Final Reflection | lailarainey

Reflect on the Fall semester and the overall experience of your first semester at college.

Final Reflection (100 Points)

Due Date: Week 15, Last Day of class!

Assignment Submission: Google Drive via Canvas

The Reflection will also be posted to your e-Portfolio.

Reflection Instructions

For this assignment, please reflect on the Fall 2023 semester, and your experience as a whole. For each question, please provide a few thoughtful, well constructed sentences.

Your First Semester

Tell us how you have grown from the beginning of the semester to now.

I think I have grown a lot socially. I came in wanting to do everything I couldn’t during my 4 years of high school. I’ve met lots of new people, gone to many events, I can say this semester has been extremely fun and I learned a lot in what feels like a short time.

What were your expectations for this year? Did this semester’s experiences meet your expectations? Explain.

My expectations were simple: have fun and work hard. I believe I did just that. I’ve built up better studying habits for next semester, learned from each and every mistake, and I’m ready to do better next semester.

What is something you wish you knew 14 weeks ago?

Don’t wait for someone to hand anything out to you, you have to attack the hard obstacles head on and beat it before it beats you.

Study Habits

How much time do you spend studying for each class now vs. at the beginning of the semester?

I try my best to study 2 hours a day for each class, which sounds like a lot, however, I made it work the best I could, even with a part time job.

How have your study habits changed?

At the beginning, I didn’t study nearly as much as I should have. I started falling behind, and it got really hard to catch back up. Now I’m studying harder than ever, hoping it pays off.

Tell us about a resource that you have used/learned about this semester that will assist you next semester.

Tutoring and study groups have helped me a ton. Also, youtube. Being repetitive as well with studying is a great way to keep the information locked in.

What study habits/techniques will you use going into next semester?

I will maintain 2 hours for each class, inside and outside, continue going to tutoring,and I also will be reading a lot over the break to widen my general knowledge.

Health Professions Learning Community

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.
- 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.

I think these classes are connected because they all focus on how people and society work together. In Sociology, we talked about social issues like inequality, which connects to Health because we learned how those same issues affect healthcare. Chemistry tied in with understanding the science behind health problems, and History helped show how past events shaped the systems we have today. It all felt like pieces of a bigger picture.

Parallel Plan

This semester we had presentations from different majors in the College of Health Sciences as well as from different majors on campus. This was to give you an idea for possible parallel majors to your current intended major.

Which two other majors would you be most interested in? Why?

I think I’d be most interested in Psychology and Public Health. I actually wanted to major in Psychology all through high school, but I switched to Nursing last minute. Psychology still interests me because it helps explain how people think and act, which ties into nursing. Public Health is also interesting because it focuses on improving health for whole communities, which fits with my goal of helping others.

What benefit is there to having a parallel plan (or two) in place?

Having a parallel plan is helpful because it gives me options in case my first choice doesn’t work out. It also helps me stay focused on my goals while keeping my career options open. If something changes, I’ll still have a backup to keep moving forward.

How could one or both of these two majors benefit your current intended major?

Psychology and Public Health could both benefit my Nursing major. Psychology would help me understand patients’ mental health and behaviors, which is important for providing care. Public Health would give me a broader view of health on a community level, helping me see how health systems work and how to prevent health issues before they start.

Rubric

Criteria	Excellent(75-70.5 points)	Sufficient (70.49-63 points)	Minimal (62.99-55.5 points)	Unacceptable(55.49-0 points)
Depth of Reflection	Response demonstrates an in-depth reflection about the semester so far. Viewpoints and interpretations are insightful. Clear, detailed examples are provided, as applicable.	Response demonstrates a general reflection about the semester so far. Viewpoints and interpretations are supported. Appropriate examples are provided, as applicable.	Response demonstrates a minimal reflection about the semester so far. Viewpoints and interpretations are unsupported or supported with flawed arguments. Examples, when applicable, are not provided or are irrelevant to the assignment.	Response demonstrates a lack of reflection about the semester so far. Viewpoints and interpretations are missing, inappropriate, and/or unsupported. Examples, when applicable, are not provided.
Required Components	Response includes all components and meets or exceeds all requirements indicated in the instructions. Each question is addressed thoroughly.	Response includes all components and meets all requirements indicated in the instructions. Each question is addressed.	Response is missing some components and/or does not fully meet the requirements indicated in the instructions. Some are not addressed.	Response excludes essential components and/or does not address the requirements indicated in the instructions. Many parts of the assignment are addressed minimally, inadequately, and/or not at all.
Structure	Writing is clear, concise, and well organized with excellent sentence/paragraph construction. Thoughts are expressed in a coherent and logical manner. There are no spelling, grammar, or syntax errors per page of writing.	Writing is mostly clear, concise, and well organized with good sentence/paragraph construction. Thoughts are expressed in a coherent and logical manner. There are no more than three spelling, grammar, or syntax errors per page of writing.	Writing is unclear and/or disorganized. Thoughts are not expressed in a logical manner. There are no more than five spelling, grammar, or syntax errors per page of writing.	Writing is unclear and disorganized. Thoughts ramble and make little sense. There are numerous spelling, grammar, or syntax errors throughout the response.