Cheyene Shuart is a Second Year student at UWindsor. She has switched from English to Psychology and is very passionate about the work she does. I asked Chey about UWin’s student culture and about managing 3 jobs while in school. She is a wonderful, kind, and warm-hearted person that puts all of her love and energy into everything she does.
What year/program are you in?
I’m majoring in Psychology and minoring in French. I’m technically beginning my second year, but I’m part-time for this semester so I feel as though I’m caught somewhere in the limbo between first and second year because of the course count I’m currently at.
What is the most rewarding thing about university to you?
As basic as this sounds, it really is the environment for me. I took a year off between first and second year, and when you’re only working you don’t get a lot of the same social interaction you do in school. I love the bustle of people, the permeable misery around exam time, the loud pen scratching and type clicking in the library; everything about the presence on campus is really invigorating for me.
Is there anything about UWin that you want to see changed before you graduate?
I definitely would like to see some physical changes in accessibility around campus, such as more automatic doors; I’ve noticed some distress where that’s concerned. Another improvement could be updated and more accessible web access, such as the UWindsor website itself as well as myuwindsor as they are pretty dated and can be rather confusing. I definitely enjoy the improvements on the web access, though. Great job, UWindsor!
If you could give advice to a freshman student, what would it be?
Don’t try to quit in the first month. Everyone will tell you that your first year is the hardest, and that’s true for a lot of reasons. Don’t stress over major changes; if you want to switch to something else, take your time in figuring it out. You’ve made it in already, now you can take creative freedom and make this experience about you and no one else. There may be a lot of influences on how you function and what you take in university (or college!), but remember that ultimately you are an individual, and you’ve got to do what you love, no matter what that may be. Feel free to take all the time you need to figure it out, and you have to make mistakes to figure it out too, whether you want to or not!
You work 3 jobs and are at the U part time. How do you manage your time effectively and do you have any tips?
It’s definitely a struggle to keep up in classes, but I make sure that all of my employers know that I need time off here and there to study, and even between three different jobs they’re all sympathetic and helpful with scheduling, so in that respect I’m lucky. I try to get as much done ahead of time as I can; the more I have done ahead of time, the better I feel when I get into class and can say, “Yes, I remember this!” Monitoring my moods and diet help a lot too; self-care is really important, even if it seems like you don’t have a lot of time. Although of everything, I have to say that my best asset is daily planners. I have one at my bedside, one on my phone and a white board all to help keep track of what needs to get done, and checking off one thing at a time helps put one (stress) in the past so I can tackle each and every task that needs doing without feeling overwhelmed. I highly recommend planners – especially checklists!
When you think “university culture” what comes to mind?
Exam stress, loud groups at the window tables in Leddy West, people walking really fast to get to class and people in front of you that you wish would walk faster. The culture at university is a diverse pool of students going their own way, whether with a great big space-hogging group of friends or on their own, working hard and stressing hard but emitting a satisfying aura of learning and (connection). I think a culture that the university emits is just as important as the educational content; if I didn’t look forward to walking down Sunset (Avenue) first thing in the morning and weaving through the hundreds of other students doing their own thing, I probably wouldn’t look forward to school as a whole very much.
Do you prefer a full-time or a part-time semester?
So far, I think it depends on what else is going on in your life. If you’re working a lot of jobs, like me, then part-time is great because you can prioritize both… especially if you’re paying for school on your own. Full-time is fantastic if financial aid is available to you and you have fewer economic worries than educational ones, but that’s only in my experience; I can’t speak for anyone else. I love full-time because you get to immerse yourself completely in study, but part-time so far is the best for me as I try to support my educational costs alone. My advice to the world is not to be ashamed of part-time study (or economic worries, for that matter) because slowing it down is just your way of marking your own experience and doing what’s best for you (either economically or emotionally, or whatever the reason!). You do you, just believe in yourself along the way.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your life?
If I could only accomplish one thing, it would be to leave behind a trail of markedly happier people than if I hadn’t existed at all. I want to help people realize their full potential, see that they are valid and interesting and loved, and appreciate themselves even in their darkest moments. If I can help people see the best in themselves, I’ll have lived a happy, fulfilled life. My most important goal is to empower people; seeing people lift themselves up with a nudge in the right direction is its own reward. I hope that the students at UWindsor can achieve the same and enjoy their studies and time here as much as I do. Keep up the hard work and don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re gonna make it one way or another!