After finishing my junior year and realizing that I will have graduated college in a year, it seems like now more than ever that time is flying by so quickly. As usual, I’m thankful for the Honors Program allowing me to briefly stop time and reflect upon my past year. Like my previous two Year in Reviews, the format will be a sort of mock interview with myself that will guide my reflection.
What is one thing you would change about this year? Why? One thing I would change about this year would be that I wish I made more time to hang out with friends. I usually saw my good friends once a week or so, but I wish I spent even more time with them. It will be hard once we graduate and potentially move away from each other to still stay in contact. I want to focus on strengthening and deepening my relationships with friends so they last after graduation.
What significant relationships or connections have you developed this year? How have those relationships impacted your experience? This year I've developed more connections and relationships than I could have anticipated. In contrast to my previous collegiate years, I feel like I've made genuine connections with my professors. My class sizes were relatively small, and I was able to talk one-on-one with my professors which I hadn't been able to do before. In addition to connecting more strongly with my professors, I feel that my relationships with my co-workers and other students at Cincinnati Children's have also gotten stronger. I've not only spent more time with them, but I feel that I have made more effort to get to know the people I see in the office each time I'm there. I really appreciate having so many mentors to look up to and go for advice, especially since they are physical therapists (which I hope to be some day!) I've also gained more connections from being an SI Leader. Since the SI program has its own office space, it is easy to make friends with other SI Leaders. It's refreshing to talk with people who aren't necessarily in my major or the same year as me. I also have made relationships with the students in the class that I SI for and with the students that came to my sessions. Helping these people almost everyday of the week was a rewarding experience, These relationships have impacted my experience in undergrad because I have learned so much from the people that I've made connections with. Everyone has wisdom, advice, and knowledge to share and I feel that I have learned a lot simply from being friends with them.
How will you use your gifts and talents to give back to the community and society? Senior year, I will continue to work as a Supplemental Instructor (SI) Leader for Anatomy & Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology II. My main goal is to help students in the course to succeed, while at the same time teaching them study skills and techniques they can carry with them to future courses. I will also continue to volunteer with Cincinnati Children's Wellness programs, including the running and biking programs. These programs allow kids with disabilities to participate in group activities in which they can be physically active and social. I've volunteered with these programs in the past and look forward to volunteering with them in the future.
What is at least one goal that you have set for yourself for the upcoming year? Some of my goals that I have set myself for the upcoming year (in no particular order) are as follows:
Get accepted to and enroll in the best DPT program for me and my goals
Learn as much as possible in my classes so I can bring that knowledge with me to grad school
Prioritize my physical and mental health (eat in the healthiest and most nourishing way possible, get a good amount of sleep each night, exercise daily and in a pain-free manner, take time for myself to be alone, be kind to myself)
Complete my first marathon by running the Flying Pig
Continue to develop friendships and lasting connections with those I interact with day to day
HAVE FUN and ENJOY my last year as an undergraduate!!!!!
What piece of advice would you like to give yourself as you prepare for the upcoming year, be that academically, personally, or both? Instead of copying and pasting a quote that I like, I want to share a picture a friend recently showed me that I want to keep in mind for the next year: