actually sit down together and plan out your room! Because you’re avoiding the random housing lottery altogether, you won’t need to worry about the preferences of someone you haven’t even met yet. So go ahead, talk about decorating your room and coordinate who’s bringing what. It will be way easier to figure this out with someone you already know.

You’ll already have common ground

Rooming with an old classmate means they know your background and what your hometown is like. You won’t have to defend your giant Chicago Bulls poster or get confused looks when you talk about your crazy high school teachers. These girls have experienced a similar high school experience as you and can commiserate over homesickness with you.  

Does the Pill Make You Gain Weight or Make Your Boobs Bigger?

6/3/2013

All medications have potential side effects, and the Pill is no exception. Weight gain and breast enlargement are often reported from girls on the Pill—but does that happen to everyone and is it really caused by the Pill? We talked to a gynecologist and collegiettes across the country to separate fact from fiction so you can choose the right birth control for you.

Does the Pill make you gain weight?

Some girls report slight to moderate weight gain while they’re on the Pill—but actually, weight gain is rare. According to Dr. Anne Burke, an associate professor of gynecology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, very few women experience significant weight gain on the Pill. “Most scientific studies indicate that the Pill does not cause weight gain.  In the few studies that have shown an effect, it's been in the range of 3-4% [percent of women who gain weight on the Pill]. I never say never: some women may gain weight on the pill, but most really do not,” she says.

The 5 Best Ways to Fight PMS

5/14/2013

It’s a week before your period, and by now, you know the drill: bloating, fatigue, irritability and aches and pains. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is common and normal, but that doesn’t make it any more fun. PMS is the umbrella term for a variety of symptoms that happen before your period, and their severity depends on the person. Luckily, these symptoms usually stop at the onset of your period. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, at least 85% of women experience one or more PMS symptom as a part of their monthly cycle. So when you know your period is about to hit, try these collegiette and expert recommended tips to fight these unpleasant symptoms!

1. Get moving

When you feel tired and irritable, exercising might be the last thing you feel like doing. But according to Mary Clarkin, RN a Cleveland-based women’s health nurse practitioner, the endorphins produced by exercise can be hugely beneficial for PMS symptoms like cramps, aches and pains and even irritability. Clarkin says, “[Exercising] is also a good distraction.” Emma, a collegiette at Kenyon College, agrees: “I get cramps as part of my PMS. I start exercising more and doing more yoga because it helps.” Yoga, simple stretching or even a quick jog are all easy ways to get your heart pumping and your endorphins flowing.

2. Pop a painkiller  

The Dangers of Painkillers: Are You Taking Them Safely?

5/3/2013

There’s a pill for everything these days: menstrual cramps, allergies, cold and flu symptoms—and we’re popping them like candy. But when it comes to something as broad as pain, there are so many options out there that it’s hard to know which to choose. Painkillers can help relieve everything from a muscle sprain to cramps to post-wisdom teeth pain. But there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of painkiller; they’re not all created equal! It’s important to make sure that you know what you’re taking because when taken improperly, painkillers can be harmful to your body and cause uncomfortable or damaging side effects. We talked to collegiettes and Kathy Hahn, an Oregon-based community pharmacist who specializes in pain about the ins and outs of painkillers.

Which painkiller should I take?

To Cheat or Not to Cheat: How to Resist the Temptation

4/22/2013

We’ve all been there: it’s 2am, and you have a ten-page paper due in 12 hours. Your cursor blinks on the blank Word document, mocking you as you scramble through notes looking for something to write. Hours pass, and finally you open your Internet browser. With SparkNotes, Wikipedia and the entire web at your disposal, it’s incredibly difficult in these situations to resist copying and pasting material. It can sometimes be even more difficult to say no to a friend who wants to copy your math problem set. Cheating happens in college—no doubt about it. But read on for tips on how to resist the temptation to cheat and how to say no to friends who might pressure you into it.

What is cheating and why does it happen?

When you take someone else’s thoughts and ideas without crediting them to that person, you’re cheating. According to Dr. Rebecca Gladding, psychiatrist and author of You Are Not Your Brain, cheating tempts college students for two reasons. “Someone cheats usually because either they really hate the course and they just don’t care [or] they are completely stressed out and they want to do well and they’re afraid they’re not going to do well and there [are] a lot of outside pressures.”  Gladding notes that usually in college, students cheat because of the latter: too much stress and too much pressure to succeed. For Lisa*, a junior at Northwestern University, cheating was a tempting option because of stress. “I remember being tempted to do it a few times, especially during my first year when I felt like there was this immense pressure to do well,” she says.

Questioning Your Sexuality In College: How To Deal

4/8/2013

College is a great time to explore who you are from your career interests to your personal identity, including what you want in a relationship. But not everyone comes into college knowing exactly what they’re looking for, especially when it comes to sexual orientation. Gay, bisexual, straight, asexual—you name it: there’s an entire spectrum of sexual orientations out there and it can be frustrating to sort out if you’re questioning. We talked to students and Rosemary Nicolosi, staff counselor and coordinator of services for LGBT students at the Johns Hopkins University Counseling Center for advice on opening up about your sexuality.

What does “questioning my sexuality” even mean?

Just ask any gender studies major: sexual orientation is a tricky thing. It’s a term used to talk about whom you’re sexually attracted to (or not attracted to). Females who primarily like males are heterosexual (straight) and females who primarily like other females are homosexual (gay/lesbian). But there’s also a lot in between!

Sexual identities

7 Scientifically-Proven Ways to Get Better Grades

3/20/2013

Whether you’re a pre-collegiette poring over SAT prep books or an upperclassman getting ready to take the GRE, tests can be stressful. But they don’t have to be! From food to music to learning styles, there are multitudes of proven ways to do better on every test you take, from midterms to MCATs. 

1. Chew gum

You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s no urban legend. Baylor College of Medicine did a study in 2009 where students chewed gum during a standardized math test. The gum chewers scored better than the non-chewing control group. Chewing gum improves cognitive performance in adults because it stimulates the brain by increasing blood flow, according to the researchers. The best part? You probably already have a pack at the bottom of your purse. If you’re allowed to have gum during your test, start chewing to raise that score! Chewing pre-test may also help. 

2. Play some background music

6 Foods That Get Rid Of Bloating (& 5 Foods That Cause It!)

3/7/2013

 

Bloating: we’ve all experienced it, and it’s never pleasant. Bloating makes our jeans feel a little bit tighter, puffs up our stomachs and can sometimes even give us gas and an uncomfortable feeling of pressure. Bloating is temporary—but you can help your body out by nibbling on certain bloat-busting foods, as well as avoiding a few that cause bloating to begin with. We talked to Diane Blahut, a clinical dietician at Johns Hopkins Nutrition Clinic in Baltimore, for tips on how to beat the bloat!

Why does bloating happen?

“Bloating is caused by excess air (gas) in the intestines,” Blahut says. It can happen for several reasons: food allergies and intolerances, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and pre-menstrual syndrome—but more often than not, eating certain foods that either produce gas or cause your body to retain water is the culprit. The way that you eat a food can also make you bloat, too—like eating too quickly or drinking from a straw. “Air can get into your digestive system by being swallowed.  To minimize the amount of air you swallow, eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly,” Blahut says.

Bloating is rarely serious, but as it is sometimes associated with certain digestive disorders and allergies, Blahut recommends seeing a doctor if you have frequent, uncomfortable bloating. “If you suspect lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance or celiac disease, or if you have other symptoms such as diarrhea or abdominal pain with eating, see your doctor,” she says.

What foods cause bloating?

7 Serious Conditions That Bad Cramps Could Be A Sign Of

2/26/2013

By the time we’re in college, we all know the drill: we PMS, we get our period, most of us have mild to moderate cramping for a few days, the period ends. Repeat every month. For some girls, though, this pattern might suddenly change—and turn into a much more painful experience. A period accompanied by abnormally severe cramps might indicate something else is at play. Her Campus talked to Dr. Alain Joffe, medical director of the Johns Hopkins University Student Health and Wellness Center about what conditions appear to be just bad cramps, but are actually something else entirely. Read on to decipher if your cramps are normal or worthy of medical attention.

According to Dr. Joffe, normal menstrual cramps are cramps that last for a few days and respond well to painkillers, birth control or other self-care like heating pads. If you’ve suddenly got cramps that won’t go away, you need to seek out a doctor. Read on for the medical conditions that can make cramps worse for collegiettes.

1. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease