Fall Festivities: Local Gems to Explore this Season

By: Natalia Voloshchak

As fall arrives and the trees become vibrant with color every year I get excited to pull out my collection of cozy sweaters and cuddle up on the couch with a hot cup of tea, a burning candle, and a good movie. As much as I love those relaxing days indoors, fall is also the perfect time to get outside and enjoy everything this season has to offer. Living off campus this semester in Sunderland, Massachusetts I have had fun exploring the area and all the wonderful things that it has to offer. Whether you're looking for an exciting adventure, a cozy day indoors, or a scenic spot to take in autumn's beauty, there’s so much to be discovered here in Western Mass. So grab your favorite sweater and let's dive into some of the best local spots for this fall season! 

Mike's Maze – Sunderland, Massachusetts

The perfect place to free your inner child, Mike's Maze is an award-winning corn maze located in the heart of Sunderland, Massachusetts. Each year, the elaborate maze is designed to reflect a new theme, this year’s being “Join the Circus”. As you navigate the maze you are met with interactive games and fun circus trivia. When you're done with the maze there is plenty more to enjoy including playgrounds, petting zoos, potato cannons, and my personal favorite the jump pad. After a day of adventure, you can have a snack at the Corn Cafe, where you can enjoy everything from hotdogs and hamburgers to donuts and kettle corn.

Yankee Candle Village – South Deerfield, Massachusetts 

What screams fall more than lighting up a cozy candle? The very first Yankee Candle store is located right here in Western Massachusetts. The Yankee Candle Village goes beyond just a candle shop. I have visited twice this fall and still have yet to explore all that it has to offer. With stunning displays for holidays like Halloween and Christmas and walls lined with candles, you can spend hours discovering a variety of delightful scents. Plus, you can even create your own custom candle! 

Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation – Deerfield, Massachusetts

My favorite off-campus spot to go for a walk and take in the beauty of nature and the fall foliage is Mount Sugarloaf. If you're feeling adventurous, you can hike up the mountain along its many hiking trails and discover some hidden viewpoints along the way. For a more relaxed experience, you can also drive to the summit to enjoy breathtaking views and see all the fall foliage from above! At the top of the mountain, you get a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding area including stunning views of the Connecticut River valley and you can even spot UMass Amherst! The top of the mountain also has a wonderful picnic area, making it the perfect spot for a fall picnic.

Explore some of the 5 Colleges! 

One of the great perks of being a UMass student is access to the Five College Consortium, which allows access to a broader range of facilities and academic resources. The Consortium includes Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, Mt Holyoke, and of course, UMass Amherst. I love exploring other campuses and seeing what each has to offer. So far, I have gotten the chance to visit Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst, all of which have stunning campuses, great facilities, and beautiful libraries. Take some time to explore these colleges, and their surrounding towns as well!

Demented FX Haunted House – Holyoke, Massachusetts

Amid October, Halloween is a holiday that I always look forward to. If you’re like me and enjoy the spooky season and horror movies, you won’t want to miss the Demented FX Haunted House for a thrilling Halloween experience. This 20,000-square-foot haunted house is sure to send chills down your spine. With immersive scenes that make you feel like you’re in a horror movie, you'll encounter all sorts of monsters, high-quality sets, and incredible props. This place is definitely at the top of my Halloween bucket list.

Magic Wings Butterfly Garden – Deerfield, Massachusetts

Once the leaves have fallen and the cold fall air settles in, you might find yourself missing the lush warm feelings of summer. In that case, take a visit to the Magic Wings Butterfly Garden. This zoology museum features a variety of cool animals ranging from lizards and frogs to butterflies and birds. The conservatory is home to 4,000 different exotic butterfly species and will make you feel like you are stepping into a lively, tropical jungle.

