Monthly Archives: February 2022

Zion Culbreath

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Name:Zion Culbreath

Course:English 1102

Teacher: Professor Weaver

Date: 2/24/22

Academic Self Interview

A significant part of the class might have been disappointed to learn that we would get partners at random. However, on my part, I can actually say that I am glad because I believe I made a friend. My Partner’s name is Vincent. He has been here in GSU for the past one and a half years and is excited to have joined this school. When asked to describe himself, he narrowed his answer down to three simple terms; self-motivated, positive thinker, and ambitious.

 He is self-motivated because when he wakes up in the morning, he gets out of bed knowing that he is doing that for his good. He might have gotten a nudge or two when he was younger, but right now, he is aware of where he wants to be and he is pushing himself towards the same. He is a positive thinker because no matter the situation, he always chooses to be optimistic. He brings hope where there is strife, and with that, he believes that he is on his way to success, even though he does not know what tomorrow brings. Finally, he is ambitious and will not let anything put him down; he will constantly push to achieve what he believes.

In high school, he was not the best student. His grades were not that high. At the back of his mind he knew he was not dumb. He knew most of the things that were taught in class, which made him not pay attention. Being a non-performer did not bother him because he knew he had the potential and academic confidence (Sander 5567). He just did not feel the need to push himself to study harder if he was conversant with most of the materials. However, his ambition became apparent when he got the chance to go to college. He realized that he had to push himself to succeed.

My partner’s greatest influence towards pursuing an education was his family. He is the first generation in his family to go to college. His grandparents continually urge him and his cousins to get a good education because they never got that chance. Plus, as an immigrant, he feels that he does not have much of a choice but to make his family proud. Even though he is an immigrant, he has chosen to embrace his story and get motivation from it (Estoque 2). He made sure he learnt proper English to avoid language barriers. He also chose to define his success by his own terms, rather than compare himself to others. That way, he is his own greatest competition.

Amidst his journey to success, the Corona Virus struck and the mode of learning had to be slightly distorted. Online learning became the mode of learning. Not having to see friends was quite hard and lonely many a times (Ezarick 1). Studying remotely allowed him more time to do other activities such as work. However, the experience of being alone in a new country was not exactly the best. He did not let the situation put him down. He motivated himself to study and keep up with everyone else. He still wishes for the time that he will finally go to class like he used to because in as much as online learning gives him flexibility, he prefers physical learning. All in all, he remains bound to his path towards success by holding on to his three pillars; self-motivation, positive thinking, and ambition.

 

 

Works Cited

Estoque, Ronnie. “Student Voices: I’M One Of The First In My Family To Attend College. Here’S How I Got There.”. The Seattle Times, 2017, https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/student-voices-im-the-first-in-my-family-to-attend-college-heres-how-i-got-there/.

Ezarik, Melissa. “Student Experiences During COVID And Campus Reopening Concerns”. Insidehighered.Com, 2021, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/24/student-experiences-during-covid-and-campus-reopening-concerns.

Sander, Paul, and Jesús de la Fuente. “Undergraduate student gender, personality and academic confidence.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17.15 (2020): 5567.

Tyrell Academic Profile

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Tyrell Academic Profile 

By Colin Wright

Tyrell is a third-year student at Georgia State University. I got the pleasure of interviewing him to learn about his academic self and history. In the early portion of Tyrell’s life, he lived in Brooklyn with his family. He attended St. Marks Daycare as a young child. He then moved to P.S. 073 for elementary and middle school. This is where his academic career started off, and it started off strong. When he first started elementary school, his mother was very strict. He wasn’t allowed to watch children’s television shows, he was only allowed to watch jeopardy or animal planet periodically. In his free time, he read books. He studied and worked on homework every day. and he was a very competitive student, and wanted to pass his other classmates academically. He would be a step ahead of his other classmates by reading ahead in books they were reading in class. As he got older and he moved up in grades, the school material started to become more difficult, and the high confidence he had in previous years of school started to pull him back. He started to not study because he felt like the material was easy. This proved detrimental to his confidence in school since his grades started to go down. The school was then shut down which moved Tyrell to his next school, Brooklyn Collegiate school by College Board. Because of the difficulty of the school, he began to feel burned out because he had trusted his natural talent for learning too much without realizing there was still more for him to learn and do. This caused a major drop in his grades. Despite his hardships, he graduated high school. The day he graduated, his mother enrolled him in college classes to take over the summer. These classes were taking away from his summer. He didn’t want to take the classes but his mother told him he can either go to college or join the military, and that made college the only possible option for him. His family moved to Georgia where he planned on going to GSU in the city. However, due to the expenses of the city campus, he was advised to take his classes at a different campus and move into the city campus later. Fast forward three years later and he is still a GSU student and he enjoys it. During this English 1102 class, he has enjoyed the reading “Strong Writers and Writing Don’t Need Revision” by Laura Giovanelli. He understands the concept of writing more from it and feels more comfortable in his writing abilities knowing even the biggest writers don’t write something perfect by the first draft. Over this time he has found what academic self words fit him best, not just for college but for his whole academic career. He is studious because he is a good studier and he dedicates a lot of time to his education. With this studiousness comes anxiety about school, so he is also an anxious student. He’s very hardworking and has done a lot of work to get him to where he is today. However, after 3 years of college and 15 years of school total, he is exhausted. 

Tyrell’s passions include biology and cultures around the world. He is intrigued by how people live their lives compared to his way of living in America. Tyrell’s passion for foreign cultures has led him to have a minor in foreign language. Diving deeper into why he has decided on this minor, he learned it would give him an advantage in future jobs to be able to communicate with people of other languages and travel to different parts of the world. He got the idea to have a foreign language minor when he applied to get a job with GVI (Global Vision International) which is a community development organization that would require traveling to less fortunate places around the world and helping them. His uncle got him in with GVI, and he is following in his footsteps to get his foreign language minor so he is prepared and qualified for working at GVI as a plan for when he graduates. Tyrell has a STEM major in Biology. This major will bring him to his career goal of being a genetic engineer. He has always been interested in biology and plans on being a genetic engineer for the majority of his adult life. He also plans on using his foreign language minor to work in labs not only in the US but abroad. His bilingual talent will help propel him into having more reach and more knowledge about genetic engineering internationally. This career was inspired by his own interests in STEM and he is excited about what the future has in store for him. 

Above all, Tyrell is focused on his life now more so than the future. His goal is to finish up this semester with ease and with good grades. He also wants to find a new hobby since he strives to find something new to learn and do each year to keep his mind active. His past hobbies have included gardening, cooking, and baking. Next up, he might get into cocktail mixing. Anything that is interesting to him he will strive to do. He is a very respectable student and I am appreciative of the time I spent talking to him.

Academic for Cherysh

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Cherysh academic character is many things, besides many things that are not, and many things Cherysh wants them to be. Let’s start going back to preschool. Cherysh in my heart has never accepted anything below average AB. Things changed once she went to middle school and high school. Cherysh still received something below the average B in middle school, but some subjects demanded more attention than others. Subjects like math and science were always at A level or at least a high B average. The topics that required more attention were history and grammar. She was never interested in history; The subjects did not catch her eye as quickly as mathematics or science. The rules, in her opinion, would have understood the concept better if the material had not been divided recklessly. She felt that much of the material during her pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade years had been given to her in a hurry. Cherysh developed this mindset that Cherysh wanted her materials to be given to her in a quick way and expected to be able to keep and produce them again in the same way. Doing so, I believe helped with the habits she developed in the later years of her academic career. Although this process helped her, during high school and she was still able to manage her average AB, it became more difficult as she started taking AP classes and career path courses to improve herself when she was ready to enter college. Average AB faltered a little, but she still tingled when she saw her report cards. But she maintained a 3.6 GPA when she graduated from high school. Once she got into college, she wouldn’t have said it was a completely different ball game but an adjustment. An edit I’m not quite for. The first year, she successfully pierced the skin of her teeth, but once the second year passed, she was in a rabbit hole she couldn’t see her way out of. During her sophomore year, she also got a full-time job to help pay bills and help pay school fees. The second year of life was a slippery slope for her. All the while, Covid had just hit the shores of the United States, and now colleges were sending students home as Covid was hitting the campus floor. It all happened in 2020. Once her two universities sent an email that all students had to leave campus to be safe to return, she packed her bags and started online classes. As the year 2020 fades into 2021, she realizes she can improve herself academically if she stays at home. So, I decided to try online classes. And so, I moved to Georgia. It was probably one of the best decisions he could have made. In conclusion, her academic self is accustomed to learning at a fast pace from past experiences, but she has learned that for her to give her best, it will take time and she makes time to do so. Something I’ve Learned About Self When you get into the groove of searching, reading, choosing, or whatever task that requires it to do, she finds herself doing more than that. It’s almost like instinct. This lets her know that she has the strength to be the best; She just needs to take the time to do it, to be the best academic personality that she can be.

Issac Academic Profile

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 I got the opportunity to interview Isaac Johnson and discuss his academic profile. We had a facetime call where we discussed our interests, school history, struggles and our future. Isaac is a college student who is currently at GSU Clarkston, and his major is Filmi media. He chose this GSU campus to make his parents proud.

He previously attended Shiloh High School; he did orchestra and had a mix of bad and good teachers, depending on his relationship with them. He spends more time hanging with my friends instead of schoolwork. All his teachers encouraged him to do his best. He began to spend more time on his homework to improve his grades. He juggles both work and school and somehow manages to pull it off successfully. Three words that would describe Isaac’s academic self are Smart, Determined, and Lucky.

Like most students, Isaac also had his own struggles in his academic path. During the height of the pandemic and virtual learning, he was struggling in his classes. Almost every student who worked at worked is easily distracted by their surroundings and Isaac knew that the only way that he can improve his grades even more is if he went back to school in person. Going back to in person school helped him in the end, especially if your grades are on the line. He will surely have a bright future.

Right now he’s still working hard to achieve his goals. In conclusion, know matter what’s going on around you or what environment you are currently in, if you work hard you can accomplish anything.

Edward Parker Helms Academic Profile

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The subject of my “interview” is Edward Parker Helms (Ed Helms) who was born on January 24, 1974, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an actor who is most recognized for his comedy roles. He began his career as a stand-up comedian and writer after enrolling at Oberlin College in Ohio and going on to earn a B.A (Bachelor of Arts degree) in 1996 in film theory and technology. Furthermore, he also

started recording voice-over snippets, which inspired him to chase an acting career. The television programs ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘The Office,’ and the movie trilogy ‘The Hangover,’ are among his most well-known works.  

In his speech, he mentioned overcoming his obstacles and fears and learning how to analyze those fears gave him that amazing opportunity that he’d been searching for this whole time. “But to understand why fear is a good. One has to stop viewing fear as a feeling emotion or behavioral command and start looking at it simply as information.” (Helms) Ed used that fear to explore his curiosity even further. He described it almost as a “spirit guide” that had helped him move into the right path; this can also be applied to a student. Whether it be having that fear of failing a class or getting a bad grade on an exam, those fears should be a motivation to do better and try harder. “And just as before, fear actually helped me out. I had recordings of those stand-up sets and I was terrified to listen to them, but I did, and I heard the subtlest variations in my timing. I heard noise in the room that changed energy, I heard details and I made adjustments and I got better, much better and I never would have if I hadn’t bombed in the first place and if fear wasn’t there to point out exactly where I needed to focus.” (Helms) Looking at this from a student’s point of view, recognizing what went wrong in an exam or assignment and going back to that material is one way that students can better and strengthen their insight. 

He also talks about how the first time that he wasn’t successful in his comedy act, he was hard on himself; telling himself that he was a “failure” and he humiliated himself. This can be interpreted as a student; getting bad grades takes a toll on individuals and wonder if any of the time put into studying was even worth it. Those bad grades can drag students down badly and it’s difficult to boost it once again.  

Life is all about learning and adjusting. I’ve learnt that failing could lead to prosperity, and I’m going to strive to use my “failures” to better my skills and knowledge. Using Ed’s example, I hope that fear becomes a spirit guide for me and pushes me to success. I also like how Ed makes jokes throughout his speech, creating a lighter environment for the students and administrators. It made me feel comfortable and at ease. 

 

Work Cited 

Editors, TheFamousPeople.com, E., 2022. Who is Ed Helms? Everything You Need to Know. [online] Thefamouspeople.com. Available at: <https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ed-helms-29978.php> [Accessed 11 February 2022].  

Ed Helms Gives Knox 2013 Commencement Address. 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzfP1AxPx1w  Galesburg, Illinois: Knox College. 

Maria Academic Profile

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I got the opportunity to interview Maria Elias Sanchez and discuss her academic profile. We had a facetime call where we discussed our interests, school history, struggles and our future. Maria is a first-generation college student who is currently at GSU Clarkston. She previously attended the Alpharetta campus. She attended Central Gwinnett High School, did band as an elective and had a mix of bad and good teachers, depending on her relationship with them. During high school, she surrounded herself with a smart crowd. However, all teachers she had encouraged her to do her best. She is majoring in music to pursue a career in music therapy. Maria has a passion for music and helping others.

Three words that would describe Maria’s academic self are thorough, self-aware, and devoted. This stems from her busy schedule and heavy expectations from her family. She juggles work, school and hobbies and somehow manages to pull it off successfully. She will surely achieve her goals.

Like most students, Maria has had her own struggles in her academic path. She used to find herself burnt out lots of time with her busy schedule. During the height of the pandemic and virtual learning, she would skip lots of classes. There was also a lack of social interaction from being at home. She had a hard time pursuing her major due to an original lack of support from her family. This was a major stressor on her grades and motivation for school.

Going back to in person school helped matters on this end, as well as switching campuses. She enjoys the new environment and the teachers here. She is happily pursuing her goals and majors. In conclusion, by changing her environment to a more social scene, and moving to a larger campus have made a world of difference.

Introducing Armani Smith

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Hey guys, I’d like you to meet Armani Smith. Armani is 18 years of age and is a freshman, majoring in Health Administration at Georgia State. She is the first person in her family to attend college, making her a first-generation college student. While attending college, she also juggles a part-time job as a pharmacy technician. On the phone, we discussed the process of becoming a pharmacy tech and why that made her want to continue and strive for a degree in the health journey. She enjoys the environment and wants nothing more than to follow that pathway. 

Armani was born in Miami, Florida and attended school there K-8 and the rest here in Georgia. She has 3 siblings, 2 sisters and 1 brother. She attended Lithonia High school for the duration of all 4 years. She loves the Hip-Hop genre of music, one of her favorites being Lil Durk. During her spare time she loves to shop and watch television. She describes herself as a good student while in grade school and that she misses when life was a bit less stressful. Being a kid sounds more fun when you’ve actually grown up.

Armani is an outstanding student that truly has the desire to learn and go after what she wants. Although Armani has a need for it, she feels like the hardest thing for her is to find the perfect way to study. As we were communicating via phone and in-class, I’ve learned to find out that Armani hopes to finish her associates here at Clarkston and her Bachelors at the Atlanta Campus.

One word that describes Armani’s academic self would be motivated. She is very motivated about sticking to college and finishing her needed classes. She’s willing to put in the hard work to make her dreams and aspirations come true. Some noticeable difference from Armani’s High-school self and College self is that she studies. In High-school, Armani tended on not studying because frankly, she didn’t really need to. She felt as though she did well without it, but in College she shortly realized ignorer to do well, she’d have to break that pattern.

Handling both a job and school might be difficult for some people, but not Armani. She dedicated time for both regardless of the circumstance which is something most people can’t and won’t do. By doing both, she makes ends meet while also exceeding in school. 

In conclusion, although Armani has a lot to juggle, school will always be her main priority. She tries her best, and is determined to continue her Health Administration path. Her dedication and aspirations gives others an insight on what they can do to better themselves and their habits. Armani broke a cycle she’s been doing since High-School, showing that you can change things for the better and have good outcomes. That alone, makes her a top-tier student.

Matthew Francis Academic Self

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     Matthew is a well- respected gentlemen that attends Georgia State Perimeter college. He attended Druited high school where he earned his diploma. With no breaks in between Matthew came straight to college where he is now in his first spring semester. Deciding a major is in the works for Matthew. Out of all the colleges across the state Matthew choose Georgia State University due to the many opportunities it had to offer. One of his goals is to try to pick a major soon, but when the time is right, he hopes to be happy working part time for that major.  Being motivated, committed, and prepared better explains Matthew academic self. His grandmother passed a few years back, but she still gives him the courage to keep striving to succeed in school. Balancing between life and school his biggest weakness he has is making sure he stays on top of his time management. Some days manages to turn is his class work on time, then there are some days when he must rush and turn in work.  A way he is going to stay on top of his time management is plugging due dates into his calendar to get assignments done in enough time. Matthew made it a number one priority to try taking in all the information and material that he learns from class and understand it to the best of his knowledge. He became a B average student but due to statistics that is the only reason why he couldn’t reach A average. To keep in all the information from all his classes Matthew studies five times every week to prepare himself for an upcoming pop quiz. To keep his focus when he studies, he makes sure to keep the distractions away by going to a quiet room in the house. Taking a step outside of a college student is a young man that loves to swim. When he finds the time after school, he practices on his swimming skills. Matthew passion for swimming has been going on since the age of eight years old. He hopes to become better at swimming so he can join a competitive team someday. He also takes a passion into playing music which he is interested in making all types of genres. Matthew keeps a close small group of friends close by, but also keeps to himself to make sure he is on top of school. Through all the struggles of college Matthew pushes to be his best academic self to get through.

Cjays Academic self

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Fatoumata Diallo

February 10, 2022

Major project 1

English 1102

 

                                                              Cjay Thompson As A Student and Academic Self 

 

  Cjay Thompson class of 2023 graduated from Lithonia high school in 2020. Cjay decided to attend Georgia State University and is pursuing an associate degree in public health. He decided to attend one of Georgia states off campus/ perimeter campus. He chooses the Clarkston campus because not only was it affordable, but it was close to his parents. He is a full-time student, but he also works full time. He has found a way to manage school and work.

Over the years are academic self improves. We learn what learning styles are bad for use and the ones that are good. Cjay also learned his weakness over the course of his academic life. He learned his weakness and used that to improve as a student and as a person.  He found what made him a better student and understood his metacognition.

Cjay was asked to describe his academic self into three words and his response was, “I am a very aware, ethical and indecisive being when it comes to my academic self.”  In Cjay’s short essay about his academic self he explains his academic self and how it has bettered over the years. When explaining his awareness Cjay said, “I am totally knowledgeable on certain things and when discussing certain topics.” He also said he is very ethical and the way that he explained him being ethical is from respect. “I feel as though being a student is all about ethics and how morals play a major role in finding out who you are as a person in general.” He also spoke on turning in your assignment, especially for a class YOU paid for. For his third academic self-word that he thinks best describes him is being indecisive. He talked about how him being indecisive affects him as a student. He said, “I don’t have room  for error, so it is hard for me to compress my thoughts and explain them to the point that I feel is effective to others.”

Even though Cjay has found his academic self it can still change and improve. Our academic self is always changing and improving. We find new ways and better ways to learn. Cjay has learned more about his academic self in the classes he has taken and are taking.  The three words that Cjay would to describe his current academic self is being 

 

 

James Swank Major assignment #1

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After interviewing  one of my fellow classmates Ishmel Oussiegnon we discussed and reflected on our academic history and how the journey as a student has impacted our lives, and how we got here today as Georgia State students. The interview allowed me to see a different perspective,while sharing a lot of the same feelings of concern and struggles throughout the years of being a student.

 Ishmel described his academic self as willing, capable, and reserved. Ishmel stated that he “if I make a plan to get my work done, it will get done”, and that he is fully capable of getting his work done or improving in his respective class subjects. Lastly reserved, Ishmel stays quiet, and focused in class, but would like to improve on his note taking skills. 

At a young age in elementary school Ishmel shared that he had “lot’s of energy and would have trouble focusing in class. Because of this him,and his parents decided that private school would be the best option for his education moving forward. Private school was able to provide him with better support, and help. Ishmel attended Arabia high school up until his senior year  and then transferred to Stephenson High school. He described the move as a “ difficult time” and stated that it was hard leaving all of his friends. Despite the move being a hard time he also shared that the move helped motivate him and allowed him to hit the reset button, and reevaluate his academics, and take them more seriously.

Post High School Ishmel started to look into colleges and narrowed his options down between Georgia State, and SCAD. Ishmel is a strong math and writing student and has a strong interest in becoming a video game designer. SCAD has a great arts program, but decided against going there due to how  expensive their tuition is. Currently Ishmel is a Sophomore and majoring in Computer science. He is very optimistic about his future as a student. He plans to continue the path of a computer Science degree and take his knowledge gained into a work environment that he is patient about.

After talking with Ishmel I’ve realized that a lot of college students are experiencing the same feelings of frustration, and uncertainty. He shared with me that his biggest frustration with college is that a lot of the time “there is a lot of time being wasted taking classes on things that don’t apply to what I’m interested in.” As well as learning content that could’ve been taught to us during high school. Despite these frustrations he is still understanding that it’s just a part of the process and will be able and willing to “work around, and adapt.”

​​https://sites.gsu.edu/jswank3/2022/02/07/james-swanks-blog/