Freshman Year in Review 2012-2013.
Reflecting on my first year as a college student at the University of Cincinnati, I realize that I have experienced countless changes and experiences. Although some of these experiences were challenging and stressful and others were exciting, they have all served to prepare me for my upcoming sophomore year.
Some of the most significant experiences that have occurred during my first year are the following: joining Kappa Delta sorority, attending the UC Career Fair, and surviving exam week. Upon coming to college, I knew that I wanted to sign up for the formal sorority rush process. My older sister – who will be entering her fifth year in Chemical Engineering this fall – went through rush during her sophomore year and joined Kappa Delta sorority. Although I didn’t know much about Greek Life in general, I knew that my sister loved being a Kappa Delta and I knew that I wanted to at least participate in rush to see if Greek Life was for me. As soon as I went to the Kappa Delta house, I knew that that is where I belong. I met great girls who share my values and beliefs. By gaining so many new friends through Kappa Delta, I also gained a real sense of belonging within the university. I gained a home away from home that made me feel less alone and homesick at such a big university. In addition to providing me with over a hundred sisters, Kappa Delta has provided me with two of the opportunities I loved most about high school – leadership positions and philanthropic involvement. Through serving as the Vice President of Community Service and working closely with our two national philanthropies – Prevent Child Abuse America and Girl Scouts – I have been able to give back to the community and make a difference in the lives of children. Being able to do this truly empowers me as an individual and makes me realize how much I can do for others.
Because my major, Mechanical Engineering, is a five-year co-op program, I attended the UC Career Fair in the beginning of the spring semester to meet representatives from companies and to search for a co-op position for the upcoming school year. From the Career Fair, I was able to schedule three interviews which led to three job offers. I ended up accepting a job offer from Marathon Petroleum Corporation in their Transportation and Logistics Division. My responsibilities in this role will be more related to program management and less to the specific technical skills of engineering. As this is the direction I intend to take in my future career, I am extremely excited to work in this position during the upcoming fall semester. Simply attending the Career Fair and participating in several interviews as given me some real insight into the professional world. This professional experience will be extremely beneficial as I progress in my co-op rotations during college and as I eventually enter the working world.
Although I maintained a rigorous academic schedule throughout high school, I was still unsure what to expect during my first collegiate exam week. Studying so much challenging material for so many classes was definitely a daunting and stressful experience. However, the strong study habits I had developed during high school – such as planning ahead, keeping neat and detailed notes, and seeing teachers for extra help – served me well. I felt prepared for my exams without having to spend countless hours cramming during exam week. Doing well in my classes during both the fall and spring semesters has solidified my self-confidence in my academic abilities. Because the classes I took during my senior year of high school were less demanding than the classes I took during my junior year, I had been a little nervous about entering college and taking a full schedule of challenging classes. However, I now realize that, as long as I keep up my study habits, I will do just fine during college.
As I prepare to start my second year, I am able to reflect back on my first year and learn from my experiences. Because I will be working for Marathon during the fall semester, I will be living in Findlay, Ohio. In order to have a successful co-op experience, I will need to apply what I have learned this year to my job. I will be able to apply technical skills and knowledge from courses such as calculus, chemistry and physics. I will also be able to apply what I learned in my Intro to Co-Op class. In this course, I learned about various topics, including proper professional attire and behavior. I learned how to handle workplace challenges and how to communicate with others in an appropriate and professional manner. This summer I am working as an intern at a local insurance company. I have been working on various efficiency projects, writing Excel macros to automate and improve existing processes. I may be able to apply the Excel skills I have developed this summer to my work in the fall.
Reflecting on my first year at UC has given me the opportunity to formulate several pieces of advice for myself for the upcoming year. Successfully completing my first year in college has made me realize that I have what it takes to succeed in college. One of the most important pieces of advice I would like to give to myself is to relax and to not let trivial matters stress me out. Because I tend to be a perfectionist with regard to my academics, I spent a great deal of my time this year studying and completing assignments. While I want to maintain a high GPA in the upcoming year, I also want to enjoy myself more and spend more time with my friends. I understand now that failing to take a break to have fun every once in a while will cause me to become overwhelmed and will prevent me from having a good college experience. In addition to simply spending more time with my friends, I also want to take the time to participate in more Kappa Delta activities. This year I missed out on several sisterhood events because I felt like I should be spending my time studying instead of socializing. I realize that I need to participate in these sisterhoods in order to give myself a break from my schoolwork and to develop stronger relationships with my Kappa Delta sisters.
As I look forward to my remaining years at UC, I know that I want to take advantage of every opportunity available in order to have the best collegiate experience possible. I hope to participate in more campus organizations and events. Outside of Kappa Delta, I participated in three campus organizations during my first year. However, because two of these organizations were specifically for first year students, I will now need to branch out and find new organizations that interest me. Participating in extracurricular organizations is a great way to meet new people who share common interests and to give back to the UC community. During my sophomore year, I will begin to take more classes that are specifically for Mechanical Engineering students. This means that most of my classmates will be fellow Mechanical Engineers. Because I will be taking classes with the same group of students for the next four years, I hope to get to know these peers. Becoming friends with people in my major will lead to a more enjoyable academic experience because I will look forward to attending classes and seeing my friends. Also, this will enable me to form study groups with my friends in my major. In order to take advantage of opportunities available through the University Honors Program, I intend to talk to my friends who are in the honors program, specifically upperclassmen. By doing so, I will be able to learn about honors experiences and seminars in which I may be interested.
