Course Reflection

Being in a college course for the past 5 weeks has definitely been a positive experience. I have been taking Intro. To Native American studies and it’s been challenging but fun. Throughout the course I’ve notices a lot of differences between college and high school courses. The biggest difference I’ve notices is that teachers don’t remind or keep onto of what you do. You’re accountable for yourself and your homework. The first day I received my syllabus with my test dates, reading assignments and due days. After that I was the one accountable. Our professor would mention tests and different activities coming up but I was never once told to do my reading. I had been given the syllabus and was expected to keep on top of it myself. This was a lot different than a high school class and required me to take on more responsibility. Through the entire course the thing I enjoyed the most about my class were our “clan” debates. All of the students were split into clans or groups of four and assigned a certain topic, side and date to debate. After the two clans debated the discussion was opened to the class. This really helped me think critically about the issues brought up during lectures and understand the complexity of the topics. While these debates were my favorite part of the class my clan’s debate was the biggest challenge of the class. I had to work and interact with college, students which was intimidating, especially during the debate in front of the class. Overall my course was a positive experience. I was able to learn a lot and excel in a college environment. My professor was always helped and willing to work with me and the other students and I was able to build confidence in my future success. The class and summer scholars program as a whole are things that I would recommend to many students. They were a great opportunity to grow and learn!

Job Shadow

My job shadowing experience was not anything like what I was expecting. I had expressed interest in Pharmacy and wasn’t quite sure what I would be doing during the shadow. I ended up in a conference room at UNMC. I had expected to maybe meet with some one in the medical field or my field of interest. Instead a group of other summer scholars and I meet with a member of UNMC’s multicultural department. He passed out a lot of information on the college and different careers within the medical field. It wasn’t what I had been expecting and some of it was boring and not very useful to be honest. But I did find one piece of information that was useful to me. I found a new career in the medical field that I would possibly be interested in, bio-medical science, pretty much being a bio-tech. The career involves studying patient samples such as blood ext. So the job shadow didn’t really end in a complete failure. It was want I had thought it would be but it still had its positive aspects.

Personal Statements

What are your achievements?
As a young adult I have tried to be a rounded individual who participates in many aspects of high school life. I’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy into my studies and received the honor of being inducted into the Honors Society at my school. But my decent grades are not the only thing I’m proud I have achieved. I am also a very active volunteer and an important member of several clubs.
My education has always been very important to me. Unlike some students I have never been a natural at most subjects. Sure Literature classes come easy to me due to my love of reading but I have always been a student who had to dedicate a lot of time and energy to my classes. Math especially has been a subject that I have struggled in but I have learned to persevere through these problems. While I have often thought that it would be nice for me to take easier classes I have pushed myself to take harder courses and challenge myself. This mindset has shown me that you don’t have to me a natural genius to succeed in school, with perseverance and dedication you can achieve what you want. This is what my induction into Honors Society meant to me.
My sense of dedication is evident in other aspects of my life as well, especially my volunteer work. I have been an active volunteer since my freshman year. Originally volunteering was simply a graduation requirement; my school requires 80 hours to receive a diploma. Since then I have dedicated close to 250 hours to various causes. My greatest accomplishment has been my participation in the volunteer program at Immanuel hospital where I have volunteered three hours a week since freshman year. I have also given my time to the Omaha public Libraries, Open Door Mission and several schools. I have taken a lot from these volunteer opportunities. They have taught me responsibility and the good feeling that comes with helping others.
In addition to my academic success and volunteer time I have also remained active in a number of school clubs. Since freshman year I have been an important member of my school’s Spanish club as well as our Novel society. I have also been involved in more recreational clubs such as Westside Warrior Wellness and our Harry Potter club. These clubs have shown me teamwork and group planning and through my position as treasurer of the Spanish club, money management.
All of these accomplishments have taught me important traits and skills that will help me throughout my life.
What issues matter to you?

Who has been an influence on you?
When writing about who has influenced them many students choose to write about someone famous like Hilary Clinton or their own mother. Well I am going to tell you about a mother, just not my own. I first met Ms. Shelagh Smith in kinder-garden at my school, Edison Elementary. Ms. Shelagh was the mother of my best friend growing up and she was always there for me and seemed to have adopted our entire class throughout elementary school her house was open to anyone and she never missed an opertunity to bring treats into school or organize a class party. Looking at her today she is still the same woman, mother to all. She’s involved with the swim team as well as the basketball team and present at every school function that has a concession stand. To look at her you would never know that she went through an extreme medical crisis during my 5th grade year. In the middle of the school year she suffered a stroke during an operation to remove several gallbladder stones. She went through months of painful physical therapy and still suffers side effect including night vision and a bad sense of balance but through it she taught me important traits. Through her stroke my friend’s mom showed me what it means to be strong and push through difficult times. Through her personality she showed me how to be a selfless person who puts others before themselves. Through out her ordeal and hardship she was always there for her daughter or anyone who needed support. Ms. Shelagh influenced me to be a better person who understands the importance of family and friends.
Why do you want to attend our college?
Creighton University. Creighton has been on my list of possible colleges since freshman year when I first started looking at schools. When looking at colleges I have always had several criteria that I use. First the school needs to be close to Omaha. I would love to attend a college within a four hour drive of Omaha to stay close to my support network of friends and family. I want the experience of living on my own but I need the security of knowing I can pick-up the phone in an emergency and someone will be there. With Creighton being located in downtown it’s the perfect location. The school’s size is also important to me. I don’t want to be at a school where I can will be lost in a sea of students but I want to be at a university large enough to offer services and courses I want.

week 1

My first week of summer scholars was a wonderful time. I loved being in the dorms and making new friends with the other scholars. I can be a quite person at times and it was a great opportunity for me. All the activities kept me pretty busy on top of studying. I think it was a good simulation of a real college life with some many things needing attention. The obstacle courses out at camp were a good addition in my opinion. I was pretty scared on Sunday on the individual course but the group challenge course was awesome. Being in a group really helped me make it through the difficult areas and strengthened relationships with in the summer scholars. My course, Intro. To Native American Studies, was a bit intimidating before the first class but turned out to be awesome as well. The professor seems to be really nice and the class is quite interesting. I was worried that being in a college course would be difficult to handle but it actually seems quite manageable, despite all the reading. I think simply being in a college setting has been a major source of motivation for me. This isn’t a high school class, even though I’ve taken AP classes, it’s different. Like stepping out into the real world. I know that sounds cheesy! The hardest part of the whole first week was the fact that I was away from my family the entire time. It really showed me how important my family is and I even missed my sister. Overall I think the first week of the Summer Scholars program was a positive experience. It showed me that I can handle a college class and make new friends.