Study Habits

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

The classes I am doing well in are chemistry and psychopathology. Despite my studying efforts for chemistry, I believe that the exam curves have significantly improved my grade. In order to become used to answering chemistry questions, I have been practicing Khan Academy questions and visiting the chemistry tutoring center when I need help with assignments. On the other hand, I have prior knowledge of many topics covered in psychopathology because I did something similar at TCC, so psychopathology is more of a refresher course. 

• What classes did you identify as needing assistance in? 

The classes I identified needing assistance in are definitely chemistry and elementary statistics. Both of the classes are very fast paced so I try to use resources as much as possible. 

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

Now, before I go to class, I sit in the library and review a lot of chemistry and elementary statistics material. Another change is I go to the chemical tutoring center to get assistance from a TA if I’m having a problem with chemistry. I’ve mostly been answering practice questions for classes to reinforce the information I’ve learned. 

Transition to College

• What expectations did you have coming to college? 

The expectations I had when coming to college is that everyone is stressed about school and just trying to survive, but also balancing life to enjoy the college experience. 

• Have those expectations come to fruition, or not? 

The expectations I have had did come to fruition.

• How?

I’ve noticed that many college students lack motivation and rush through their assignments, even if they don’t think the work they did is the best quality. Despite this, many of us continue to participate in activities that we find enjoyable. 

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

I thought that I would be able to go to more events and have fun, but I actually just do schoolwork everyday or study.

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

This semester, I had an unexpected experience with understanding chemistry. I always expected to be confused, but I’ve been making an effort to understand it and so far, it seems to be working. 

• 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 of commuting to campus is missing out on events that I would have enjoyed going to. The easiest challenge of commuting to campus is that there are no distractions and I can just sit in my room and get through my work. 

Major

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

I learned how they implement clinicals into nursing school and how the classes will go when nursing students are completing their clinicals.

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

I still want to commit to nursing and would love to work with children. However, I am getting very nervous about the program and how competitive it is. The competitiveness makes me both nauseous and excited, but it makes me so nervous for my life in two years. 

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

A minor I am interested in is psychology and a major I am interested in learning more about is nuclear medicine technology. 

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 challenge I have encountered this semester is mental health problems. A resource I can utilize with mental health issues is the free counseling services offered by ODU. There are a variety of counselors to pick from that have different specialties and they even have descriptions of themselves so students can become familiar with the counselors.

• 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? 

I have a friend that has helped me this semester. She has shown me many resources that can be utilized and we help each other when we are having difficulties balancing school and our mental health. I believe having someone that you can relate to and surviving with motivates you to do better. 

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

I have attended FASA’s interest meeting. I decided to get involved with the club because there are people similar to me in the club that can teach me my culture. I wanted to feel more in touch with my culture and a lot of people in the club represent our culture well.