1. Major/Career
2. What is your intended major and why did you choose this major? 

My intended major is Nursing. Since I was five years old I have always dreamed of becoming a nurse, and fourteen years later I still have the same dream. My life goal is to help people, so this major will give me the knowledge I need to satisfy that goal.

1. What skills or abilities do you possess that make this major/career a good choice for you?

I am a people person and enjoy social interaction, which I believe is the most important skill in the nursing profession. I am also a problem solver who loves to figure out what’s wrong and what I can do to make things right, which is needed to relieve patients’ pain and figure out what steps to take to get them back to their everyday lives. 

1. What experience, if any, do you have that relates to your chosen major/career?

Unfortunately, I haven’t learned anything other than human anatomy in my junior year of high school from any classes in school. However, I am CLS (combat lifesaving) certified through the Army – if a soldier goes down during combat by shrapnel, bullets, IED, I am able to perform lifesaving measures to keep the soldier alive until transportation to a proper hospital. I am also a Preventive Medicine Specialists (essentially Public Health) in the Army Reserve, which has taught me about the transportation and types of diseases, along with how to ensure our soldiers are staying healthy through sanitation measures.

1. In what type of setting would you prefer to work?

Personally, I thrive in fast moving environments where there is always something that can be done at any given time. I stay calm and focused throughout high anxiety (the calm through the chaos). From this understanding of myself, I believe the emergency room would be a place I would thrive as a nurse in. 

1. What are your career goals (in 5 years/in 10 years)?  

In five years, my goal is to be a RN. I plan to do that for a while to save money and “get my feet wet” in the career before going to school to become a nurse anesthetist. In the next ten years I plan to be a nurse anesthetist, because that type of practice greatly interests me (and it has a nice paycheck). 

1. Complete the MyMajors quiz: https://odu.mymajors.com/quiz/. Provide a screenshot of your results. Of the majors on your top 10 list, which 3 would you like to learn more about?

I would like to learn more about Nuclear Medicine Technology, I almost have an associate’s degree in Public health from the army (need a communication class to obtain that) so I always like to build my knowledge on things I know, and I have never heard of Cytotechnology but that sounds interesting. 

2. Transition to college
   1. What do you expect to be the biggest difference between high school and college? I expect the biggest difference between college and high school will be the fact that no one is really there to make sure I do all my work and essentially hold my hand through everything. It is now all on me to make sure I do all of my stuff and really portion out my time to ensure all work is getting done.
   1. What do you expect to be your biggest challenge this semester?

I expect my biggest challenge this semester to be basically teaching myself the material in my asynchronous classes since there isn’t really a teacher to fully teach it (example: my statistics class we are given the modules and have to go through it and learn on our own). Of course, my teachers will be available via zoom and email to answer questions, but those so far have proven to be a little bit harder since no one’s immediately in front of me. 

• If you live on campus: What do you expect to be your biggest challenge with moving away to college? 
  • OR  If you commute to class: What do you expect to be your biggest challenge with commuting to campus? 

I commute to campus from Smithfield, so it’s about a 40-minute drive. My biggest challenge will probably be trying to determine when to leave for my 4:30 chemistry lab because Norfolk is renowned for having traffic and accidents at times you need to get somewhere. I figured as long as I leave by 3:15 I should be fine, as that gives wiggle room in case of traffic. 

• Do you have a job/ or plan to get a job? If so, where? How many hours will you be working per week? 

I’ve been working at The Cove Tavern in Newport News City Center as both a hostess and a waitress since June. I have created my work schedule to allow me to only work Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, along with picking up shifts on days I have designated myself to not work if I either need money or have finished a lot of school work and am able to take an extra shift without overloading myself. 

3. Study habits
   1. Is there a difference between “studying” and “homework”?  Explain your answer.

Yes, homework is typically for a grade – something you are assigned to do normally to turn in when complete. Studying is something the student does (or doesn’t) do on their own time, not specifically assigned to do by the teacher, but greatly recommended for the student to excel in the class. They’re both different, but I can see how someone could classify them as the same type of thing as they are both extra practices. 

