Vallensio Carty
We spoke to Vallensio Carty to get insight into how he balances school and his personal life. He will also be sharing some tips and tricks on how to study better and gain better results. Vallensio Carty is 27 years old and is currently studying Logistic Management at the Breda University of Applied Sciences. He has previously completed the study, Logistic Teamleader and Logistic Management at the Albeda College in Rotterdam.
Figure out what works for you:
I graduated from MBO two years ago and my First year in HBO was a bit of a struggle. But luckily there are some changes I’ve made that have been helping me in my second year so far. Firstly I try to leave my house when I study, If I don’t leave I usually get too distracted. If I’m at home I tend to end up watching TV or playing Video Games and for some people those are things that you can turn off and just not use, but for me once I see it I end up spending hours doing everything but studying. So what I’ve learned that works best for me, is to get out of my house and go to the library or somewhere outside of my comfort zone.
The second thing I do is that I make sure to keep up with my planning. I used to struggle with this the most and I would procrastinate continuously until It ended up becoming too much. So I knew something had to change. I started by making a digital planner, where I would plan everything out from daily classes any other activities. Then I would try to squeeze in some time to do some school work in any free time I had throughout the day. I didn’t necessarily always get a lot done but I always had a start and I could build on that every day a bit more until I had the final completed product. This also meant that when I was out with friends I wasn’t constantly worried about deadlines anymore.
Time Management is key:
As I mentioned before I really started focusing on time management and planning. What helped me the most is planning and starting on time with everything! It’s the easiest advice but the hardest to follow. As a student we have so much going on and it becomes easy to just keep saying, tomorrow, tomorrow. But I always force myself to make a study plan and stick to it.
I also focus on managing my study time better. I take 30-minute study sessions with 5-minute breaks. So throughout a regular study day I would take 3 study sessions in a day and with the fourth one instead of 5 minutes I take 15-minute breaks. It helps me focus overall and during the breaks I have time to process what I’ve just studied so it really sinks in.
For me personally I study better early in the morning. I have more energy and I can really focus on what I’m doing. This means if I have an important exam I usually wake up at 7 am and start studying until around 1 pm every day until the day of the exam. I used to study with Music but it never worked out, because it was a huge distraction and would mess with my concentration. Now instead of songs I listen to rain forest sounds or waves to have something playing in the background. It helps me zone out the noise around me while keeping me focused on what I’m studying.
Moment of Success:
I personally believe that every student has one subject that completely stumps them. You study hard, you ask questions but then when the exam comes you draw a complete blank. I took my Finance exam 3 times before I finally passed it with a 9,8. It was a huge moment of success and triumph for me. It really showed me how important perseverance and self- belief is.
I never had the graduation where we had the whole grand gesture of caps and gowns. I’m really looking forward to experiencing it at least once. When you see it on TV it always looked so much nicer and more official, so I’m looking forward to the bells and whistles when I graduate this time.
I want to thank Vallensio Carty for letting me interview him for the Caps & Gowns blog. I hope someone reading this has picked up some useful tips that they can use in the future. Thank you for reading & I’ll see you next time!
– Lenifa Priest
#journeytothemoment #momentofsuccess #studenttips