Argosy University, Online Programs is excited to announce the winners of the 2013 Student Hero Contest. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and nominated the heroes that inspire them to pursue their education and to achieve their goals!

Meet The Winners

Grand Prize Winner: Lisa McCallister, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology student

As our grand prize winner, Lisa will be awarded a $500 scholarship toward her tuition at Argosy University, Online Programs. Her hero is fellow student, Joseph Collins, who will also be awarded a $500 tuition scholarship.

Runner-Up Winner: Tamara Pratt, Associate of Arts in Psychology student

Tamara is our first runner-up in the Student Hero Contest and will be awarded a $250 tuition scholarship. Her hero, Victor Beaudoin, will also receive a $250 scholarship toward his tuition at Argosy University, Online Programs.

Runner-Up Winner: Jacqueline Freeman, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology student

Jacqueline is our second runner-up in the contest and will be awarded a $250 tuition scholarship. She nominated her sister, Cherita Williams, as her hero. In honor of the support she has given her sister, Cherita will receive an iPod Touch.

Read The Winning Entries

To see our winners’ stories, log in to the Campus Common, go to Connections and check out the Student Community group under Departments. To see the full contest rules, including our process for selecting the winners, please visit http://thecampuscommon.com/auo/student-submissions/rules/.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. We hope the contest encouraged you to interact with your peers and to start developing new friendships and important professional connections.

Looking for creative lesson plans, an inspirational quote, a new healthy recipe or a good book? Now, you can find them all on one site—Pinterest, a fun tool for saving and organizing things you love.

Learn the Pinterest Lingo

There’s new terminology to learn with every social media site, and, with Pinterest, you’ll need to become familiar with boards and pins. We recommend thinking about Pinterest as a collection of virtual bulletin “boards” to which you can attach your favorite pictures and links with virtual push “pins.”

The pictures you pin might be inspirational or might just be something you like. You can also pin links to sites or information that you think will eventually come in handy (pinning is similar to bookmarking web pages, only it's more visual).

Most people organize their boards by topic, so that they can easily find the pins when they are looking for them in the future. For example, you might have one board for party ideas, one for exercises and one for remodeling projects you’d like to do around the house. Most pins link to a website that includes the picture featured in the pin.

You can follow other people’s boards on topics you like so that you can see what they pin. Their pins will then appear in your feed, which is the first thing you see when you log in to Pinterest. You can even repin items that you like and that you want to save on your own board. If people like what you pin, they’ll follow your boards in return.

Get Pinning

If you’re new to Pinterest, you’ll need to set up an account and create your boards before you start pinning. Pinterest has some helpful forums that can get you going:

• Joining Pinterest
• Pins, repins and likes
• Add, edit or delete a board
• Following boards and people
• And lots of other Pinterest basics

Start playing around. You’ll get the hang of it. In addition to re-pinning items you like, you can also install a “Pin It” button for your browser so that you can pin any image at any time while you are surfing the web.

If you have questions about Pinterest, post them on our Facebook page and we’ll try to help.

Find Us on Pinterest

Find us at http://pinterest.com/argosyu/. Follow our boards for career advice, inspiration and more. You can also create your own board titled “My Argosy University” where you can pin photos that motivate you to keep going with your education or represent your field of study, your dream job or anything else you associate with your experience at Argosy University, Online Programs. We look forward to seeing what pins you find!

Humans are social animals. Research shows that having a strong network of support or strong community bonds fosters both emotional and physical health and is an important component of adult life. Over the years, there have been a number of studies showcasing the relationship between social support and the quality of physical and psychological health.

The Research

While most studies examining the benefits of social support have focused on the elderly (Steptoe, Dockray, & Wardle, 2009), having a strong social network is crucial for psychological and physical health, regardless of age. For example, a study on incoming college freshmen found that social support was effective in reducing depression in both those who have healthy self-esteem and those with a poor self-image (Cohen, Sherrod, & Clark, 1986). The authors of this study found that belonging to a social network helped ease the stress for people entering university life.

Social involvement is also important as we age. In a study of Europeans over the age of 50, Sirven and Debrand (2008) found that individuals who participated in social or community activities were more likely to report good or very good health. The study was based on data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and included 11 European countries and 22,000 households (31,000 individuals).

What We Think

At Argosy University, Online Programs, we hope that you learn from these studies and continue to build the support networks in your lives. In addition to the psychological and physical benefits of having a support system, having friends and family who know about your academic and professional goals may help you to achieve them.

The support and encouragement from your friends and family will motivate you, and you can ask them to check in regularly on how you are doing in classes. Because they believe in you and because you see them so often, you won’t want to disappoint them. Plus, they’ll be excited to hear about your success!

For the last week of the Student Hero Contest, we hope you continue to network with other students online and also start talking with your family and friends about your online education experiences. If your hero is a family member or a friend you see every day rather than a student, we encourage you to still enter the contest and tell us about why he or she is so important to you!

Sources

Cohen, S., Sherrod, D. R., & Clark, M. S. (1986). Social Skills and the Stress-Protective Role of Social Support. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50(5), 963-973.

Sirven, N., & Debrand, T. (2008). Social participation and healthy ageing: An international comparison using SHARE data. Social Science & Medicine, 67, 2017-2026.

Steptoe, A., Dockray, S., & Wardle, J. (2009). Positive Affect and Psychobiological Processes Relevant to Health. Journal of Personality, 77(6), 1747-1776.

Walen, H. R., & Lachman, M. E. (2000). Social Support and Strain from Partner, Family, and Friends: Costs and Benefits for Men and Women in Adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17, 5-30.

Week three of our Student Hero Contest is already here! The contest lasts until April 2 and, if you participate, you could win up to a $500 tuition scholarship simply by making new friends or telling us about the ones you already have.

If you’d like to participate, but you aren’t sure what we're looking for, here’s an excerpt from an entry that’s already been submitted. This comes from Argosy University, Online Programs student Amanda Mayew.

“My student hero is Monika Vasquez-Johnson. I was drawn during our first course to introduce myself to her. I have not met her face to face, but it does not matter. I was completely unaware of the changes that would occur in my life as well as my education due to my relationship with this woman, who has become like a second mother. She asked if I would mind helping her, and of course I said yes. It has turned out to be a mutual relationship of one helping the other.”

[…]

“I share my experiences, hope, and book knowledge with her. She shares her family and her heart with me. Together we are a team, and share our unconditional love for other people. Monika Vasquez-Johnson is my best friend, and my student hero.”

To read Amanda’s full story and to nominate your own hero, visit the Student Community Group in Connections. Here’s how to get there:

1. Log in to your Campus Common from this link. It will open in a new tab.
2. Enter Connections. It will show up in a new window, so your pop-up blocker will need to be off.
3. Click on Departments in the main navigation.
4. Select the Student Community group. (Look for the green H next to the group name.)
5. Click on Forum in the side navigation.
6. Find the Student Hero discussion and click the question “Who is your hero?” to see all student entries or submit your own.

See the full rules for the Student Hero Contest here. We look forward to finding out who inspires you!

Many of you, our students, have chosen careers that involve helping others. You will affect many people with your work in psychology, business, education, health sciences and criminal justice, but you can start by helping your own peers here at Argosy University, Online Programs. Here are just a few ways that our classmates can help each other.

1. You can overcome many of your challenges and concerns together. Do you get overwhelmed by your responsibilities for school and for work? Your peers might have advice on managing busy schedules, or maybe you can share your own tips. Not sure how to use the online classroom? A classmate can help. Are you nervous about taking online classes? Find another classmate who had the same fear; they might now be excelling in their studies.

Sometimes, just knowing that someone else is battling and overcoming the challenges you face can inspire you to do the same.

2. You can hold each other accountable. If you are friends with your peers, you’ll feel more connected to Argosy University, Online Programs and be more likely to stick with it through to graduation. Plus, one of you will notice if the other person hasn’t been around in a while. You can encourage each other to hang in there and to believe in yourself. You came to school to achieve your goals, but sometimes you might need someone to remind you that.

3. You can have interesting, in depth conversations about your studies. Your friends and family may enjoy hearing about what you are studying, but they may not have the time or the knowledge to discuss the theory behind it or analyze every sentence of the article you just read. With your peers, you’ll be able to talk about your common interests and share your opinions on the topics you’re studying.

4. You can serve as professional resources for each other. You can discuss research ideas and theories and receive constructive feedback and support. Your peers might also introduce you to an industry resource or group with which you aren’t very familiar. It never hurts to know other professionals in your field, especially when you are working to advance your career.

Join the Student Hero Contest today to start experiencing the value of peer relationships for yourself!