Your First Semester

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

Throughout this semester I think I have matured and opened myself up to new possibilities. I think I have improved by trying my best to live in the moment and live every memory to the fullest. This semester has been hard academically and mentally, but I’m trying to keep the end goal in mind and know that struggling will lead to later success. I also have tried to be as disciplined as I can when it comes to school and getting my work done, however; I do have times where I will procrastinate a little bit. Overall, I have really enjoyed this semester and all that it has taught me about myself. I am proud of myself for focusing on me and not letting comparison get to my head. 

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

I expected to have a much harder time adjusting to living in a different place, away from my family. I ended up enjoying living somewhere else because it helped me improve my independence. I love my parents and I love to be with them, but I also enjoy learning about myself and finding out things that work and don’t work for me. Before I went to college, I thought that studying over 30 hours a week seemed impossible, but as the semester progressed I ended up studying around 40 hours a week. I expected it to be harder to make friends since I am a pretty shy person and I don’t open up easily. I have met some very nice people that I am happy to call my friends. My friend group is small, but I like it small. It feels like I really know the people that I am hanging out with. 

• What is something you wish you knew 14 weeks ago? 

14 weeks ago I wish I knew how fast and slow the semester would feel like. I look back on it now and I am so sad to see this semester end because I had so much fun and made so many memories. This semester was stressful and draining, but the highs always outweighed the lows. In the most stressful moments, the semester felt like it was going at snail pace, and all I wanted was for it to be break. However, the highs and most fun and memorable moments are the times where I wanted time to stand still and slow down. 

Study Habits

• How much time do you spend studying for each class now vs. at the beginning of the semester? During the beginning of the semester I was so worried about getting behind, so I focused more on completing my assignments, rather than studying. In the beginning, it felt like I had so many assignments, especially in math because I didn’t remember much from high school. However, as the semester went on I found it easier to complete some of my assignments and I was able to focus on practicing and studying the topics. I study around 40 hours a week give or take and that has stayed consistent throughout the whole semester. I tend to get up at 5am on most days and do homework or study, so this gives me extra time and peace of mind. I don’t necessarily need to wake up this early to do work, but this releases stress and worry. I also tend to work better in the early morning rather than late at night. 

• How have your study habits changed?

My study habits for math changed after the first test. My notes and homework were a bit jumbled in my notebook, so I started writing the title of every topic in pen and highlighting it. This helped me keep my notebook much more organized, and it helped me when I wanted to look back at certain topics, since it was easy to locate. I also changed the way I did notes in Biology. I changed the way I took notes in class very quickly. I began writing my notes on a google doc and tried to write down all of the information on the slides and everything my teacher was saying. This was very difficult and it caused me to miss key information, so I began downloading the presentation and typing in key points from my teacher in the speaker notes section. I also started off the semester by including all of the slide images and just writing notes next to it, but now I write more typical notes, add in pictures when I need to, and write the information in a way I can understand it. I changed the way I did my Psychology notes by downloading the slides on my iPad and writing directly on them instead of just typing down the information in the powerpoint. This helped the information stay in my brain and I could add in my own points or arrow to the presentation. 

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

The resource that has been the most helpful to me has been science tutoring. I have taken full advantage of this resource and went to tutoring weekly. I am so grateful for the science tutors because they know how to explain big concepts and transform them into ways we can understand. I am someone who has to write things down to understand it and I also draw pictures of the topic. My tutor adapted her teaching style and incorporated using whiteboards, so we could all write down the information and draw it out. This also allows us to rewrite it until we remember the concepts. I started going to tutoring after the first week of Biology class and it was the best decision I could have made for myself this semester. I have never been someone who has liked asking for help, but as this semester comes to a close, I am so thankful and proud of myself for asking. I give a huge shout out to Sumayyah, she was my Biology tutor and was such an incredible teacher. 

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

I am going to continue seeking out science tutoring, especially since I am taking Chemistry 1 and Biology 2. I think I am going to keep the same notes strategy for Biology since I have the same instructor and I know how he teaches that class, but I may have to adapt a different style in Chemistry. I am going to continue taking notes in class and rewriting my notes outside of class. This is something that I did not continue throughout the whole semester, but I hope to review the material that is going to be covered in each class before class. 

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 would say that all of these classes are tied together because they are all a part of the health sciences learning community. All of these classes contain students who intend to obtain a major in all of the health sciences. All of these classes cover different topics, but collectively they incorporate learning community activities. Also, all of these classes help students get to know the people that may potentially be in their major or just get to know people who may be in future classes. 

Parallel Plan

1. 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? 

If I had to pick another major I would probably choose Athletic Training or Recreational Therapy. I would choose athletic training because it deals with athletes and that is the field I want to work in. However, I don’t really want to be an athletic trainer because I want to work with patients who are on their way to healing and not dealing with a fresh injury. If I were to be an athletic trainer, then I would be one for a college baseball team. I would pick recreational therapy because you can basically do it anywhere and in any setting. I most likely would not choose rec therapy because it is not the health field I want to work in. If I did choose recreational therapy, I would work with horses and provide rec therapy through that. There is a barn out in Sandbridge called Equi Kids and that would be something I would do. 

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

I think it is beneficial to have a parallel plan since there is no guarantee that you will get into a specific program. I think it is always important to have backup plans that you would enjoy if you ever need to fall back on them. I also think that a person’s plans and mind could change, and they could realize this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. If there are other options to choose from, then it will take the stress off of deciding your future career. 

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

I think that athletic training can be extremely useful because it teaches a person that side of prevention instead of just focusing on rehabilitation. I know for myself that I would love to shadow ODU baseball’s athletic trainers to get a better understanding of what it would be like to work with a baseball team. I think that recreational therapy would be beneficial because it would add in the healthcare side and teach you how to work with people who may have disabilities.