Orchards and Farm Stands 

One of the many wonderful things about going to school in agriculturally rich Western Mass is the abundance of farms and orchards with fresh, locally grown produce. As a kid, one of my favorite fall activities was going to an orchard to go apple picking or finding the perfect pumpkin to turn into a jack-o-lantern. Western Mass has many amazing farms where you can do just that. Smiarowski Farmstand and Creamery, J & J Farms, Kielbasa Orchards, and McCray’s Country Creamery to name a few are all great local farms where you can get your favorite delicious in-season produce.

As you settle into the fall weather, take the time to get off campus and explore all that Western Massachusetts has to offer! Whether it's taking a day trip to the Yankee Candle Village or enjoying a sunset picnic atop Mount Sugarloaf, taking time for yourself or having fun with friends this fall season is essential in making the most of your fall semester!

Balancing the Books: Ways to Succeed/Destress During Exam Season

By: Jill Baldassini

Exam season is right around the corner for most students,  and with it comes long hours at the library and some late- night studying. While maintaining good grades is important, so is prioritizing your well-being and mental health. By feeling good physically and emotionally, is a key part of academic success. 

Getting Enough Sleep 

It is so important to get a full night's rest (~7-9 hours), especially the night before an exam. If you feel too groggy and sluggish, you will most likely won’t remember everything you’ve studied the night before. A well rested brain is much more effective at retaining information and staying focused. 

Eating Meals 

I know that when trying to cram for a big exam, it can be easy to forget to eat meals and just eat quick snacks to satisfy your hunger. This is definitely a temporary solution; however, eating a balanced meal can be more beneficial. Your brain needs healthy food to function, so make sure you're drinking water and not just drinking energy drinks or coffee. This can lead to becoming tired faster. 

Being Active/Taking Breaks 

When you study for hours on end it can lead to burnout. So it's important to take some time away from studying to refresh. A good way to do that could be by keeping your body moving like going on a walk, going to the gym, or stretching - to clear the mind. I sometimes like to go with a friend too for a mental reset! 

Talking to Friends 

This ties with taking breaks, but I find it's important to still connect with friends and family. This helps me get my mind off studying for a little bit and to not feel so isolated. I know when I'm stressed it is nice to check in on a friend to catch up and see how they are doing and can help you recharge. 

Overall, when exams come up, make sure to always check in on yourself and do what feels best for you. It's so crucial to give yourself the time and energy to take care of yourself so you can perform at your best in all aspects, not just academically. Lastly, remember that you’ve got this! Don’t forget to give yourself some grace. 

Embracing Creativity Within the Corporate World

By: Yasha Devate

In a world void of superheroes and instead full of fast-paced technological advancement and innovation, the journey for competitive edge and market power has become the modern-day hero's adventure for most corporations. However, within the bustling corporate world, where efficiency, productivity, and relentless advancement often dominate the conversation, sometimes a culture of creativity can be a company's secret weapon. Forgotten by many in the pursuit of operational excellence and profit margins, creativity holds the key to unlocking brand potential, profit surplus, innovation, and fostering sustainable growth.

However, simply explaining isn’t as efficient as giving specific examples - a prominent one being Zara. Using creativity in the form of cultural exchange and market research, Zara has allowed its ‘fast fashion’ brand to expand, the principles of growth and innovation embedded in every aspect of the company’s work. Instead of looking into what’s trending in the market currently, Zara pushes its employees to look beyond and understand what will occur in the future and how to pander to that. By planning and extending past boundaries to churn out new and innovative designs that resonate with customers everywhere, Zara has allowed their brand name to grow extensively.  

Alongside this, unlike many traditional companies, where employees are given a specific team and are stuck in singular departments, Zara follows a cycle system in which there is a constant switching of team members. Said to drive continuous improvement and foster creative ideas within trends, Zara believes that this constant switch allows the company to embrace the diverse array of skills and viewpoints among its staff. This approach fosters collaboration across all departments and inspires creativity throughout the organization - and is one of the primary reasons the company is able to beat out competitors in this “all for one” economy. 

