Brain Rules Overview/Midterm review

I have only read through the introduction of Brain Rules but so far from what I've read I think that it may actually not be a bad book. I think that it will be very interesting and that I will learn a lot from it. At the Career fair I learned not only about some new major opportunities but also about many other opportunities that I am very interested in participating in. The one I found most interesting was studying abroad. This is something that I really want to do. I am thinking about doing it spring semester of sophomore year. I have no idea where I would want to go but I received a lot of information on it and how to sign up at the career fair. I also received a lot of information about majoring in Biology. This is my major and so far I am very happy with it and I will probably stick with it, at least for now. At the fair I learned how to sign up for advising. This was probably the most useful information I got out of going to the fair just because I was so lost on how it worked. They were very helpful at the fair and it was definitely worth the time.

Campus Safety Presentation

So far my classes have been going pretty well. They are a little overwhelming but overall I like them all. My Biology class is definitely my hardest class. It wouldn't be that hard but my professor if Indian and it is very hard to understand him. All of my other classes are great. I am doing pretty well in all of them. The first week of exams was definitely the most I've ever had to study in my life but it all paid off in the end when I got my grades back. My favorite class is Chemistry for sure. I have always liked science because I am good at it. This may be one of my most demanding classes but I actually understand the work so it is not bad. I have not met with any of my professors outside of class yet other than Brent. I have met with a few of my TAs and that was a good experience. They really helped me understand the class material. I think I am going to take my Biology professor out to lunch soon. I chose my Biology teacher because that is my hardest class. Maybe if I talk to him about what I am struggling with he will be able to help me and I can do better in the class.

Service-Learning site visits

After visiting Hand Middle School I am so excited to meet my mentee. This whole experience is going to be very rewarding and I can't wait to start. I am a little worried about how the mentoring is going to go. I have never done anything like this before so it is going to be a new experience for me and I'm just a little nervous that I wont do something right. If I ever have any questions about what to do I'm sure that I can just ask for help. I also think that if I read my mentoring handbook before I go every time I will be fine. I hope to gain a sense of accomplishment and maybe even learn something through this experience. I have always loved kids so I know that this experience is going to be very rewarding for both the mentee and me. I would have loved to have a college kid come in and talk to me every week when I was in middle school and I'm sure that these kids are just as excited for this experience as I am. This will be something that both me and the mentee will look forward to every week. I hope that I get a little boy for my mentee because I think that I will be able to relate to a boy more than a girl. I can't wait for next week!

Patrick Hickey-Presentation

My experience as a Capstone scholar has been good. I haven't really done many things yet with Capstone but I hope to do more in the future. I don't live in Capstone so it is hard to hear about all of the events and when I do hear about them its about a twenty minute walk up from Bates. I know that Capstone is full of opportunities and it can open up many doors. After hearing Doctor Hickey speak about all of the opportunities available through Capstone I really hope to take full advantage of them. Capstone is definitely not what I expected it to be like. It is a lot less focused on academics and a lot more focused on involvement around campus and in the community than I thought it would be. It is also a lot less work than I thought it would be. All of the Capstone events are meant to benefit you and are actually pretty fun. I am very glad that I decided to join Capstone.

Time Management, Goal Setting, Personal Challenge

I set three goals for this semester; I want to go to Strom more often, achieve a 3.75+ GPA, and meet new people. I think that going to Strom will be my easiest goal especially if I can find someone to go with. Having a 3.75+ GPA will definitely be hard but I don't think that it is an unreachable goal. If I stay focused I can definitely achieve it. Meeting new people will be my hardest goal for sure. I am a shy person so it is hard for me to meet new people. I am not quite sure yet what my personal challenge will be but I'm thinking about making it to go climbing. I have always really wanted to go and I even have some climbing stuff, I just have never gone. I think it would be really fun and its something that I would love to get into. The challenging part for me will be getting in good enough shape to be able to be a good climber. I will accomplish this goal by hopefully finding someone to go with and just taking it one step at a time. I can start out on the climbing wall and go from there.

Academic Success

I feel that my LASSI scores were way off. The lowest scores were definitely my weakest points but according to LASSI I was in the lower percentile in everything. I don't think that this is an accurate test and it really didn't really help me much. The two that I disagree with most are my time management and attitude. I think that I have a good attitude about school and am very interested in it. The only one that I really do agree with is selecting main ideas. This was my lowest score on the test and I believe that this is accurate. I don't really have any strengths according to LASSI so I don't know how I would use them in my everyday life. I plan to start using lists to help me stay organized and help me do better time management. I think I will be fine if I just keep focused.

Service Learning

I have a good amount of past experience with service. All of my junior year and senior year of high school I would volunteer at our local hospital every week. I would work at the front desk and in the ICU. This experience was amazing and I learned so much. Doing this just reinforced my want to be a doctor. I have also done other events around the community. One of my most memorable service experience was when I spent the night at the Samaritan Inn. The Samaritan Inn is where the homeless people go to eat and sleep. At first I was just going because one of my friends had to go for court ordered community service and I was just going to go along with him but the experience ended up being really fun and unforgettable. It felt really good to help out these people that were less fortunate than me. I have had one course where we had to do service in order to pass. It was my 9th grade life skills class and we were required to do service around the school. If I could provide service anywhere it would definitely be at a hospital. I enjoy the learning experience I get whenever I'm there. It is a benefit for both me and the hospital.

Labor Day Weekend

My plans over labor day weekend didn't consist of much. I went back home to Winston Salem and got to see my family and friends. The best part of the weekend was definitely getting to see my girl friend Becca! Friday night when I got home I ate dinner with my family and then went to my high school's football game. The game was really good and I got to see a lot of my friends. After the game I went over to my friends house for a party. The party was really good because I got to see all of my friends that I hadn't seen in three weeks. It was nice to get to catch up with all of them. Saturday night Becca and I went to see Corey Smith in concert at Wake Forest. The concert was amazing and it was really nice to get to spend time with Becca. Sunday was definitely my favorite day of the weekend. I went up to the mountains and went hiking. I love hiking its one of my favorite things to do and I haven't been able to do it in so long because I've been stuck in Columbia without a car. It was so nice to just go up there and be able to get away from everything, especially school. Sunday night, once I got back from the mountains I went to a cookout and said bye to all of my friends. That is pretty much all I did over Labor Day weekend. The best part of going home was definitely getting real food and sleeping in a real bed.

Student Organization Fair

When I got to the fair it felt like it was a hundred degrees outside and there were people everywhere. My goal was to get in and get out as fast as possible. It was just way to crowded. I ended up actually finding a lot of clubs and organizations that I was interested in. My favorite was definitely the white water rafting and mountaineering club. I love backpacking, rafting, caving, and everything outdoors. I also would like to join some student ministry. I have never been involved in anything like this but I would love to start. If I could start any club it would be a fishing club. I'm sure that there is already some sort of fishing club but I couldn't find one at the student fair. I love fishing! I'm not very good but I could fish all day. In the end I really did enjoy going to the Student Organization Fair I just wish it hadn't been so hot outside.