Restorative Art
Restorative Art—a class that teaches mortuary science students how to reconstruct a face that has been destroyed! In real life people do not die looking pretty as they might appear on your television shows. In the case of an accident or a tragic situation, a deceased person could be missing a nose, a part of an ear, or about 1/3 of their head. Restorative art teaches students how to recreate the natural form of the skull and face of a person to help give people a comforting memory of their loved one. It is one part class and one part lab.
The class involves a review of information that one would have learned from Anatomy & Physiology. The class consists of two textbooks: Restorative Art and Color and Cosmetics by J. Sheridan Mayer. The textbooks are not fun to read—actually you will most likely develop a headache if you try reading them. When I say headache, I actually mean you will probably want to ram your head into the wall if you try reading them. They are old textbooks with an older writing style. They are not an easy read.
The class also requires The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M. Elson. The entire book is a coloring book of the anatomy of the human body. The idea is the book is suppose to be a good study guide for students, but I found myself more focused on the coloring than learning about the different anatomical parts within the pages. I was concentrating more on not coloring outside the lines than anything else.
The lab section of the class requires a fake model skull and restorative wax for facial reconstruction. This is possibly the best part of the class. Students learn how to recreate body parts like noses and mouths in relation to their proper form and size. The main project for the Restorative Art lab is each student needs to recreate the head of someone that they know. Students will use pictures of their subject from different angle to help recreate the natural form. It will involve a lot of work, but it should be fun.
Restorative Art teaches a lot of useful information that mortuary science students can use in the future. The only problem is now when I go out in the public I can’t stop studying people’s faces and foreheads. For some reason it always feels like I hit the jackpot when I walk inside a Wal-Mart.
The class involves a review of information that one would have learned from Anatomy & Physiology. The class consists of two textbooks: Restorative Art and Color and Cosmetics by J. Sheridan Mayer. The textbooks are not fun to read—actually you will most likely develop a headache if you try reading them. When I say headache, I actually mean you will probably want to ram your head into the wall if you try reading them. They are old textbooks with an older writing style. They are not an easy read.
The class also requires The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M. Elson. The entire book is a coloring book of the anatomy of the human body. The idea is the book is suppose to be a good study guide for students, but I found myself more focused on the coloring than learning about the different anatomical parts within the pages. I was concentrating more on not coloring outside the lines than anything else.
The lab section of the class requires a fake model skull and restorative wax for facial reconstruction. This is possibly the best part of the class. Students learn how to recreate body parts like noses and mouths in relation to their proper form and size. The main project for the Restorative Art lab is each student needs to recreate the head of someone that they know. Students will use pictures of their subject from different angle to help recreate the natural form. It will involve a lot of work, but it should be fun.
Restorative Art teaches a lot of useful information that mortuary science students can use in the future. The only problem is now when I go out in the public I can’t stop studying people’s faces and foreheads. For some reason it always feels like I hit the jackpot when I walk inside a Wal-Mart.
2nd Year Fall Class Schedule
The second year of Mortuary Science is now in full swing. Classes don't seem to be too bad except the class schedule this semester seems to be all over the place. Here is a list of classes for the second year mortuary science program at Carl Sandburg College.
Embalming I
Embalming I Lab
Funeral Service Administration
Introduction to Mass Fatalities
Restorative Art
Thanatochemistry
Back to School
The summer is over. A part of me is glad. It has been an exhausting summer. I lost so much weight these past couple of months that an anorexic would be jealous of me. The past couple of weeks I have been trying to gain some weight back. Not from hard work though. Just eating a lot and being lazy.
School is back in session. Students are starting to line up and prepare for their classes at Carl Sandburg College. Like cattle that have been shown an open door, some of them don't know exactly where to go. Either they wander around, or they stand still and hope that something will appear right in front of them. A part of me wonders if I was like them when I was their age. Probably not.
This is my second and final year in the mortuary science program. There is a part of me is anxious to get this year over with because I somehow feel like I've been robbed of a summer break. I spent most of the summer working two jobs. Oh well, I imagine the feeling will pass eventually. As for now, I will hang on tightly to that feeling.
If you don't already know who I am, my name is Paul Olson and I have been writing blogs for Carl Sandburg College for one year now. If you haven't read any of my blogs...well, that's okay. You don't need to. There are quite a few posts written by me, and I have a bad tendency to write a lot. If you do check out any of my older posts there will be lots of reading. However maybe you should at least check out my first blog posting which is a basic introduction for this blog.
I am a mortuary science student here at Carl Sandburg College. This is my second year in the program which means I can tease all the newbies in mortuary science this year. I pretty much write little musings about my experiences here at Carl Sandburg College and its mortuary science program. That is why I title my blogs, "Mortuary Science Blogs."
Hopefully if your brain consumes a slightest bit of curiosity about mortuary science, you will find these posts interesting. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I always enjoy comments or questions from people.
School is back in session. Students are starting to line up and prepare for their classes at Carl Sandburg College. Like cattle that have been shown an open door, some of them don't know exactly where to go. Either they wander around, or they stand still and hope that something will appear right in front of them. A part of me wonders if I was like them when I was their age. Probably not.
