Personal Narrative: My Goals In College

The routines are incorporated by the consistency of reading every morning. Mirabella and her classmates will be expected to enter the classroom and begin reading. Every Friday afternoon, each student will be provided with the opportunity to access a book of their choice. The books are based on multiple topics, which will allow for more diversity within the reading materials. Some week’s books will be chosen from the classroom library, brought from home, or from a visit to the school’s Media Center.

Journal - Day 1 So far the experience is going very well. I met my cooperating teacher and we talked about different stuff on what and what not to do. During some free time I was memorizing students’ names and where they were sitting out. My cooperating teacher has a clipboard with pictures of the students faces from last years school book and where they are sitting at on sheets of paper. We also exchanged phone numbers and reporting time is at 7:20 and dismissal is anywhere from 2 - 4:20.

These past few months have been interesting. I procrastinated (more than I should have), written a few papers, but I have also learned a lot about writing. Walking into this I had some writing experience but not nearly as much as I should of had. I knew how to summarize, cite, and work in groups but this class gave me the opportunity to fine tune those skills and learn new skills. College should not be taken lightly and The first new skill I learned was how to write a college level paper.

I enjoyed the books that we read now and when I was younger so I feel they will be great to share with my students some day. To extend my learning, I plan on broadening my sources and my mind to new things. I have the book websites that we were given for this course saved on my computer for use later on in classes and when I become a teacher. To refine my learning, I plan to focus on the information that will better my knowledge rather than the unimportant information. I will narrow it down to the information from my teachers now rather than looking for it on the internet.

Once in a while I will use email for school to contact my teachers when I have a question. As for outside the academic world, I spend my time writing to-do lists and communicating by social media including: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Unfortunately, I tend to forgot tasks throughout my day, and writing them down on a piece of paper or on my phone helps me remember. For instance, homework assignments, studying, groceries, or chores. It is daily writing necessity that I can’t be organized without.

-- Seek help at the Writing Center and/or feedbacks from students/professors/advisers. -- Read over other classmate’s papers and observe their writing styles. In order to measure my progress, I will keep a folder specifically for my Communications Skills course. For each writing assignment, I will keep a journal to remind myself of the goals that I have outlined above and mentally check them off before I submit my writing assignment. My second improvement would be the ability to speak in front of the large group of people, as stated in my Intro Letter, Although, I have overcome this problem over the years; I still feel some anxiety once giving a speech to my fellow classmates in the new college environment.

Working as a TA was an amazing experience because I was not only able to share my passion for computer science within the WIT community, but was also able to solidify my own knowledge of the subject. During my first few weeks on campus Dr. Wu introduced me to several of his colleagues within the department, Dr. Jones Yu and Dr. Mira Yun. When meeting with both of them I was able to express my passion for computer science and also my determined mindset to work towards a Ph.D. in computer science after obtaining a B.S. and M.S in CS and a MASt in Applied Mathematics. When I expressed these interests they both decided that teaching me to think and work as a graduate student would be beneficial to my future goals.

Also, leadership development in others as well as myself became a topic of importance during my undergraduate career. I found that learning about Student Affairs became more interesting than Psychology (my major) and many of the other subjects I studied. All of my employment during my higher education career fell under Student Affairs and I felt comfortable with that. Before transferring to a four-year institution, I did not know much about Student Affairs , or that I could have a career in it. Many of my mentors and supervisors also tole m that I needed to pursue this field.

Prior to attending college, I had prepared and worked hard for my position at Converse. I studied, took AP courses, applied for scholarships, etc. When attending Converse, I underwent changes in my schedule, living (residential), etc. Such changes were easy-going and more relaxed compared to high school, but the pressure of success increased. Aspects such as time management became crucial.

Over winter break I gathered online materials and studied on my own, when I came back in the spring I regularly met with my peers to study, frequented office hours and continued to study online. Spring semester