Junior Year in Review
While reflecting on this past year at UC, it's incredible to think about how far I've come as a student, friend, person, and future Speech-Language Pathologist. It seems like I just finished my last day of high school when in reality, I am about to begin my very last year as an undergraduate college student. The time between then and now seems to have elapsed in the blink of an eye, and I am continually blown away by just how close I am to the rest of my life. As hard as it is for me to believe, each year I spend at this University surpasses the last, no matter how incredible the previous year was. My third year at the University of Cincinnati was no exception to this rule, and I love being able to say that this past year was one of the best of my life. The support team of friends, family, teachers, and staff I have built continue to play a huge role in my academic success as well as my social and emotional well-being.
Academically, my third year was unsurprisingly filled with more course content related to my major. Long gone were the days of easy A's and"gen-eds", for this year was my most academically challenging one yet. Though I loved most of the content and was thrilled to be learning information I would use in my future career, the toughest challenge I faced this year came in the form of one of my classes. Rightly described as "a graduate-level course taken at the undergraduate level" as well as a "weed-out" class, I found myself in danger of being one of those "weed-outs" in my major. After a failed midterm and some severe panic, I worked harder in this class than I have ever worked in my entire school lifetime. This incredibly difficult class forced me to prioritize my time better and figure out new and creative ways to learn material that I at first just couldn't grasp. I have always been studious and serious about my school work, but throw in 15 other credit hours, working 30 hours a week, and a group of friends who were all newly 21 years old and interested in seeing what that all had to offer, one difficult class can seem impossible. However, through my hard work, I was able to pull off the grade I needed in the class and feel better prepared when faced with more difficult classes in the future.
Though my most significant relationships remain the ones I share with my close friends, I felt that I was able to build up relationships with more people in my same major this year. Many Communication Sciences and Disorders based classes I was enrolled in this year required constant group work and participation with others in class. This facilitated the development and growth of relationships with people in my classes, whether they were studying the same major as me or not. These relationships, especially the ones with people in my same major and same future field of work have the potential to lead to great networking opportunities in the future. For now, however, making friends with those in my classes and having a wider group of people in my major that I can reach out to will make for a much more enjoyable upcoming senior year of classes.
As I prepare for the upcoming year, one filled with GREs, graduate school applications, and other life-changing decisions, I want to keep a cool head and a calm mind in order to best carryout my responsibilities. I have heard just how stressful applying for graduate school can be, so I would hate to let the stress associated with that negatively impact my work, actions, or decisions. I plan to take the lessons I have learned not just this past year, but during all three of my past years at UC, and apply them to the challenges I will face in my final year. I am confident in myself, am grateful for the amazing opportunities and people UC has provided me with thus far, and cannot wait to see what my future holds.
Academically, my third year was unsurprisingly filled with more course content related to my major. Long gone were the days of easy A's and"gen-eds", for this year was my most academically challenging one yet. Though I loved most of the content and was thrilled to be learning information I would use in my future career, the toughest challenge I faced this year came in the form of one of my classes. Rightly described as "a graduate-level course taken at the undergraduate level" as well as a "weed-out" class, I found myself in danger of being one of those "weed-outs" in my major. After a failed midterm and some severe panic, I worked harder in this class than I have ever worked in my entire school lifetime. This incredibly difficult class forced me to prioritize my time better and figure out new and creative ways to learn material that I at first just couldn't grasp. I have always been studious and serious about my school work, but throw in 15 other credit hours, working 30 hours a week, and a group of friends who were all newly 21 years old and interested in seeing what that all had to offer, one difficult class can seem impossible. However, through my hard work, I was able to pull off the grade I needed in the class and feel better prepared when faced with more difficult classes in the future.
Though my most significant relationships remain the ones I share with my close friends, I felt that I was able to build up relationships with more people in my same major this year. Many Communication Sciences and Disorders based classes I was enrolled in this year required constant group work and participation with others in class. This facilitated the development and growth of relationships with people in my classes, whether they were studying the same major as me or not. These relationships, especially the ones with people in my same major and same future field of work have the potential to lead to great networking opportunities in the future. For now, however, making friends with those in my classes and having a wider group of people in my major that I can reach out to will make for a much more enjoyable upcoming senior year of classes.
As I prepare for the upcoming year, one filled with GREs, graduate school applications, and other life-changing decisions, I want to keep a cool head and a calm mind in order to best carryout my responsibilities. I have heard just how stressful applying for graduate school can be, so I would hate to let the stress associated with that negatively impact my work, actions, or decisions. I plan to take the lessons I have learned not just this past year, but during all three of my past years at UC, and apply them to the challenges I will face in my final year. I am confident in myself, am grateful for the amazing opportunities and people UC has provided me with thus far, and cannot wait to see what my future holds.