This is my second and final year in the mortuary science program. There is a part of me is anxious to get this year over with because I somehow feel like I've been robbed of a summer break. I spent most of the summer working two jobs. Oh well, I imagine the feeling will pass eventually. As for now, I will hang on tightly to that feeling.
If you don't already know who I am, my name is Paul Olson and I have been writing blogs for Carl Sandburg College for one year now. If you haven't read any of my blogs...well, that's okay. You don't need to. There are quite a few posts written by me, and I have a bad tendency to write a lot. If you do check out any of my older posts there will be lots of reading. However maybe you should at least check out my first blog posting which is a basic introduction for this blog.
I am a mortuary science student here at Carl Sandburg College. This is my second year in the program which means I can tease all the newbies in mortuary science this year. I pretty much write little musings about my experiences here at Carl Sandburg College and its mortuary science program. That is why I title my blogs, "Mortuary Science Blogs."
Hopefully if your brain consumes a slightest bit of curiosity about mortuary science, you will find these posts interesting. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I always enjoy comments or questions from people.
Finding A Mortuary Science School
Some people have trouble figuring out which mortuary school to go to. In reality, there are not that many that exist here in the United States. Of those that do exist, there are quite a few that I would not be surprise to see close down in the near future. Maybe I shouldn't leave anything to your imagination. What I am saying is there are quite a few schools out there that don't do well with students passing.
There are several things people should look for when selecting a mortuary science school. To give you an idea, I will use myself as an example as to why I selected Carl Sandburg College as my school.
The state of Illinois has four mortuary schools--Carl Sandburg College, Malcolm X College, Southern Illinois University and Worsham College. There are various reasons for why I picked Carl Sandburg College to go to for mortuary science. First off is the location. Carl Sandburg College is located in a nice, quiet town called Galesburg. It is not too far from Peoria, IL, or Davenport, IA. It is a friendly community with simple, good people.
Malcolm X College and Worsham College are both decent schools located in the Chicago area. Malcolm X is located in Chicago, while Worsham College is located in Wheeling, IL. When I was choosing mortuary science schools, I was wanting to get away from the Chicago area. Although a small part of me misses the area, overall it is better for me that I am not attending school there due to the costs of living. I am paying for college out of my own pockets. Futhermore, Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, IL. Honestly, I do like Carbondale, but there are other factors as to why I didn't choose SIU.
The second reason I picked Carl Sandburg College is the cost for the education. The mortuary science program at Carl Sandburg College is roughly around $11,000. The cost for Worsham College is a little over $15,000. To be honest I never checked out the tuition for Malcolm X College since I never had an interest in living in Chicago, and the tuition for Southern Illinois University is of course ridiculously higher than the other schools since it is an university and they throw in extra costs and fees within their tuition.
The third reason I picked Carl Sandburg College is I took the time to met their instructors and I was impressed by them. By the time I did this, I already narrowed my choices between Carl Sandburg College and Southern Illinois University. I eliminated Worsham College and Malcolm X College due to my desire at the time to be away from Chicago and its suburbs. The people at Carl Sandburg College were helpful and informative about the mortuary science program the college had.
I went down to Southern Illinois University to also take a tour of its mortuary science program. Personally, I wasn't too keen on the person I met with down there. I don't want to call the person I met with (unfortunately I can't remember her name) a certain word, but I will say she was not very pleasant. I figured she probably just had a bad day, but still you are not suppose to bring your problems, issues or or whatever is wrong to work with you. That is unprofessional--especially when you have to speak with people who have an interest in your program. By this point, I realize I did not need to be at SIU at all. I already have a bachelor's degree.
However what really sold me on attending Carl Sandburg College is the passing/failing statistics of the Funeral Service National Board Examination (NBE) exam. The NBE exam is the final exam students have to take at the end of the program to continue on in the profession. When I first saw the rankings, Carl Sandburg College was ranked 6th in the nation with a 92% rating. The college did drop down the rankings this past year, as well as most of the other mortuary schools in Illinois, but overall their median average is higher than the other mortuary schools in this state.
If you are interested in entering into mortuary science and have not decided what school to attend, there are several factors you may want to consider first. The first thing you need to to is learn your state's requirements. All states have different educational requirements to be a funeral director. Second, you need to decide if you want to earn a associate's degree or a bachelor's degree. In my opinion if you graduate with a bachelor's degree you will have more options available to you in your future. Third, take a look at the school's pass/fail percentage rate of students who take the NBE or the American Board Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) examination at the end of the year. Fourth, look at the school's curriculum for the mortuary science program. Make sure it is diverse and offers various courses in order for you to get the most out of your education. Also any hands-on experience or field trips are always a plus for a mortuary science program. Finally, check out the tuition rates and location of the schools. Some mortuary science schools might be in areas with higher cost-of-living. You want to make sure you can attend a school with an education that you can afford.