As portrayed by Zara and many other top brands, creativity isn't just limited to artistic expression or design. Actually, it’s more about thinking differently, challenging norms, and finding novel solutions to complex problems. By allowing employees to feel confident, empowered, and supported enough to take risks and challenge operational norms, companies will be able to foster an environment rich with growth and collaboration. Netflix is one of the prime examples of this mentality and a major player in the field of creativity and consumer trends. 

While initially trashed and belittled, Netflix has managed to build its empire, rising into the sky with its excellent customer service, creative content, and trend management. With a high focus on data being supported by innovation, the company ensures that consumers are both entertained by their long-tailed selection and so accustomed to the site that the switching cost is too high to leave. If the company had continued to grow and develop the same products as most other companies at that time, it wouldn’t have reached the level of success that it has currently. It’s this mentality and culture which is what allowed them to beat out Blockbuster during the early days, and continue to improve against other streaming services.

Moving past profit-driven achievements, embracing creativity within the workforce also allows employees a bigger opportunity to contribute to their jobs in another manner. In fact, there are multiple studies stating that employees who feel like they’re making a bigger impact on their company have more loyalty, motivation, and engagement within their company, as work cultures that celebrate creativity and difference allow people a sense of belonging and purpose, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction, and overall productivity.

Thinking outside of the box simply doesn’t cut it. It’s when a company truly pushes past societal norms and embraces creativity as a form of creation (whether that be regarding products, clients, advertising, etc.) that innovation is able to progress. Therefore, in today’s society, creativity isn't just a competitive advantage - it's an important factor in staying relevant and thriving in the long-run economy.

Alongside singular company benefits, embracing creativity in the workforce also has extensive benefits for society as a whole. Encouraging creative thinking and problem-solving abilities within the workforce can help organizations develop a more capable and critical team of employees. This, in turn, makes people naturally more equipped to tackle the challenges they encounter during their lives, and open to understanding other perspectives – a concept which is especially important, in today’s age of globalization and interconnectedness. 

Why Bravery Should be a Highly-Desired Attribute

By: Elise Porter

I am a recruiter for a Fortune 500 company. My day kicks off bright and early with a stroll from my home to the Manhattan skyscraper that serves as my office. Armed with a cup of coffee, I settle in at my desk where my laptop awaits, ready to unveil the list of applicants lined up for interviews. While they all express similar levels of experience and impressive skill sets, they're about to perform another critical phase of the hiring process that is just as important: the behavioral interview. Following these conversations, I will be able to differentiate who is the best fit, and who might be better with another role. All of the potential candidates have the hard skills needed to be a successful employee, and will be able to learn as the tasks advance over time. However, technical skills are not enough to win yourself a job. So when looking for the best fit for our company, we will look towards their personalities, and decide who might provide a valuable asset to our team.

I am not actually a recruiter for a Fortune 500 company. I'm a college freshman, who has just started embarking on my journey into the professional world. But if that scenario were real, and I found myself conducting those interviews, I know precisely which traits I'd be seeking.

In a 2023 article published by Forbes, they identified the top five power skills employers seek: communication, customer service, leadership, attention to detail, and collaboration. While these attributes are undeniably crucial, I'd argue that bravery deserves a spot on that list—a quality not typically thought of. Bravery can sometimes be misinterpreted as not having fears, but when I think of bravery I consider it being able to confront your fears and overcome them. The key difference being that everyone gets scared, but those who are brave have the ability to push past those daunting thoughts. Most often in a professional setting, this becomes the fear of failure. The reluctance to apply for a job or request a promotion stems from the fear of rejection. However, if you never push past those trepidations and try, there isn’t any chance you will succeed. The most accomplished individuals confront many challenges and grow due to the ability to either navigate through the challenge, or learn from their mistakes. Companies that have the most success might have had to take the most significant risks, so being able to show the quality of moving past those fears is thus a trait I would look for if hiring new employees.

Especially when looking forward to all business industries in the next decade. We are in a vital transition period for technologies, to a future where AI will be adapted into most aspects of operation. This can be very daunting as it is an innovation that is unknown, and powerful enough to replace many human functions. If a company decides to shy away from this change, however, they will quickly fall behind their competitors. The most valued leaders will be those who bravely welcome these new technologies and learn how to use it advantageously. By doing so, they provide themselves a foundation and competitive advantage that could set them apart during this transition.

As much as I have explained why I believe that bravery is essential, you might be wondering how to practice this attribute. From my experience, the most effective way to enhance your bravery skills are by putting them into use. The next time that you feel fear taking over your thoughts, push through it. If you don’t take the initiative to complete tasks that scare you, someone else will pounce on your missed opportunity. Everyone has the ability to be brave, it simply just requires the self-discipline to not take the easy route and let your emotions dictate your actions. Most people will be facing the same fears that you are, however if you are the one to overcome the obstacle, that may differentiate you from the competition and land you a job in a Fortune 500 company, if so desired.

Perna, Mark C. “The Top 5 Power Skills Employers Are Looking for in 2023.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Sept. 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2023/05/30/the-top-5-power-skills-employers-are-looking-for-in-2023/?sh=582926d528c1

Treating Your Mind & Body as Separate Mechanisms

By: Caroline Tierney

When we think of sports, meditation, staying active, and the like, we tend to think of our mind and body working in tandem. In sports, I can always recall coaches advising my teammates and I to actively think about the action we were about to take, “Think about where you are throwing the ball!”, in order to establish a better mind, body connection. While I absolutely believe the mind and body work together in many cases, I also find it important to recognize how our mind can work against our body.

For anyone that has ever taken a psychology class, we often learn about topics like fear in the unconscious. Fear is a mechanism that our unconscious mind uses to protect ourselves from getting hurt, or worse. What’s interesting though, is how we use our conscious mind and our surroundings to influence that unconscious fear. Think about it, your unconscious mind inherently can not perceive reality, that’s why we have our conscious mind. So when you are about to send a double backflip off a jump on skis, your unconscious mind, without perception of reality, screams at you not to. But the reason you feel like you want to at least try to land the double backflip, is because your conscious mind can perceive reality, and a part of you believes you can do it. Your unconscious mind is working against your body in this scenario, trying to protect you, yet in reality you know your body is capable.

The reason I bring up these differences is because we can use our conscious mind to control our unconscious fears, of any level, by separating how we treat our mind and body. For example, one of my favorite hobbies is surfing. The sport of surfing comes with a lot of dangers, especially being tossed under water for a long period of time with only one breath. I recently came back from a 5 day surf camp in the lovely Pacific waters of Costa Rica. Included in the camp was a series of workshops from meditation and stretching, to underwater weight lifting, and my personal favorite, apnea breathwork. Imagine the Costa Rica Men’s Surf National Champion saying that you are about to be held down at the bottom of a pool by weights, and required to hold your breath for 2 minutes straight. You can probably understand the shock on my face when he told me this was going to happen, I thought for sure I couldn’t hold my breath for any longer than a minute. Prior to this exercise, we spent a lot of time separating our mind from our body, and overcoming the physical feelings of fear by controlling our mind. As the two minutes were ticking, instead of focusing on the tight feelings in my chest and head under water, I focused on imagining a series of numbers in my head. It may sound strange, but it truly distracted me for most of the time. I thought about the selection of numbers I envisioned, the size of the font, color, how they were presented, like in a box or underlined, and what the numbers meant. Before I knew it, 2 minutes passed, and I came to the surface gasping for air indeed. 

While this experience may sound extreme, and candidly it was quite intense, there are some broader lessons to be learned. Again, fear is a mechanism our minds enforce to protect ourselves from the “bad” in our environment. But by breaking down the connection between your mind and body, you will start to realize that fear is entirely controllable, and you can quite literally accomplish anything you desire by treating your mind and body as two separate entities.