As a very indecisive person, I found that I was tasked with many big decisions during my freshman year of college. For my 2017-2018 year in review, I decided to provide a list of the three major questions I had to ask myself as a first-year student at the University of Cincinnati.
1. Do I stay within my comfort zone or do I take a risk?
During the last weeks of the summer before my freshman year of college, I was in the midst of a personal and life changing decision. For most of my life, I knew that I wanted to join the Bearcat bloodline which consisted of family members of three generations. However, I was unsure of what I wanted to study. As the granddaughter, daughter, sister, and cousin to business majors, I decided to follow the family tradition and apply to be a business major. For the weeks leading up to the start of the school year, however, I was growing more unsure about my decision to study business in college. It was at this point that I started to think of alternate routes for my life. I reflected upon past experiences to help me understand my passions and possibly discover another career to pursue. During this reflection, I continually returned to the years I spent caring for my aging grandmother. My family members and I assisted my grandmother in performing the daily routine that she struggled to undergo by herself. In taking care of my best friend, I was challenged mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Being able to feel challenged was something that I sought in a career path. Additionally, when reflecting on this experience, I felt that I was the most fulfilled version of myself. I realized that the more time I spent taking care of my grandmother, the more I learned about her and the tighter bond we formed. The years I spent being one of grandmother’s caretakers allowed me to come to the conclusion that I needed to switch my major to something that would challenge me academically while also providing me the opportunity to build personal relationships. For these reasons, I decided to change my major to nursing.
Sounding much simpler than it was, I took a leap of faith and left my business honors program to become an Exploratory Studies student on a Pre-Nursing track just days before school started. While I am not a person who likes to take risks, I had a strong feeling that I needed to step outside of my comfort zone or I would always wonder “what if?” My family was very supportive of my decision and my advisors were extremely helpful in guiding me along my academic journey!
2. What is one way in which I can get involved on campus?
During the fall of my freshman year, I decided to go through sorority recruitment. After two long weekends of learning the recruitment lingo and waiting to receive the infamous "bid" to officially become a new member, I decided to join Kappa Alpha Theta. By joining Theta, I was elected to Nomination Committee, I helped plan Scholarship Week as a member of Scholarship Committee, and I chaired the Grilled Cheese Sale which benefited Theta’s philanthropy, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).
3. What are my plans for sophomore year?
On Monday, May 21, 2018, I was notified that I was officially accepted into the Bachelor of Science (BSN) in Nursing program at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Nursing. I am eager to begin my academic career as a nursing student and to begin the clinical portion of the BSN program. I also love that I am able to share this college experience with my older sister, Betsy, who is in law school at UC and my older brother, Scottie, who is a senior Medical Sciences major. My goals for the upcoming year are to become more involved on campus, to strengthen my passion for serving others, and to engage in multiple honors experiences! Next stop: East Campus!
1. Do I stay within my comfort zone or do I take a risk?
During the last weeks of the summer before my freshman year of college, I was in the midst of a personal and life changing decision. For most of my life, I knew that I wanted to join the Bearcat bloodline which consisted of family members of three generations. However, I was unsure of what I wanted to study. As the granddaughter, daughter, sister, and cousin to business majors, I decided to follow the family tradition and apply to be a business major. For the weeks leading up to the start of the school year, however, I was growing more unsure about my decision to study business in college. It was at this point that I started to think of alternate routes for my life. I reflected upon past experiences to help me understand my passions and possibly discover another career to pursue. During this reflection, I continually returned to the years I spent caring for my aging grandmother. My family members and I assisted my grandmother in performing the daily routine that she struggled to undergo by herself. In taking care of my best friend, I was challenged mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Being able to feel challenged was something that I sought in a career path. Additionally, when reflecting on this experience, I felt that I was the most fulfilled version of myself. I realized that the more time I spent taking care of my grandmother, the more I learned about her and the tighter bond we formed. The years I spent being one of grandmother’s caretakers allowed me to come to the conclusion that I needed to switch my major to something that would challenge me academically while also providing me the opportunity to build personal relationships. For these reasons, I decided to change my major to nursing.
Sounding much simpler than it was, I took a leap of faith and left my business honors program to become an Exploratory Studies student on a Pre-Nursing track just days before school started. While I am not a person who likes to take risks, I had a strong feeling that I needed to step outside of my comfort zone or I would always wonder “what if?” My family was very supportive of my decision and my advisors were extremely helpful in guiding me along my academic journey!
2. What is one way in which I can get involved on campus?
During the fall of my freshman year, I decided to go through sorority recruitment. After two long weekends of learning the recruitment lingo and waiting to receive the infamous "bid" to officially become a new member, I decided to join Kappa Alpha Theta. By joining Theta, I was elected to Nomination Committee, I helped plan Scholarship Week as a member of Scholarship Committee, and I chaired the Grilled Cheese Sale which benefited Theta’s philanthropy, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).
3. What are my plans for sophomore year?
On Monday, May 21, 2018, I was notified that I was officially accepted into the Bachelor of Science (BSN) in Nursing program at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Nursing. I am eager to begin my academic career as a nursing student and to begin the clinical portion of the BSN program. I also love that I am able to share this college experience with my older sister, Betsy, who is in law school at UC and my older brother, Scottie, who is a senior Medical Sciences major. My goals for the upcoming year are to become more involved on campus, to strengthen my passion for serving others, and to engage in multiple honors experiences! Next stop: East Campus!