For any additional help or info about mortuary science schools, here are some links you can copy and paste into your browser.
http://www.mortuaryschools.com/
http://www.abfse.org/index.html
http://www.theconferenceonline.org/
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos011.htm
The 130th Annual IFDA Convention
The Illinois Funeral Directors Association held their 130th annual convention in Peoria, Illinois on June 22-24, 2010 at the Hotel Pere Marquette and the Peoria Civic Center. This is the first year I have ever attended an IFDA convention so I did not know what to expect. There were various speakers attending the event giving presentations such as Robert T. Rosson, Jr.’s topic, “For the Life of Your Business,” or Linda Wellman’s presentation on “Funeral Directors Broadcast Daily Death Notices on TV as a Free Public Service.”
Besides listening to the speakers, this convention also gave current funeral directors a chance to earn credits for their continuing education as a funeral director. There is some down time such as Tuesday night’s “Wine and Cheese Party,” or Wednesday night’s “Presidential Reception at the Cotillion Ballroom” at the Hotel Pere Marquette. I did find it however, as a current mortuary science student, to find it more economical feasible to just buy yourself a nice bottle of red wine than purchasing wine in small plastic cups at the event. Personally, I never drink wine out of a plastic or paper cup.
On each day there were various businesses with booths at the exhibits. Originally I believe that most of the people representing the business would not want to talk with me since I was only merely a mortuary science student, but I was wrong. The exhibits gave everyone a chance to learn some information about businesses who you might be working with in your future. Everyone I spoke with was pleasant and more than happy to talk to me. There was however one exception of one certain casket company whom when one of the representatives found out I was only a student he turned around and started chatting with some of his co-workers. (Sorry Batesville, I hear you have a great company but you were unfortunately represented by someone at the event that reminded me of a used-car salesman. Sometimes it is unfortunate that first impressions are the impression that last the longest.)
The only recommendation I do have for the IFDA for their next convention is to make sure to list the room number(s) of the rooms or locations you might be using for the IFDA convention inside the IFDA convention brochure. On Tuesday I spent more time than I wanted trying to find the room where the presentations were being held. I asked quite a few people who weren’t actually sure where they were supposed to go either. Some individuals gave me the wrong information, while others just did not simply know. I spent almost two hours trying to find out where I was supposed to be at. That part of the convention I can honestly say was not fun.
I attended this event with my girlfriend and I thought personally it is a great learning experience for people who are interested in entering this field. Of course if you live in another state there will not be an IFDA, but most (or all) states should have their own state association for funeral directors. I highly recommend for any person who is planning to enter this field, or anyone who is currently employed in this field, to attend these events. Obtaining more knowledge never hurts a person.
The End of the 8-Week Semester
(CSC Original Post 03-01-14)
Well the semester is finally over…at least for the mortuary science students. All the hard work and studying we contributed in the last 8-weeks have finally come to a conclusion. I’ll be honest with you. If you ever find yourself in an 8-week course do not take it for granted. You will have to stay on top of things. You will absorb a lot of material in such a small amount of time. It is not easy, nor is it not fun. I’m just giving you a warning.
I don’t know what to expect next for the mortuary science program in the fall semester. Well, actually that’s a lie. I do know what to expect. If I tell you then I would have nothing to write about during next semester for this blog. One good thing though is I do not have to worry about taking any summer classes. Some students in the program will be taking Sociology in the summer if they have not already taken it. One recommendation I have for people who are planning on entering the mortuary science program is try to take care of your general education classes right away. If you have already taken care of those classes then it will free up your class schedule quite a bit. Trust me, the more free time you have for your mortuary science classes the more it will help.
Even though the semester is over for the mortuary science program, some of the students will still be sticking around Carl Sandburg College. The mortuary science fraternity Sigma Phi Sigma will be having a bake sale on March 16th and 17th to help raise money for Haiti. There will be bake goods and sweets that people can pick up on their way to or coming from class. The money from the bake sale will be going towards a good cause, so hopefully it would be a decent turnout for the sale.
Other than the bake sale, most of us from the mortuary science program will probably not see each other until next fall. Some of us still have other classes we are taking at Carl Sandburg College while some others do not. The nice thing however is Spring Break is coming up for Carl Sandburg College so that means everyone will have a chance to have a nice break. Then summer will be coming soon, and after that back to the routine of mortuary science in the fall. I hope everyone has a good break.
Well the semester is finally over…at least for the mortuary science students. All the hard work and studying we contributed in the last 8-weeks have finally come to a conclusion. I’ll be honest with you. If you ever find yourself in an 8-week course do not take it for granted. You will have to stay on top of things. You will absorb a lot of material in such a small amount of time. It is not easy, nor is it not fun. I’m just giving you a warning.
I don’t know what to expect next for the mortuary science program in the fall semester. Well, actually that’s a lie. I do know what to expect. If I tell you then I would have nothing to write about during next semester for this blog. One good thing though is I do not have to worry about taking any summer classes. Some students in the program will be taking Sociology in the summer if they have not already taken it. One recommendation I have for people who are planning on entering the mortuary science program is try to take care of your general education classes right away. If you have already taken care of those classes then it will free up your class schedule quite a bit. Trust me, the more free time you have for your mortuary science classes the more it will help.
