My name is Caleb Mattatall and I graduated from the Kaléo program last year. I am so excited to follow this year’s blog and hear all about your adventures and classes and to see photos of what you’ve been up to. I hope that you’re all having an excellent summer and are getting ready for the year that lies ahead. Make sure to spend a lot of time in prayer to get your heart and your mind ready for what is coming – it will help a lot!
As you’re not doubt looking forward to the adventures (sailing trip anyone?) and the community you’ll be forming, I want to give you a bit of a heads up on what to expect from the academic portion of the Kaléo program.
I was the academic award winner for my Kaléo year. As you might imagine, academics played a huge part in my year. God spoke to me through adventures, ministry and community and even some very hard times; but he spoke to me most convincingly and clearly through academics. The class discussions we had, books we read, papers we wrote and the profs we listened to all helped to shape my Kaléo year into what it was – an incredible year of personal growth. I sincerely hope that the academic component of the program can be as incredible for you as it was for me, and that you’ll be stretched and challenged as you dig deeply into God’s word with the help of Briercrest’s best profs.
In case you don’t already know this, let me be the one to break it to you – take a deep breath – the academic component of the Kaléo program will take up the vast majority of your time. Classes are long, and last all day. The books are long too, and sometimes might feel over your head – in which case even slower and more careful reading is required. Your papers will take a lot of work, and group assignments will require you to meet outside of class time to do them. It’s okay if you’re feeling a bit apprehensive about all of this, so was I. But it is important that you understand these realities and accept them, even if you aren’t excited about them now. Because trust me, if you give yourself fully to academics, the rewards will be greater than you can imagine.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it; academics are hard. There’s no way around it. However, with a good attitude and good habits, they can become really enjoyable (if you’re a bit of a nerd like me) or at the very least, manageable. Here are my tips and tricks of surviving Kaléo academics.
#1 – DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. If there is one thing you get out of this, let it be this tip. Procrastination is your number one enemy. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing, if you start on time and don’t waste your time, you’ll be able to figure it out or have time to start over if you need to. If you procrastinate and end up turning assignments in late, it will only build and build into something you cannot control. Deadlines are important and if you miss them you’ll find yourself working on multiple things at once. Use your time wisely!
#2 – ASK FOR HELP. You are studying in one of the friendliest environments you will ever study in. Your profs desperately want you to succeed. All of the staff at Qwanoes wants you to succeed. Your interns and leaders want you to succeed. Your fellow students want you to succeed. So if you need help, ask! There are many wise people around who are willing to help explain things, proof read papers and more. If you need help, don’t be too proud to ask for it. Also, attend academic workshops. They exist for a reason and can be a big source of information.
#3 – LEARN FROM FAILURES. Okay so maybe that last paper didn’t go so well, or maybe you should have studied harder for that last test. That’s okay! Make mistakes and learn from them. Don’t let yourself get discouraged by a poor grade or comment. Simply take it all in, learn from it, and improve on it the next time!
#4 – FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Find the study habit or technique that works for you and own it. Don’t try and change it even if you don’t like it. For me, studying alone and reading things out loud to myself is how I study, I never studied in a group all year. If this is you, great! Don’t feel bad about studying alone, don’t let yourself think that you aren’t contributing to the community because you are in many other ways. And if you need to study in a group than find a group and study together! Just make sure you actually study of course
#5 – TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. Finally, make sure that you’re taking the academics seriously. Get enough sleep so that you’re awake during class. If you need to finish a book but your friends are playing volleyball, finish the book. If you need to write a paper but would rather walk to town, finish the paper. The academic component of the Kaléo program is serious, as it will have implications that extend beyond Qwanoes and into the rest of your life as you apply for schools in the spring. Don’t let yourself blow off this portion of Kaléo. Take it seriously and you will have a deeply rich, challenging and wonderful learning experience throughout the entire year.
I hope you find this helpful as you prepare to leave home and head to the island. I’ll be praying for you all year as you experience what will hopefully be the best year of your lives so far.
Sincerely,
Caleb
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