Brandon Stenglein, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, is already feeling the stress of finals week because his most difficult tests are on Monday.

"I'm still learning new material this week in some classes, even until Friday, and then taking my finals early next week," Stenglein said. "It makes it hard to study for tests when you are still learning new stuff. I'm studying now for my finals on Monday, and ones I have later in the week I will study for early next week."

Thomas Taft, director of Education Development and Assessment at Marquette and a stress management expert, said students become stressed around finals time because, unlike when tests are spread throughout a semester and a student can create "coping mechanisms," such as time management, tests become a "heavy focus" at the end of the semester.

Abby Verbeten, a junior in the College of Communication, said she is also stressed because she still has assignments due and will only have time to study this weekend.

Verbeten has decided one thing she can do to make finals time a little less stressful for herself is to take it one final at a time.

Everyone has a little stress, according to Taft, and it is good for us because "it activates us, gets our attention and gets us involved."

"Someone who isn't usually stressed is someone who is not very involved, productive or effective," Taft said.

Both Taft and Jill Winters, associate professor in the College of Nursing and a stress and relaxation expert, emphasized the importance of trying to participate in other non-stressful activities.

"You can identify the cause and try and address it, remove it or change it," Winters said. "It seems to work well to channel your energies into another area."

Taft said physical activity and "a good, solid self-method for relaxation" are ways to eliminate stress.

"Emotionally, we can get rid of stress by something such as guided imagery, where a person imagines themselves in a peaceful and relaxed place," Taft said. "You may, for instance, play ocean sounds and then imagine yourself on a beach, lying in the sun."

Taft said professors, especially younger and newer ones, also get stressed at the end of the semester.

"The end of the semester means grading papers, making sure final exams are scored and we have accurate grades and meeting deadlines for grades to be turned in," Taft said.

"My students' performance on final exams is a reflection of how good I am as a teacher," Winters said. "I get anxious waiting to see how people have done. I want to believe that they've done well and it truly makes me happy when they have."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 9 2004.