Even though the semester is over for the mortuary science program, some of the students will still be sticking around Carl Sandburg College. The mortuary science fraternity Sigma Phi Sigma will be having a bake sale on March 16th and 17th to help raise money for Haiti. There will be bake goods and sweets that people can pick up on their way to or coming from class. The money from the bake sale will be going towards a good cause, so hopefully it would be a decent turnout for the sale.
Other than the bake sale, most of us from the mortuary science program will probably not see each other until next fall. Some of us still have other classes we are taking at Carl Sandburg College while some others do not. The nice thing however is Spring Break is coming up for Carl Sandburg College so that means everyone will have a chance to have a nice break. Then summer will be coming soon, and after that back to the routine of mortuary science in the fall. I hope everyone has a good break.
Sigma Phi Sigma's Award Ceremony
(CSC Original Post 03-01-10)
This past Saturday the mortuary science fraternity, Sigma Phi Sigma, held their awards ceremony at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant in Galesburg, Illinois. People of all types started showing up for the event around 6:30 p.m. In attendance were mortuary science students, alumni and other special guests. There were 52 people scheduled to attend the event, but some people had to back out at the last minute while others who originally were not planning on making it to the awards ceremony were able to show up. Overall it was probably a good thing that not everyone was able to make it to the awards ceremony. If everyone did show up it would have been extremely cramped and crowded inside the room we were in at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant.
The event started off with an introduction by Tim Krause and the Sigma Phi Sigma President Christopher Hroziencik. Tim introduced all the special guests and alumni at the awards ceremony, while Chris introduced all the Sigma Phi Sigma members who were in attendance. All the Sigma Phi Sigma members at the event received a special certificate for being a part of the mortuary science organization. After the certificates were handed out, the recipients of the scholarship awards were announced.
Christopher Hroziencik and Kari Schumacher both won scholarships from the second-year class. Melissa Salazar, Brenda Sullivan and Paul Olson (which is me in case you were not aware) each won a scholarship from the first-year class. Each scholarship recipient received a scholarship certificate. However after closely inspecting my scholarship certificate I did notice (after my girlfriend and my mother noticed first) that the certificate handed to me identified me as a female. Right now my mother has the certificate framed and proudly tells people, "That's my daughter!" Anyways, after the scholarships certificates were handed out to each individual, the announcements shortly wrapped up and dinner was served to the guests.
This awards ceremony gave everyone a chance to socialize with each other. It was great speaking with past alumni members, and hearing stories of what funeral directing is like in the real world. Unfortunately during the last hour I was at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant I did not do much socializing due to being distracted by the game of pool. I can’t resist pool tables.
The awards ceremony was a nice, relaxing time for people to meet each other and chat a little. Plus for me it is always more fun to hang out with people outside of the classroom setting. I will definitely attend this again next year. After the awards ceremony some of us from the mortuary science program got together and decided to go out in Galesburg to the bars. It was probably not the smartest idea since we have finals this week, but it was still fun.
This past Saturday the mortuary science fraternity, Sigma Phi Sigma, held their awards ceremony at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant in Galesburg, Illinois. People of all types started showing up for the event around 6:30 p.m. In attendance were mortuary science students, alumni and other special guests. There were 52 people scheduled to attend the event, but some people had to back out at the last minute while others who originally were not planning on making it to the awards ceremony were able to show up. Overall it was probably a good thing that not everyone was able to make it to the awards ceremony. If everyone did show up it would have been extremely cramped and crowded inside the room we were in at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant.
The event started off with an introduction by Tim Krause and the Sigma Phi Sigma President Christopher Hroziencik. Tim introduced all the special guests and alumni at the awards ceremony, while Chris introduced all the Sigma Phi Sigma members who were in attendance. All the Sigma Phi Sigma members at the event received a special certificate for being a part of the mortuary science organization. After the certificates were handed out, the recipients of the scholarship awards were announced.
Christopher Hroziencik and Kari Schumacher both won scholarships from the second-year class. Melissa Salazar, Brenda Sullivan and Paul Olson (which is me in case you were not aware) each won a scholarship from the first-year class. Each scholarship recipient received a scholarship certificate. However after closely inspecting my scholarship certificate I did notice (after my girlfriend and my mother noticed first) that the certificate handed to me identified me as a female. Right now my mother has the certificate framed and proudly tells people, "That's my daughter!" Anyways, after the scholarships certificates were handed out to each individual, the announcements shortly wrapped up and dinner was served to the guests.
This awards ceremony gave everyone a chance to socialize with each other. It was great speaking with past alumni members, and hearing stories of what funeral directing is like in the real world. Unfortunately during the last hour I was at McGillacuddy’s Restaurant I did not do much socializing due to being distracted by the game of pool. I can’t resist pool tables.
The awards ceremony was a nice, relaxing time for people to meet each other and chat a little. Plus for me it is always more fun to hang out with people outside of the classroom setting. I will definitely attend this again next year. After the awards ceremony some of us from the mortuary science program got together and decided to go out in Galesburg to the bars. It was probably not the smartest idea since we have finals this week, but it was still fun.
Preparing for the End of the Semester
(CSC Original Post 02-18-10)
The countdown to the end is near. There are only two more weeks until the end of the mortuary science program. Right now it feels like if endorphins are slowly being released inside the body. Everyone in the program has worked hard this semester and some of us are using the rest of this week as a temporary small break from studying and research.