Some of the most significant experiences that have occurred during my first year are the following: joining Kappa Delta sorority, attending the UC Career Fair, and surviving exam week. Upon coming to college, I knew that I wanted to sign up for the formal sorority rush process. My older sister – who will be entering her fifth year in Chemical Engineering this fall – went through rush during her sophomore year and joined Kappa Delta sorority. Although I didn’t know much about Greek Life in general, I knew that my sister loved being a Kappa Delta and I knew that I wanted to at least participate in rush to see if Greek Life was for me. As soon as I went to the Kappa Delta house, I knew that that is where I belong. I met great girls who share my values and beliefs. By gaining so many new friends through Kappa Delta, I also gained a real sense of belonging within the university. I gained a home away from home that made me feel less alone and homesick at such a big university. In addition to providing me with over a hundred sisters, Kappa Delta has provided me with two of the opportunities I loved most about high school – leadership positions and philanthropic involvement. Through serving as the Vice President of Community Service and working closely with our two national philanthropies – Prevent Child Abuse America and Girl Scouts – I have been able to give back to the community and make a difference in the lives of children. Being able to do this truly empowers me as an individual and makes me realize how much I can do for others.
Because my major, Mechanical Engineering, is a five-year co-op program, I attended the UC Career Fair in the beginning of the spring semester to meet representatives from companies and to search for a co-op position for the upcoming school year. From the Career Fair, I was able to schedule three interviews which led to three job offers. I ended up accepting a job offer from Marathon Petroleum Corporation in their Transportation and Logistics Division. My responsibilities in this role will be more related to program management and less to the specific technical skills of engineering. As this is the direction I intend to take in my future career, I am extremely excited to work in this position during the upcoming fall semester. Simply attending the Career Fair and participating in several interviews as given me some real insight into the professional world. This professional experience will be extremely beneficial as I progress in my co-op rotations during college and as I eventually enter the working world.
Although I maintained a rigorous academic schedule throughout high school, I was still unsure what to expect during my first collegiate exam week. Studying so much challenging material for so many classes was definitely a daunting and stressful experience. However, the strong study habits I had developed during high school – such as planning ahead, keeping neat and detailed notes, and seeing teachers for extra help – served me well. I felt prepared for my exams without having to spend countless hours cramming during exam week. Doing well in my classes during both the fall and spring semesters has solidified my self-confidence in my academic abilities. Because the classes I took during my senior year of high school were less demanding than the classes I took during my junior year, I had been a little nervous about entering college and taking a full schedule of challenging classes. However, I now realize that, as long as I keep up my study habits, I will do just fine during college.
As I prepare to start my second year, I am able to reflect back on my first year and learn from my experiences. Because I will be working for Marathon during the fall semester, I will be living in Findlay, Ohio. In order to have a successful co-op experience, I will need to apply what I have learned this year to my job. I will be able to apply technical skills and knowledge from courses such as calculus, chemistry and physics. I will also be able to apply what I learned in my Intro to Co-Op class. In this course, I learned about various topics, including proper professional attire and behavior. I learned how to handle workplace challenges and how to communicate with others in an appropriate and professional manner. This summer I am working as an intern at a local insurance company. I have been working on various efficiency projects, writing Excel macros to automate and improve existing processes. I may be able to apply the Excel skills I have developed this summer to my work in the fall.
Reflecting on my first year at UC has given me the opportunity to formulate several pieces of advice for myself for the upcoming year. Successfully completing my first year in college has made me realize that I have what it takes to succeed in college. One of the most important pieces of advice I would like to give to myself is to relax and to not let trivial matters stress me out. Because I tend to be a perfectionist with regard to my academics, I spent a great deal of my time this year studying and completing assignments. While I want to maintain a high GPA in the upcoming year, I also want to enjoy myself more and spend more time with my friends. I understand now that failing to take a break to have fun every once in a while will cause me to become overwhelmed and will prevent me from having a good college experience. In addition to simply spending more time with my friends, I also want to take the time to participate in more Kappa Delta activities. This year I missed out on several sisterhood events because I felt like I should be spending my time studying instead of socializing. I realize that I need to participate in these sisterhoods in order to give myself a break from my schoolwork and to develop stronger relationships with my Kappa Delta sisters.
As I look forward to my remaining years at UC, I know that I want to take advantage of every opportunity available in order to have the best collegiate experience possible. I hope to participate in more campus organizations and events. Outside of Kappa Delta, I participated in three campus organizations during my first year. However, because two of these organizations were specifically for first year students, I will now need to branch out and find new organizations that interest me. Participating in extracurricular organizations is a great way to meet new people who share common interests and to give back to the UC community. During my sophomore year, I will begin to take more classes that are specifically for Mechanical Engineering students. This means that most of my classmates will be fellow Mechanical Engineers. Because I will be taking classes with the same group of students for the next four years, I hope to get to know these peers. Becoming friends with people in my major will lead to a more enjoyable academic experience because I will look forward to attending classes and seeing my friends. Also, this will enable me to form study groups with my friends in my major. In order to take advantage of opportunities available through the University Honors Program, I intend to talk to my friends who are in the honors program, specifically upperclassmen. By doing so, I will be able to learn about honors experiences and seminars in which I may be interested.