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

Your First Semester

• Tell us how you have grown from the beginning of the semester to now.
•   In the beginning of the semester, I had a lot of doubts within myself. I started off very shaky, off-track, and unorganized. There were so many days where I felt unmotivated and incapable of doing anything. Throughout the semester, I even missed a midterm by mistake due to procrastination and lack of sense of time. This semester taught me so much and although I didn’t do the very best or how I may have pictured, I still give myself grace and I applaud myself everyday for not giving up, despite the challenges I faced. Now, I make it to every class, I have a better understanding of what a decent work schedule looks like and I advocate for myself. I’ve learned how to not be so hard and discouraging when I make mistakes but rather to pray about it and move on. I’ve grown tremendously but I do believe that there’s room for improvement. I’ve grown by recognizing my flaws and weaknesses and setting goals that I have to help eliminate them. 

• What were your expectations for this year? Did this semester’s experiences meet your expectations? Explain.
• I set my expectations very high for this semester/year and I can honestly say that this semester’s experiences did not meet my expectations. The reason being is because I’ve always looked at other peoples experiences or how college was portrayed on shows but not knowing that it’s actually the complete opposite. I thought that I’d be doing very well, making lots of friends and reaching that 4.0 gpa, hoping to be on the dean’s list but it took a completely different turn. You live and learn though. 

• What is something you wish you knew 14 weeks ago? 
• I honestly am not sure. I wish I just knew the pressure college came with. I wish I knew how okay it would be to be by yourself. I wish I knew that I had the ability to ask for help. 

Study Habits

• How much time do you spend studying for each class now vs. at the beginning of the semester? 
• I haven’t found the right study schedule so I can’t really answer this question. I do find myself studying more than I did in the beginning but I still haven’t found a good studying habit but I’m in the process of creating one for spring semester.

• How have your study habits changed?
• They’re better than what they were before but I still believe that there can be a lot of improvement and more work put into me trying to reach that point. 

• Tell us about a resource that you have used/learned about this semester that will assist you next semester. 
• This semester, I’ve learned the value of prioritization through the Eisenhower Matrix, a time-management tool that helps differentiate between tasks based on urgency and importance. It’s 4 different categories:

-Urgent and Important (Do it now)

-Not Urgent but Important (Schedule it)

-Urgent but Not Important (Delegate it)

-Not Urgent and Not Important (Eliminate it)

Next semester, I plan to use this matrix more consciously when managing my assignments and projects. By regularly assessing what needs my immediate attention and what can wait, I can allocate my time more effectively and avoid procrastination. 

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

-Next semester, I plan to quiz myself regularly to make sure I really understand the material. I’ll also review things often, instead of cramming the night before, and I’ll study in short bursts with breaks to stay focused. These habits should help me stay on top of my work and remember things better.

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.

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? 
• I’d be interested in Public Health and Nutrition. Public Health would allow me to work on health initiatives that complement dental hygiene, focusing on community health and disease prevention. Nutrition is important because it directly impacts oral health, and understanding it would help me advise patients on diet choices for better dental care. Both would enhance my ability to promote overall health and prevention.

• What benefit is there to having a parallel plan (or two) in place? 
• I believe that overall a parallel plan provides flexibility, ensuring you have options if your primary path doesn’t work out. It also helps you explore related fields, broadening your skills and opening up more career opportunities.

• How could one or both of these two majors benefit your current intended major?
• Public Health and Nutrition would both help my dental hygiene studies. Public Health would teach me how to promote oral health in communities, while Nutrition would help me give better advice on how diet affects teeth and overall health. Both would allow me to care for patients in a more complete way