The overall feeling of a “big relief” came immediately as soon as each person finished their speech this week. I have to admit one thing that was different with this speech and kept everyone’s heart pumping hard was the fact that no one knew when he or she was going to give their speech. The instructor drew the name of a person out of a hat when it was time to give a speech. When your name was drawn is when you had to go in front of the class and present your speech. For me, I imagine the feeling of anticipation had to be similar to what people felt while waiting to be sent to the guillotine in France in the 18th century. Some people wanted to avoid it. Others just wanted to get it over with while the blade was still sharp.
Of course we are aware that since there are only two weeks left in the program that everything is not going to be an easy cake walk. There are still things that need to be done. We still have a research paper, and we still have to study for our comprehensive finals. In my opinion that can wait until this weekend. Right now it is break time. Everyone deserves a little break every now and then. It helps keeping people from getting burnout from too much studying.
The countdown to the end is near. There are only two more weeks until the end of the mortuary science program. Right now it feels like if endorphins are slowly being released inside the body. Everyone in the program has worked hard this semester and some of us are using the rest of this week as a temporary small break from studying and research.
The overall feeling of a “big relief” came immediately as soon as each person finished their speech this week. I have to admit one thing that was different with this speech and kept everyone’s heart pumping hard was the fact that no one knew when he or she was going to give their speech. The instructor drew the name of a person out of a hat when it was time to give a speech. When your name was drawn is when you had to go in front of the class and present your speech. For me, I imagine the feeling of anticipation had to be similar to what people felt while waiting to be sent to the guillotine in France in the 18th century. Some people wanted to avoid it. Others just wanted to get it over with while the blade was still sharp.
Of course we are aware that since there are only two weeks left in the program that everything is not going to be an easy cake walk. There are still things that need to be done. We still have a research paper, and we still have to study for our comprehensive finals. In my opinion that can wait until this weekend. Right now it is break time. Everyone deserves a little break every now and then. It helps keeping people from getting burnout from too much studying.
Tips on Public Speaking
(CSC Original Post 02-16-10)This week in the mortuary science program we are giving speeches in the Funeral Service Counseling program. The students are able to select the speech they want to give and are required to dress professionally for the presentation. I pick to give a speech on the Hindu culture and its rites and rituals when it comes to both funerals and grieving.
Normally, speeches do not bother me that much because when I attended Northern Illinois University I ended up doing speeches, presentations and debates all the time. However, a notion came to me making me realize it has been over five years since I gave my last speech. Also I have not been able to give a 100% focus on the speech topic due to studying for all the exams lately. So I am aware I might be a bit rusty when it comes time for me to present my speech.
Usually with times like this I try to make myself remember of write down certain bulletin points on several note cards that I need to talk about. I don’t like reading when presenting a speech because in my opinion people sound too similar to a robot. I prefer trying to keep eye contact with the audience and talk to them. I am not worry if I make a mistake because everyone makes mistakes every once in a while when talking such as instructors, presenters, etc. If a mistake does happens, the best thing a person can do is roll with it and keep going. That is much better than stopping and focusing on your mistake.
The most important thing I can recommend for a speech is to know your material that you are presenting. If you know your information that you are presenting than everything will be fine. I am not exactly sure how well I will do with the speech, but I am not going to make myself worried. My GPA in the class right now is 100. If a make a few mistakes it won’t hurt me that much.
Problems with Commuting
(CSC Original Post 02-12-10)If I had to give some advice to any person who plans on entering the mortuary science program either here at Carl Sandburg College or at any other school my advice would be this: do not commute during the winter. You should consider moving closer to campus during the wintertime. Why? It’s simple—traveling on ice or snow is not fun. Of course, the exceptions to this advice are any colleges that do not see much snowfall during winter.
Last semester our program had quite a few students who option to commute to Galesburg instead of moving here. This is understandable. Some people might have families or jobs that they do not wish to leave behind. However, a good majority of those students this semester now either live closer to campus, or carry cash with them in case they have to rent a cheap motel room for the night. This is because with the unpredictable weather during the winter some people never know how safe the traveling conditions might be. Plus this semester in mortuary science is one of those semesters that no one can risk missing one day of class. Each class in our mortuary science program this semester is about 2 hours long, so if you miss one day of class you miss out on quite a bit of information.
Also another good reason to consider for moving closer to the college in the wintertime is no one knows for sure if or when the school might cancel classes due to the weather conditions. For instance, if you have a 2-hour commute to school and by the time you finally reach near the college you receive a call on your cell phone telling you campus is closed for the day because of the weather conditions. What happens then is you will have to turn around and try to make that same trip back home in those horrible conditions. This incident did happen to one person I spoke with recently.
In the long run it will be better and safer for students to rent an apartment, stay with a friend, or rent a motel room close to campus while attending school in the winter. It brings more peace to the mind about not worrying about making long trips in bad weather, and it will bring some comfort to know that you will not miss one day of class.
