My first year of college was a rollercoaster. I tried new things, met great people, and had so many new experiences. Not only that, but I spent this year away from my family, in a new city and a new state. I thought this year would be hard for so many reasons but, at the end of the day, I'm so happy I made the decision to come to Cincinnati.
In my academic life, I learned to adjust to higher expectations and I learned how to manage my time and commitments like a pro. I've had a great time getting to take classes I'm actually interested in - anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology. I also got to try my hand at some less-interesting (to me) classes like sociology. College is different from high school academically, but I've found it to be a relatively painless transition. Plus, I love what I'm learning, which makes it so much more fun. Partially because of my scholarship responsibilities and partially because I'm really interested in community service, I also sampled several service projects. I have now been a Bearcat Buddies tutor for two semesters, my first at Roll Hill Elementary School and my second at Hays-Porter Elementary School. I learned a lot about patience and about how to be not only an effective communicator, but also an effective teacher. The secret? Show, don't tell. It's been such a pleasure to work with these kids and I'm excited to tutor again next year. I also started volunteering at the Cincinnati Children's Theater with one of my nursing friends. At the theater, I help carry boxes and other random objects around the theater and I hand out playbills to theater-goers as they come in the door. I also do odd errands like showing people to their seats and fetching booster seats for small children. This experience has been really rewarding. It's so cute to see kids come in dressed up like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. They're always ecstatic to get a playbill, too. In regards to the University Honors Program, I had a plethora of new experiences. In the fall semester, I completed my first honors course, Gateway to University Honors, in which I got a taste of what to expect from the program. In the spring semester, I enrolled in two honors courses, Intermediate Composition and Listen to the Music. In Intermediate Comp., I had the opportunity to hone my skills for writing various styles of essays and I began to develop my own personal definition of literacy. In Listen to the Music, I got to listen to a variety of songs and musical pieces in order to learn how to analyze minute aspects of the composition. I also formed an understanding of various musical styles and their historical background. Overall, this was a year of immense growth for me. I hope to continue this momentum in the next school year and the years to come. |