Year in Review

First Year In Review

Coming into college I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to do and what experiences I would have. While some of the things I wanted to do didn’t happen, I did have a lot of experiences that I enjoyed.

At the beginning, I wanted to be really involved in clubs, exercise, and go out with my friends. Yet I soon realized that I wouldn’t be able to do everything because I wanted to focus more on my school work. The problem was that then I would only do school work and do things by myself. It wasn’t until the end of the year that I found a balance between school work and socializing.With that also came better time management and recognizing that the way I study isn’t the best for me.

Wile I may have not been involved in clubs I did make sure to get involved in what I was already doing. I took the lead in my engineering class first semester be organizing them structure of our final game that we coded and in second semester we the lead in designing or prototype vehicle and testing it. Also in second semester I became the president/leader of the service committee for STEM and look forward to continuing for next semester.

With all of this I feel that I have matured and become more independent. I no long have my parents near by to watch over my well being and academics, therefore I have to recognize when I need help/what I need to do to remain healthy both physically and mentally.

 

Looking towards the future I want to improve my study habits as well as being involved in things outside of academics. I will be completing the second year capstone for STEM EE as well as being a TA for the STEM EE class. My second year will also involve STEP where I will get to create another project as well as meet faculty and students.

Personal Development

Over this first semester I have learned how to study better which helped reduce stress. Towards the beginning and middle of the semester I didn’t  know how to study correctly because I would do fine in high school just by quickly reviewing the material. This, along with a more difficult course load gave me more stress than I had usually experienced. It even lead to me getting multiple sties throughout the semester.

It was during one of my survey classes in the middle of the semester that I learned how to study in a way where I was actively learning. A presenter from the Denis Learning Center came and gave a presentation on studying and test taking skills. I found it very helpful and tried out some of the studying tips she suggested.

The main one that really helped me was setting up a 5-7 day plan to spread out my studying. You use the first day to prepare review materials. The next day you review the hardest material from the class using what you prepared the day before and once you’re finished, you prepare the material for the next day. The next day you practice the next hardest topic, review previous material, and prepare material for the next day. By the end you have reviewed the hardest material for about 5-7 days and the easiest for 1. I did this for my math midterm and I felt very prepared for the test. I did very well and plan to use this study method for my finals for this semester and onward.

This plan helped me because it made me have a set time to study which made me more motivated to start studying. Having materials that  prevented my from putting it off for not knowing what to review. It also prevented me from just studying the easy material because I wouldn’t have to put as much effort. This studying plan helped me become a more organised and successful student.

 

Second Year in Review

My second year at OSU started out even better than the first!

Academically, I began taking courses that were focused on my degree. These courses gave me a better insight on what chemical engineering is about and I really enjoyed them even though they were difficult. I was able to find a studying format that worked for me and began a study group with some students that I shared several classes with.

I became more involved with STEM Scholars by being a Teaching Assistant and a First-Year Mentor. I enjoyed both positions and would do them again but I will be working at OSU’s nanotech facility. I began working there in September and have enjoyed learning about nanofabrication and being in the lab.

Of course, Covid-19 affected class at OSU which meant that after spring break, classe were online. The transition was difficult but I am glad that the university and my professors were flexible and accommodating to the situation. I was also disappointed because I had planned to do my STEP project over the summer. It was going to be a research opportunity at the University of Louisville focused on using nanotechnology to asses cell-transfection. I still have the position for Summer 2021, but I would be much more interested in an internship since I want to go into the workforce after graduating.

I look forward to my third year at OSU. It will certainly be different since I now have a mix of online and in-person classes but I look forward to seeing my friends (taking proper precautions) and getting to live in an apartment!