Keyboards, Pencils & Hand Cramps: Be Prepared to Write in Mortuary Science
(CSC Original Post 02-03-10)One thing that has surprised me and I would have never guessed from the beginning of the semester is how much writing I would be doing this semester. Every time when I start to believe I am done writing, I turn around and there is something else there for me to write. It’s starting to become a vicious circle. Okay, well maybe not exactly a vicious circle, but it does feel like a never-ending process.
Don’t get me wrong. Writing assignments in the mortuary science program isn’t usually that difficult, but when you only have 8-weeks of class during the semester the assignments aren’t spaced out either. You are not given the option to procrastinate on the writing assignments like in a regular 16-week semester. It feels like you are writing and researching all of the assignments at the same time.
In our Funeral Service Counseling class we have a short four-page research paper due in 3 or 4 weeks. We are to pick a topic and discuss how that topic relates with process of grieving. My original idea for the research paper was to focus on several different cultures, and compare and contrast those cultures and their grieving rituals. The idea behind this was to find if there were any particular grieving rituals done by other cultures that could benefit the American culture and how we grieve. Unfortunately I had to scrap that idea. When I printed out some scholarly journals on several cultures I was interested in I realized all the information would make my research paper too long. Right now I am trying to narrow it down to one particular culture and focus on it.
We also have to give a speech in Funeral Service Counseling in 2 or 3 weeks. My intention is to do a speech over the same topic I am using for the research paper. I figure I might as well make it a little easier for myself and kill two birds with one stone. I am going to create a power point slide for the speech. For me, power point presentations are great because they can help you prepare for a speech and you can always use them as an outline for your presentation. I’ll try to give an update on the speech when it gets a little bit closer to the due date.
Another class that the mortuary science students have to give a speech in is the accounting class. I have previously taken accounting before so I don’t need to take the class here at Carl Sandburg College, but I will be honest and say I am quite curious to see what the speeches are actually about. I have never seen or heard of an accounting class where the students gave speeches. A part of me actually wants to sit in for that class just to watch and listen to the speeches. I imagine it would be one of those things you want to bring popcorn for, but then it is accounting so the speeches can’t be too entertaining.
Management Fundamentals is a class that involves an abundance of writing assignments. Every week the students in the class are required to write a short summary of the chapter we are reading in the textbook. To be honest the summaries are not that horrible. It does not have to be an overall summary of the chapter. We can just choose something that we like from the chapter and write about why we like it. It’s pretty simple. It is more time consuming just reading through the textbook before you can start on the paper.
And of course lest not forget I have these blogs to write which is obviously the easiest compared to all of my other assignments. If you have actually read my blogs you can tell I don’t think when I write them. The reason I believe is some things are better kept simple. I never know who may be reading this.
So if you plan on entering the mortuary science program, be prepared to do some writing. Sometimes it feels like you are doing a lot of writing.
The Joy of Scholarships When You Are Broke
(CSC Original Post 01-29-10)Well the week is almost over which is good because right now I am a bit brain dead. I’ve been sitting here in front of this computer for almost one hour staring at the monitor’s screen. It’s been a long week.
Some great news though this past week is I received a letter stating I was selected to receive the Robert Baird Woolsey Memorial Scholarship. A couple of months ago the mortuary science students were informed of some scholarships that the first-year students and the second-year students could apply for. Of course, if you were familiar with my blogs from last semester and are in a similar situation to my current financial situation then this is something you don’t think twice about. You do it. Scholarships are something that can help you out with the financial cost of attending college—which is especially important if you are paying for college out of your own pocket. To fill them out does not take much time, and in the end if you are selected for the scholarship the effort you put into the scholarship is well worth it. Also you may be surprise to see how many people do not even bother to take the time to fill out scholarships. So if you ever get the chance to apply for a scholarship, I recommend you take it!
The Mortuary Science Fraternity, Sigma Phi Sigma, will also be having an awards ceremony on February 27th that will consist of alumni members and special guests. Of course at this ceremony they will announce the scholarship recipients, and I believe the event will offer a good chance for me to personally thank the committee behind the Robert Baird Woolsey Memorial Scholarship. Mortuary Science students should be interested in attending the awards ceremony as well because it will also give them chance to network a little.
Overall, I am very ecstatic and grateful to receive this scholarship because it is going to help me out a lot. It is going to put some extra relief to my financial burden of paying for my education. I was getting to the point of looking around to places to donate plasma just to receive some extra cash to help pay for my second year at Carl Sandburg College. I am not kidding about that either.
Online Quizzes
(CSC Original Post 01-21-10)A part of me is excited this semester that most of my classes are only 8-weeks long. However it did not occur to me about how much information the mortuary science program is going to try to cram inside our heads as fast as they can possibly can.
The classes this semester are a little bit more challenging than last fall semester. There is a lot more information your brain needs to retain in a shorter amount of time. Lest not forget that the exams will be popping up sooner and more frequently than last semester as well. Slacking off this semester is still an option, but not really a good option to pick.