1. How much time do you plan to spend studying for each class every week? 

Honestly, however much time it takes to ensure you have a clear understanding of the subject’s topics. Personally, I try to do 30 minutes to an hour of a subject I need to review with a day, spending extra time if I need in order to it to ensure I understand. If I have a test coming up, I will take more time to study (1-2 hours) as needed to ensure I do well on my test. 

1. For which class do you expect to spend the most time studying?

The class I anticipate to study for the most will probably be Chemistry. I have taken chemistry twice now and still find it hard to understand, but I know I need to do good in that class to excel in my chosen profession. Typically, I spend about an hour a day reviewing chemistry material. 

1. For which class (other than HLTH 101) are you expecting to spend the least amount of time studying?

I expect to spend the least amount of time studying for my English class, since it’s a fairly easy subject for me and I typically do really well in English classes. Unless there is a vocabulary test or something of that nature, I do not need to study English that much. 

• Where do you plan to study?

A big trick for me to study is to leave my house and go somewhere, because I tell myself “okay, I’m going to go here to study so I need to really get things done and I can’t come home until it’s done”. If it’s night time, then I’ll study in the game room, since I get distracted trying to study in my room (I’ll start cleaning). 

• What potential distractions can you anticipate?  

I still live at home with all my family (mom, stepdad, bother, stepbrother, dogs) so they will probably be the biggest distraction. My stepdads parents just moved in with us since they’re in their late 80’s and have a lot of medical problems (wheelchairs, nurses that come over) so that is a big distraction because we constantly have people coming over to check on them. However, all of my family knows that when I’m studying I really need them to try to let me be and so far they have been really good about it!

1. How do you plan to avoid these distractions?
   1. What time of day is your best time to study and why?

My best time for me to study is at night, I tend to get a lot of stuff done because I figure if I can get all the studying I need to do done, I can go to sleep after. Studying during the day is harder for me because I feel like there other things I need to be doing (running errands, helping with family, etc.). 

• This Fall, you are in online courses, some of which do not meet at a specific time, how do you plan to manage all of your assignments?

I write everything down in my planner so that I can visualize all of the things I need to do, and later get the satisfaction of crossing everything off. This is also where good time management skills come in, allowing me to portion out my time so I can get things done. 

• Think about all of your commitments i.e. job, family, social life (from a distance and wear your mask! #ReignResponsibly). How do you plan on balancing your various commitments? 

I plan on balancing my various commitments by using my planner to allocate time for specific things I need to do. Also, I like to make lists of things I need to do because I get a weird satisfaction of crossing things off lists. Attached is a picture of my first week of school, with everything I need to do written down, and things I have already completed highlighted in gray. 

4. Learning style
   1. What specific study techniques do you think work best for you?  

For me, I study the best by writing things down a couple of times, and going over my notes and adding little pointers to help me understand what exactly the notes say (summarizing things in simple terms).  For more math-based classes like chemistry or statistics, I go online and look up practice problems and do those to get a little extra practice. 

1. Do you use different study techniques for different classes?  Provide examples.

Yes, for classes like chemistry and statistics I do practice problems, while English and sociology I would just go over definitions and review important terms for ant tests/quizzes coming up. 

5. Connecting to campus
   1. Name one academic resource at ODU you can use to help you earn “As” this semester. 

The math and science resource center, as they can help me on topics I don’t understand.

1. Name one non-academic resource at ODU and how it can help you this semester.

One non-academic resource would probably be recreational sports, it can help me by taking a break from the computer and getting in touch with people around campus.

• Name one resource you think you will use this semester.

I will probably use the statistics tutoring since that class is confusing me right now, and why not get a little extra help. 

•  
  • Name one resource at ODU you would like to learn more about, and why. 

The women’s center – it sounds interesting and I’d be interested to learn more of what they do. 

• In high school, what clubs, organizations, or activities did you participate in, if any? 

In high school I ran track and cross country, was a member of DECA and also did ROTC. 

• Is there a club or organization you plan to join this semester and what do you expect to gain from this experience?  If not, why not?

So far, I don’t plan on joining any clubs just yet, mostly because I want to get back into the groove of school and not overload myself with trying to do a bunch of things just yet. I’d also want to look and see what clubs are available to determine which ones I’d be interested in.