Study Habits
● What classes are you doing well in, and why?
My best class so far would be my sociology class. I tend to be more focused in
the morning so since this is my 8 AM, I feel a little more focused on the material.
Also, the teacher is very good at getting the material across in a way that is
easily understood.
● What classes did you identify as needing assistance in?
The classes I need the most help in are my chemistry and chemistry lab. The
way the material is given is very difficult for me to understand and while I do like
my teachers, their instructions tend to be unclear and cause a lot of confusion
among me and my peers.
○ What changes have you made (i.e. amount of time, location,
campus resources, study strategies, etc…)?
Ever since our first exam, I have taken the class a lot more seriously. In a
way, it was a wake-up call that I needed to put more effort into the class if
I wanted to succeed. I’ve been studying regularly now and making
flashcards of all the worded material.
Transition to College
● What expectations did you have coming to college?
○ Have those expectations come to fruition, or not?
I would say my expectation has come to fruition.
■ How? In the learning community, I have made many very
good friends and because of my Introduction to Health
Professions class, I have learned about so many
amazing opportunities for my career and around
campus.
■ In what way is your college experience different from
what you expected? My college experience differs from
the expectations of my workload. The classes I thought
would be giving the most work have barely given any
while classes I thought would be easy and stress-free
have been my hardest work-wise. It can be very stressful
at times and lead me to feel very unaccomplished in
those classes, even if I’m always doing my work on time.
■ What has surprised you about your experiences so far
this semester? The amount of activities and pop up
events is definitely the most surprising. I knew there
would be a few but I feel like I see one almost everyday.
● If you live on campus: What has been your toughest challenge with moving
away to college? Easiest challenge to overcome?
● OR If you commute to class: What is the toughest challenge with commuting
to campus? Easiest challenge to overcome? The biggest challenge with
commuting would be trying to beat the traffic for my 8AM class. I only live 15
minutes away but with traffic, most of the time it takes me about 35-40
minutes just to get through the tunnel. It can be frustrating because I really
don’t want to have to wake up two hours earlier just to make it to a class. The
easiest challenge to overcome was not knowing what to do in between my
classes. At first, it was difficult to find things to do but now I usually go to my
friends’ dorms or to the library and get ahead in my school work.
Major
● Name something you have learned about your intended major that you did
not know at the beginning of the semester.
This may seem like a laughable answer, but I honestly didn’t know much about
what I actually needed in order to apply for the nursing program. I feel a lot more
confident now knowing that I understand what I need to do.
● Have your feelings changed about your intended major? List some thoughts
you are having. Recently, I’ve been second guessing my major a lot. I’ve
been strongly considering going into veterinary science and switching into it.
I’m worried that I might end up regretting what I’m going to college for and am
not sure how to ease my nerves over it.
● Is there another subject (major or minor) that you are interested in learning
more about? I’m really interested in learning more about Veterinary Science
and if I could somehow minor it or use it as my backup plan.
Connecting to Campus
● Name one problem or challenge you have encountered this semester, and
which resource(s) at ODU you have/can utilize to assist with this situation.
A problem I have had this semester was that I was really struggling to
understand the content in my chemistry class. One resource that I feel a lot of
people tend to take for granted is the Success centers. The chemistry success
center is a really great way for me to better understand the material and helps
me get my work done.
● Is there a friend, roommate, professor, advisor, or group in the ODU
community who has helped you so far this semester? If so, how did they help
you? My friends have helped me a lot this semester. Since we all take
the same classes, it has been very easy to ask each other for help and study
together. I know if I don’t understand something, there is someone I know that
does and I can ask them for help.
● Have you attended an interesting meeting for a club? Why did you decide to
get involved or not get involved? I have attended and joined the VSA
organization. I decided to get involved in this organization because of
intramural sports and have ended up making a lot of new friends.
Themester: Sustainability (Environment)
● What new sustainable practices have you learned about so far this semester
(think back to our guest speakers Dr. Hawkins and Dr. Hoglund!)? A new
sustainable practice I learned is something I actually learned from Professor
Haben. She told us about a really good zero waste shop in Norfolk and I
really enjoyed my trip there and actually plan on going back to purchase more
stuff next week. It is so nice being able to shop without creating excess
waste.
● What sustainable practices would you like to begin participating in?
I’ve really been wanting to learn about more volunteering opportunities that deal
with sustainability and cleaning our campus.
● Is there anything more you would like to learn about sustainability for the rest
of the semester? I would like to learn about more sustainable shops
around our campus.