However one option students can pick to help themselves is to test themselves with online quizzes or assessments. Students should be able to find online quizzes over the Internet that covers the material they are studying in class. For example, some instructors will put assessments on the school’s blackboard that will cover certain chapters or sections that students can use to help them practice. The assessments given to the mortuary science students offer a certain amount of questions that students must answer in a certain time limit. The assessments are not for a grade, but for practice only. After you are done you can submit the assessment and check to see which questions you answered right or wrong.
However if your instructor does not use blackboard or does not offer assessments, the next best bet is to go to the website of the textbook you are using. Some textbooks offer practice quizzes over the chapters in the textbook as well as a chapter summary. Not all the textbook websites are going to be similar, but this is a great way to review and prepare before an exam. This is the method I relied on last semester for my Anatomy & Physiology class. I kept doing the online quizzes over and over again until I was confidant with the material.
If the textbook you are using does not offer online quizzes—or at least not free online quizzes—then the next thing you can do is use an Internet search engine and type in the name of your subject material and then quiz. It might not be exactly everything that you are looking for, but it will still help you practice and prepare for an exam.
Doing these practice quizzes helped me out a lot last semester and I plan on continuing doing them this semester. It is a great way to help you prepare for an exam, and it gives you an idea of how much of the information you actually know.
The Spring Class Schedule
(CSC Original Post 01-15-10)
The first week of school is officially done with for the Spring semester, so now I can finally start rambling about which classes the mortuary science students are taking this semester. To be honest, I am pretty excited about this spring semester. I am not trying to sound geeky, but this semester is going to fly by fast. The mortuary science program’s classes (Introduction to Microbiology, Funeral Service Counseling and Introduction to Pathology for Funeral Service Professionals) are only 8 weeks long. The general education classes (Fundamentals to Management, Principles of Accounting 1 and Business Law) are still 16 weeks, but after the first 8 weeks are gone everyone is going to have plenty of free time for themselves.
Nonetheless, it is time to review the spring semester classes for the mortuary science students. So here we go!
To be blunt, of all the classes I am enrolled in this semester this is the one that the clock seems to stall. For some reason it drags on and on to the point where everything feels lethargic. Of course, it might be because the subject material isn’t something to get pumped up and excited about. Microbiology—as one could imagine—goes into detail about microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, fungus and all the other good stuff you probably wouldn’t want to share as a dinner conversation if you are out on a date. If you do, you either plan on not seeing that person ever again, or you really have nothing to talk about. However, this is important information to know about if you are planning on becoming a funeral director. Some of the information in the class is a little throwback to Chemistry and Anatomy & Physiology, so it is a good thing you (hopefully) took those classes.
Funeral Service Counseling is partially a continuation from what you learned from the previous semester’s Psychology of Death and Dying class. Students will learn the difference between grief counseling and grief therapy and will examine the historical development of the term counseling. This includes looking back at theories from John Bowlby, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud. Of course eventually we will learn the approaches a funeral director takes towards counseling when it comes to helping a person through grief. This is probably the most amusing class so far this semester. There has been a lot of fascinating class discussions. This is good, I guess, since we have this class everyday from Monday through Thursday.
What is strange about this class is it uses the same textbook as the Introduction to Microbiology class, but this class is nowhere as slow as the microbiology one. Maybe the class is more interesting because it talks about pathological diseases instead of bacteria and microorganisms. Of course, this is another bad topic for a dinner conversation if you are trying to impress someone in case you aren’t aware. Some of the information you learn from taking Anatomy & Physiology will be reiterate back in here. So if you need to refresh up on your A & P material you better do so.
“Now why would I need a class on management?” one person might ask. I’ll tell you why. This class is important for anyone who plans on one day running their own funeral home. It will help a person to understand the skills and the role of a manager, or if you do not intend on going into management it also discusses how to properly communicate with management. A person can not expect to become a manager one day without any previous notion about management and expect to run a business smooth and efficient. Mortuary science students here at Carl Sandburg College have the choice of taking this class online or in person. I choose taking the class in person because I like being around people and I hate being in front of the computer for too long. I am happy with my choice. The instructor, Bob Clark, can create a lot of interesting class discussions. I highly recommend to anyone in the future to take this class in person instead of taking it online. You won’t regret it.
As for the Principles of Accounting 1 and the Business Law classes, I have already taken those classes years ago so I don’t have to worry about them this semester. So, yeah, I will not be reviewing them. Sorry. I might ask the other students in the future how the classes are going and possibly write about them, but as for right now there will be no information. However I will add—in case you were wondering—you will need these classes if you are going into mortuary science (in case you haven’t notice I have dealt with quite a few people who ask me, “Do you really need those classes?”). You will need Business Law because a funeral home is a business, and unless you plan on not earning any income in your career you probably want to take an accounting class.
Personally, I’m just happy I have three classes that end after 8 weeks and then there is only one class I have to deal with for the rest of the semester. I can't complain. This is all for now.
Thanksgiving With Caskets
(CSC Original Post 11-23-09)It’s Thanksgiving week here at Carl Sandburg College. So what does that mean for the Mortuary Science program? Well, I will tell you. That means it is time for our Thanksgiving dinner.
