My Semester so far:

Study Habits

• What classes are you doing well in, and why? 

Some classes I am doing well in are Nutritional Biochemistry, Sociology, and Intro to World Lit & Cultures. I believe I am doing well in those classes because a lot of the homework is reading or writing-based so I do not find it too difficult to do.

• What classes did you identify as needing assistance in? 

The most challenging class I have identified and need more assistance with is Intro to Chemistry. Mostly because I find the math aspects of Chemistry hard and there are a lot of harder concepts to understand.

• What changes have you made (i.e. amount of time, location, campus resources, study strategies, etc…)?

Some changes I have made are exploring different study strategies. I realized that just copying the notes was not going to help me, so instead I focused on trying to do practice problems until I fully grasp the concept of the chapter we are studying.

Transition to College

• What expectations did you have coming to college? 

Coming into college, I expected college to be stressful and strict since most people attending university are mature and older. In high school, there were times where it was unserious because of the people and the schoolwork in general.

• Have those expectations come to fruition, or not? 

Those expectations have sort of come into fruition. I would say not as much as I expected it to be.

• How?

I would say my expectations have only come into fruition a little bit because learning and studying information is different from high school, which makes it stressful. But the college experience overall is what was different from my expectations.

• In what way is your college experience different from what you expected?

I enjoy college outside of classes because it is easy to find and make friends with people you are similar with since the general population of ODU is large and diverse. Being involved in other activities within college has made the whole college experience more enjoyable and helps me have a good balance between my school and social life.

• What has surprised you about your experiences so far this semester?

Something that has surprised me is how different my experiences between different classes have been. I have some professors who are strict with attendance and homework while I have others who are lenient and easy to work with. That takes me by surprise because I feel like most of the teachers in high school were always strict and made things harder than they needed to be.

• 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 toughest challenge with commuting to campus is waking up every day. Since I have an 8am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have to wake up early because I need to get ready and then I have to make sure I beat the morning rush traffic. It gets challenging to get through the rest of my day after that because I feel so tired and just want to take a nap. The easiest challenge to overcome with commuting is homesickness because I never feel homesick.

Major

• Name something you have learned about your intended major that you did not know at the beginning of the semester.

Something I have learned about my intended major that I did not know at the beginning of the semester was needing to take a nutrition class at some point before I apply to the Dental Hygiene program.

• Have your feelings changed about your intended major? List some thoughts you are having.

My feelings have not changed about my intended major. I truly do want to go into the dental field and Dental Hygiene is my dream job. I do have some worries about not being able to get into the program, but I will work hard to achieve my dream.

• Is there another subject (major or minor) that you are interested in learning more about? 

I am interested in minoring in a subject, possibly Biology, Health & Wellness, or Chemistry. I am also surprisingly interested in nutritional wellness as well, but I am not sure what programs ODU offers for that subject.

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. 

One problem that I encountered this semester was adjusting to the social aspects of college. A lot of my close friends went somewhere else for university, so I had some worries that I would feel lonely often and not connect with anyone else. Learning more about the different organizations at ODU however helped me find an organization that I was interested in and so I pushed myself to join. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone has slowly helped me grow as a person and made me realize that I need to be more comfortable with trying new things.

• 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? 

There are several friends I have made so far this semester that have helped me. They have helped me with schoolwork by teaching me concepts I find hard to understand. They have also helped me as a true friend by being there for me and spending time with me.

• Have you attended an interest meeting for a club? Why did you decide to get involved or not get involved?

I have attended an interest meeting for a club, which is VSA (Vietnamese Student Association). I decided to get involved because I already knew a few people who were in the organization and wanted me to join. It was a great decision overall because I have made new friends and ended up becoming apart of VSA’s cabinet, which is something I would have never done in high school so I am happy with myself for that.