End of the Semester Reflection

  1. Your first semester:
    1. Tell us how you have grown from the beginning of the semester to now. I have grown from the beginning of the semester to now because I was taken out of my comfort zone and forced to interact with groups of people I have never seen before. I have also grown because being here forced me to speak up and advocate for myself. Before I came to ODU I found it difficult to advocate for myself because I was too scared and I always had my mom by my side to be my voice.
    2. What were your expectations for this year? This year I expected college to be overwhelming and very difficult. I expected college to be as such because I became used to taking classes online and highschool is extremely different from college. Also, this year I expected to make a lot of connections and new friends being that I am in the Living Learning Community. This semester definitely met my expectations because college is a lot harder than high school.
    3. What is something you wish you knew 14 weeks ago? 14 weeks ago I wish I would have known how hard chemistry was. I also wish I knew just how competitive the nursing program is at ODU.
  1. Study Habits
    1. How much time do you spend studying for each class now vs. at the beginning of the semester? At the beginning of the semester I only studied maybe once out of the week for 30 minutes for each of my classes. Now, towards the end of the semester I study almost everyday, whether that be with homework or going over my notes, for at least an hour and a half.
    2. How have your study habits changed? Towards the end of the semester I have got into the habit of studying multiple days before I have an exam instead of the night and morning of.
    3. Tell us about a resource that you have used/learned about this semester that will assist you next semester. A resource I have used this semester that will assist me next semester are the tutoring centers around campus for various subjects.
    4. What study habits/techniques will you use going into next semester? Next semester I plan on utilizing flash cards more to help me study because I think that would help me memorize a majority of the topics I learn. Additionally, next semester I plan on joining study groups because having people in the same class and that are in the same boat as you is helpful.
  1. Health Professions Learning Community
    1. This semester you were enrolled in at least SOC 201S, and HLTH 101. Many of you were also enrolled in CHEM 105N and CHEM 106N, and some of you were enrolled in HIST 104H with Professor White.
      1. On the surface these classes do not appear to be connected; however this semester each professor was intentional about drawing connections between content, and subjects discussed. Discuss the ways in which  these courses are tied together. All five of my classes were tied together through the concept of the social determinants of health. Each of my teachers had different ways to approach the concept, but in the end everything tied together and made sense.
    2. This semester we provided events for you to hear from health professionals from ODU. 
      1. Which event was most beneficial for you as a student, and why? The most beneficial learning community event to me was the paint therapy event. This event was the most beneficial to me because it gave me an outlet and a way to destress during the upcoming finals week.