What it really means to be a student at SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE

 The Jaguar is the largest, most powerful of the “big cats” in the Americas.  It is the “king of the jungle.”  To the Maya and Aztec, the Jaguar was a god and the living symbol of the warrior spirit.  To the STC student, our Jaguar spirit animal tells us to be a

 The way of the warrior is to be strong, self-disciplined and to never, never give up.  No challenge is too great, no barrier too high for the true Jaguar Warrior.  But a Jaguar Warrior does not do battle with others.  He or she looks within themselves to find the strengths and combat the weaknesses.  This way they become truly capable of taking on whatever life hands to them, both in school and in the world.  The Warrior needs to learn the ways of Emotional Intelligence to enable them to succeed wherever they are.

 Your four most basic emotions are:  Happy  Sad  Angry  Afraid  All other emotions – like being energetic, jealous, frustrated, or worried – are different combinations of the first four.  The Jaguar Warrior looks deep into her or himself to find and enhance the strengths and change the weaknesses into greater strengths.

 There are several different kinds of Emotional Intelligence, for example:  Self-esteem: feeling good about yourself.  Assertion: saying what you really think.  Being a positive leader.  Not being aggressive with other people.  Being able to change when you need to.  You will learn about these in College Success.

 There many different parts of Emotional Intelligence.  The ones that are the most important to making a Jaguar Warrior be successful are:  Self - Esteem  Time Management  Assertion  Goal Achievement  Commitment Ethic  Stress Management

 Self-esteem is when you feel good about yourself.  If you know you are able to get things done, then you will be self-confident about any challenges that may come up.  A positive attitude creates positive results and a negative attitude creates only failure.  A Jaguar Warrior looks at himself or herself positively and honestly likes what they see. Warrior! Hold your head high. Take pride in your work!

 No one can control time; it flows around us and we flow through it.  But we can manage ourselves about how we deal with time.  Think about how you spend your time – are you the master? Or do you let time control you?  Keep a planner, make schedules, put first things first.  The Jaguar Warrior makes time his friend, not his enemy. Warrior! Time is like a river, flow with it, not against it.

 Assertion is being able to speak honestly and directly with other people.  It is knowing that you will not be afraid to tell the truth in a “tell it like it is” way.  Also, to be assertive, you need to be respectful and say what you need to say in a “fair but firm” way.  People treated with respect generally respond with respect. Warrior! Say what you think and prove what you say by your actions. Actions speak much louder then words!

 Before you can achieve your goals, first you must set them.  Decide what is really important to you.  Make it real: WRITE IT DOWN!  How will you get to your goal-  Short-range: go to class.  Mid –range: get A’s in your classes.  Long-range: graduate with honors.  Once you get to your goal, give yourself a reward.  Make a habit of being victorious with your goals. Warrior! Without a goal there can be no victory.

 A commitment is a promise you make to yourself to do something.  An ethic is a rule of life you set for yourself.  A commitment ethic is based on your personal values.  When you have commitment ethic, you are dependable and reliable.  People believe in you, but, more important, you believe in yourself. Warrior! Do you keep the promises you make to yourself?

 Stress is something we all deal with, it comes in many different ways. Much of the time we can’t control stressful situations and stressful people.  But, like time management, we can control how we react to stress.  You can “let it get to you” or you can take a deep breath, stay calm and handle it.  Learning how to handle stress will make you a stronger person. Warrior! Can you keep your cool when everybody else is losing theirs?

 Your mind is like an iceberg:  On top, your IQ (intelligence quotient) is your cognitive mind where you “know” things. It is quite small.  Below, and much larger, is your emotional mind where your EI (emotional intelligence) is.  Your cognitive (knowing) mind is strongly influenced by your emotional mind.  Learn to understand and control your emotions and your cognitive mind will become your friend and servant.

 The Way of the Warrior is to investigate, understand and control the emotional and cognitive mind.  When you get your two minds to work together, nothing can stop you from being a successful student. Emotional Mind Cognitive Mind