As a way to celebrate the holiday and for us to do more activities together, the students in the mortuary science program got together today for a Thanksgiving dinner. I would like to think there were similarities with our Thanksgiving dinner compared to the one of the original Thanksgiving. The first-year and second-year mortuary science students got together for a dinner similar to the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. We each brought food and shared it with each other. We laughed, talked and had a good old jubilee. Of course in reality if anyone saw our Thanksgiving dinner, most people would probably consider it more similar to their own family Thanksgiving dinner instead of the original Thanksgiving since we did set up a smaller table for the second-year students which did resembled a little kiddies’ table. The second-year students are younger than us anyways, so it was all good. Maybe the one difference between our Thanksgiving and the original Thanksgiving is I'm sure the Pilgrims and the Native Americans were not surrounded by caskets while they ate.
The Thanksgiving dinner we had today was a nice way to start off the week for all of us. Even though we only have three days of school this week, the delicious food helped us forget about the research papers and the exams this week. Everyone was able to get together, talk and mellow out a bit. It was a nice fresh break before our real Thanksgiving break.
It is easy to assume that a good percentage of us during our little upcoming break will not be thinking about school or homework, but instead will be thinking about food, relaxing and having a good time. I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving break this year. Just remember to make the most of it. This will be the only break you will have until we get closer to Christmas.
A Brief Summary of My College Research Papers
(CSC Original Post 11-20-09)
Here is a short blog for the week. The good news is the week is almost over. I just finished my two research papers. Right now I am at the library getting ready to print them out so I can proof read them. My topic for Psychology of Grief and Death was parental bereavement. I picked that topic because to me it was easier for me to relate to since my parents suffered from the loss of my brother several months ago. However reading the material did become a bit frustrating. The majority of the studies I researched for the paper the results were inconclusive. The reason is obvious as to why the studies were inconclusive—everyone grieves differently.
For my Mortuary Law research paper, the topic I focused on is Tri-State Crematory in
The Broke College Student
(CSC Original Post 11-10-09)One of the biggest challenges I have face since coming back to college is trying to work with a small budget. Since entering the mortuary science program here at Carl Sandburg College I have been fortunate to find myself a job at the school, but the most I work is 10 hours a week. As you can imagine, working 10 hours a week does not bring in a huge income. I have to keep a tight watch of the money I earn and my expenses.
A lot of students when entering college for the first time will discover that they are eligible for financial aid. Financial aid is a loan that will help you pay for your classes while you attend college. Any leftover money can be used for books, rent, food, etc. Carl Sandburg College provides qualified students who are attending college with financial aid up to the maximum amount of $10,000 to help pay for education. However do not forget financial aid is a loan—you will be paying the money back.
The challenge I have is I previously attended college at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL before coming to Carl Sandburg College. A full-time student attending a semester at NIU is going to cost (I’m estimating—I haven’t been there for several years) around $5,000. A year of college at NIU could easily exceed $10,000. So naturally my financial aid loans exceeded over $10,000. However at Carl Sandburg College if you have loans that exceed over $10,000 either at Carl Sandburg College or at another institution you might not be eligible for any financial aid loan. I am aware you can make an appeal to the financial aid department, but I decided not to do it. I have been slowly paying off my financial aid loan. I do not want to increase the loan any bigger.
So when you are only working 10 hours a week and you have college and other living expenses to deal with you eventually start learning how to make sacrifices and budget your income. That is if you don’t want to go deep in debt. How I figure out my budget is I take the average of how much I earn in one month and split that income up into how much money I can spend in certain categories (rent/food/gas//other). Then I divide that amount into weeks of the month. That gives me a good estimate of how much I can spend a week on a certain thing.
For instance, for food I am able to spend $15-$20 a week. Gas I spend no more than $10 a week. Any money I don’t spend in a week and I have leftover I save in case of emergencies. This might not seem much or pleasant for most people, but it’s been working for me. When it comes to food you learn quickly not to waste your money on junk food. I usually buy fruits and items with lot of protein and fiber. I usually do not spend much money on gas at all. Instead of wasting money on fuel I use my own two feet to get around town. Sometimes I’ll use my vehicle to get me somewhere but after that it stays parked.
I also cut out spending money on things I don’t need right now such as cable or the internet (although I’ll admit my laptop computer does have wireless so I can access the internet from the neighbors). I’ve been avoiding going out and doing things such as the going to the bar or eating out at fast-food places or restaurants. To be honest for the most part I have put my social life on life support. The way I’m looking at it right now if I can save enough pennies for the next two years to pay for college then in the end it will be worth it.
I’ll admit I have been fortunate to save enough money from my previous job to cover the cost of college so far. I have also been doing some odd jobs to help earn some extra money, and I will probably start looking around for a second job here on campus. I am also eagerly awaiting some scholarship information to fill out that might help me out with some college costs here at Carl Sandburg College.
While most students are fortunate to receive financial aid and grants for help to pay for college, there are some other students here at Carl Sandburg that I have talked to who are facing the same challenge as I am. I wish I can offer those students some advice, but I am too learning how to handle this situation as I go. The one thing I have learned is sometimes you just need to sit down and take a look at your expenses and figure out for yourself what is necessary and what is not necessary. I think you’ll be surprised with all you can do without.
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