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Show LIFE JANUARY 27, 2014 C3 Lunchtime made easy Handy hints to make brown-bagging it a little more interesting By Amanda Holtman Assistant Life Editor @HollmanAmanda Buying lunch everyday can get expensive. Packing a lunch can be challenging, but it does not have to be. I'm sure that I am not alone in my lunch history. I decide to pack a lunch for the semester, but I get tired of the same PB&J sandwiches day after day, which leads to buying lunch. All that money adds up. In a 2012 survey by Account Principles, 66 percent of working American's reported that they buy lunch throughout the week. Younger workers, ages 18-34, spend an average of $44.78 per week compared to those 45 and older who spend an average of $31.80. All of those purchased lunches add up to almost $2,000 a year. Depending on what you bring from home, you could save about $60 per month, which is a savings of about $720 a year. There are microwaves in many of the buildings around campus, which opens up more options for warm meals. Walmart, Amazon and other companies have lunch boxes and ice packs to fit your style and budget. These places also have a variety of containers to make it even easier. The key to successfully avoiding buying lunch is to pack things that you will actually want to eat. If you bring something that is boring, you will not want to eat it and will be tempted to buy something instead. Leftovers are a great option for lunches. While preparing for and making dinners, plan to make enough to bring the next day. It is not very expensive and is pretty easy to whip up a little bit extra. Then all you need to do is pop it in a microwave and you are set. Try jazzing up your sandwiches. Combine different lunchmeats and veggies to give each day a variety. If you are worried about soggy bread, put your sandwich fillings in separate bags then put it together just before you eat it. Tortillas, flatbread, pita pockets or even lettuce wraps instead of bread can add some diversity to sandwiches. Once you start changing up what you put in and around a sandwich, there are almost countless options. Bring an assortment of things from each of the food pyramid categories. Baby carrots, apples, oranges, cucumbers and other fruits and vegetables travel easily and nicely. Crackers, tortillas, bagels and other grains are simple to pack. Salads are also a good option for lunch. There are a lot of choices for what you can include in them, which gives a nice variety for each day. Some ideas include sunflower seeds, chicken, raspberries, vinaigrettes and many others. Many brands of soup have a microwave safe bowl or cup that can be easily transported. Other cans have pop top lids so you do not have to carry around a can opener. Once opened, these soups can be put into a container to be heated. There are also a variety of "just add water and heat" meals that are cheap and easy. A few examples include: Kraft macaroni and cheese, Simply Asia noodles, Hamburger Helper and more. When you go grocery shopping for lunches, get enough items so that you can have something different each day. Your taste buds will appreciate the diversity, and you will be less likely to get bored of your packed lunches. If you want more lunch ideas, the Internet, especially Pinterest, is a great resource. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CLARA SUMSIONI/UVU REVIEW Packing a lunch can be challenging but could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per year. UVU's effort to help women succeed The Women's Success Center is a great resource for women By Kate Ayer Life Writer katelind.m.ayer@gmail.com "It's just a lot to take on— school, work, being a parent and trying to have a social life," Nicolle Rudd, UVU sophomore, said. "I have so many responsibilities; it's hard to balance them all." This story seems all too common here at UVU where there is an underrepresentation of women in the student body. According to the 2012 UVU Fact Book, there are 31,562 students at UVU, of which only 13,950 are female. "I've taken off so many semesters for so many reasons, sometimes it feels like I'll never graduate," Rudd said. And she is not alone. In 2012 1,984 women received their degrees, associate or bachelor, from UVU, while 2,359 men received theirs, according to UVU's Fact Book. This means that men's graduation rate at UVU is nearly 16 percent higher than women's. "Utah shows by far the largest gap in the nation between male and female college-graduation rates," according to utah.gov. In Utah, 26 percent of women have a bachelor's degree compared to 32 percent of men with the same level of education. This shows a 6 percentage- point gap—the largest in the nation. Also according to utah.gov, the average first-time bride in Utah is 23.5 years old—the youngest in the nation—and the state has one of the highest birth rates in the country, as well as a divorce-rate higher than the national average. This means that young, single parent households are on the rise and almost one-third of female-headed households in Utah are living in poverty. These are all factors that lead to postponing education, which places Utah's women in a precarious position. But, according to Rudd, UVU provides assistance whenever possible to ensure the success of its students. "UVU offers tons [of support] to non-traditional students," Rudd said. "I've never been treated as the minority. The school provides great resources." Recognizing the inequality in student retention and graduation rates, the Women's Success Center, located in LC 303, aims to "provide opportunities for students, on campus, and in their communities," Tern Prestwich, advisor of the Women of UVU Club, said. "The mission of the Women's Success Center is 'to help women enter and graduate from UVU in order to improve their lives and the lives of their families, to increase financial stability, and to positively impact society.'" The Women's Success Center offers success coaching, whether academic, financial or personal; scholarships and grants for tuition, books Part of the Women's Success Center's mission is to help women enter and graduate from UVU in order to improve their lives and the lives of their families. and living costs; and counseling resources like the Myers Briggs test and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs, to assist students in choosing the right career path. Although the Women's Success Center aims to help all students, it has specific programs and counseling for non-traditional female students, survivors of domestic violence, students with math concerns, as well as outreach programs in the community. Among these outreach programs are the Clothesline Project, an exhibit featuring survivors' personal experiences with abuse and domestic violence. They also volunteer at Legacy High School, where the Women's Success Center provides Christmas to teen mothers and assists them in applying and registering for college upon their graduations. And the center also promotes UVLINK workshops conducted by Prestwich, who offers tips on how to be a successful student, understand the cost of attendance and maximize financial aid. Even with these established programs, The Women's Success Center is willing to cater assistance to each individual student's needs. "Bottom line," Prestwich said, "we help students achieve success and help them graduate." More information on the Women's Success Center can be found at uvu.edu/wsc . They can be contacted by phone or email at 801-8633010 and womenssuccesscenter@ MELISSA HENRIE//UVU REVIEW |