Demostric Ray is a Georgia–born native. His schoolings include Redan Middle School and Redan High School. During his middle school and high school life, he claimed that school was a burden because he never understood why it was so important. He did have the motivation for decent grades because of the sports he was interested in. But this was not going to help him enough because he developed that “whatever it takes” mentality. Now that he is in college, he is a sophomore transfer from Palomar College in California. After learning this, I also found out that he enjoys the west coast more than the east coast. Now attending Georgia State University, the 24-year-old has been here since the Fall semester of 2021 and will be transferring to Life University in the fall of 2022. He said that he wants to transfer to Life University because they can provide him with more classes that involve his major. But before all of this during his early college life, he would say that being disciplined in school was difficult with someone telling him what he should and should not do. After seeing that it was hard, he had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to learn discipline. Despite him still being on active duty, he found his passion in school for which he was inspired to be a chiropractor. One of the biggest influences in his life is his uncle. His uncle had also gone into the military. His motivation is that he will be a first-generation graduate, being a doctor, and his self-driven motivation. Demostric is proud to say that he now has good time management, he uses resources that are provided for him, and he has a set plan for his future. But despite all this, there are times when he feels as if college is overwhelming and that he fears he will fall behind in his studies. He also feels as if grades in college are frustrating because they play a factor in your studies. Outside of college, he is a personal trainer for those who need help in the gym. He enjoys reading the book Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson. After interviewing Demostric my view on him is that he seems like a genuine person who cares about his future and that he wants to make his parents proud of him after all those times in middle school and high school where they would provide set times for him to study. I would be glad to see Demostric achieve his dreams of being a chiropractor in the future.
Monthly Archives: February 2022
Dagmawi Begashaw Academic profile
Hel
lo everyone! Dagmawi Begashaw, or Dagi for short, is a 20 year old student currently in his second semester at Georgia State. I interviewed Dagi over a phone call and inquired him about his academic traits, experiences, and struggles.
Dagi spent the majority of his life in Ethiopia, where he lived with his mother. His hobbies included playing soccer and watching it on the TV. Two years ago, Dagi felt that there wasn’t enough opportunity in Ethiopia. One of Dagi’s goals to is live well off, i.e. own an expensive car, a house, etc. However, It was hard to find a job in Ethiopia that would fulfilll his dreams. So, Dagi looked toward getting a Computer Science degree in America, where if he worked hard, he would be able to achieve his goal.
Dagi started college last semester after he came to America a year and a half ago. He took a gap year to save up some money for college and worked as a restaurant waiter. Dagi began to see the major differences between American social culture and Ethiopian social culture and reevaluated if it was really worth it being here. He felt as people were “dead” here, as there weren’t many people he could just start up a conversation with. Additionally, people weren’t as connected, feeling as if people were “fake”. As a result, Dagi was wary of people and did not really make any friends. Lack of socializing proved itself to be an obstacle to Dagi’s drive to study in America. Dagi kept his sights on his goal. Overall, he realized to stay focused on his goal, as it would pay off in the end.
Dagi has had some challenges with the education system here. In Ethiopia, the curriculum was covered at a slower pace. Dagi learned to work things out thoroughly, so as a result, he takes ample time to study the material. Additionally, Dagi did not have additional responsibilities to tend to, so he had more time on his hands. In America, the material is covered at a much faster pace compared to Ethiopia. He expected an English class’s duration to be at least a year. Additionally, he thought that the curriculum would go more in-depth on one thing, and not cover different units. On top of the responsibilities Dagi has, such as maintaining a job, aiding his mother with English documents, as well as taking care of his sister, he has little free time to enjoy the things he loves.
Whatever obstacle he faces, he does not let it undermine him. After all, he sees the economic opportunity as his ultimate goal and will stay committed. His academic self is someone who persists, no matter what kind of roadblock there is. Before this interview, I had thought my life was harder than everyone else, and that my responsibilities were an excuse for me to do poorly in school. When Dagi revealed that he had obtained a 4 GPA last semester, I began to aspire that I would get his work ethic.
About Kevin Bibiano Valdivia
“ Enthusiastic, Determine and Artistic is how I would describe my academic self.” Kevin is 17 years old born and raised in Atlanta Georgia , a junior in high school and attends DECA Dekalb Early College Academy. This is a program where they allow students that are more in a academic environment , where juniors and seniors are placed in a dual enrollment and attend the GSU Clarkston campus. This is a required course for the students where they can only attend the Clarkston campus ,but Kevin on the other hand is not so fond of his school because of how social he is. At his school there are no high school sport games , or dances. So you may be wondering ” hmm what kind of high school doesn’t have social activities for students to express themselves , no high school experience .” Kevin makes the best of it by creating those memories through the new people that he meets on the GSU Clarkston Campus. Even though they are still restricted from doing most things that college students can do like joining most clubs and transferring to a different campus, its very strict policy.
“Why not go to a public high school where you can experience the normal high school experience?” Kevin wanted to graduate the fastest way possible and he knew that the public high school near him wouldn’t benefit him socially and academically he wouldn’t change his decision on applying to DECA and getting accepted into this program. This allowed Kevin to become more social to get connections that can help him in the future.
Kevin is unsure about what he wants to major in when he actually does start college, but has a sufficient plan by the time he graduates from high school. This plan is to continue to attend Gsu Clarkston campus but is still deciding if he wants to transition to a different campus like Newton, or Alpharetta. After his freshman year in community college by his sophomore year he wants to attend a university. He does want to be an influencer that tries new things like foods, and places to hang out with your friends. Because outside of school Kevin hangs out everyday with his friends if he’s not working, So he has the platform all he wants to do is take off to live the luxury life.
Kevin enjoys being a high school student in college because of how lenient his schedule is for him to still have a job , be social with his friends and still have time to complete his assignments in school. Because unlike high school the deadlines are strictly enforced and that’s one thing that does scare him. Kevin likes to keep a clear mind, be stress free, and organized when it comes to being his academic self.
Works Cited
Bibiano Valdivia , Kevin interview conducted by Yvette Chambliss January 31st, 2022
Bibiano Valdivia, Kevin Peer review “ Academic self” February 1st, 2022
Academic Profile of Adil Abulalim
Adil Abulalim was born in Ababa, Ethiopia on December 7, 2000. He spent his kindergarten to high school years in Ethiopia and moved to the United States a year after graduating high school. During his time in Ethiopia, Adil went to three different schools, for kindergarten to 8th grade he attended Blue Bird, 9th and 10th grade he attended Glory, and for 11th to 12th grade he attended Diamond Academy. After moving to the United States in December of 2020, Adil went to Kansas State University for one semester, then started attending GSU in the fall semester of 2021 and is currently in the 2nd semester of his first year.
Adil Abulalim
From his kindergarten to 6th grade years, he was doing great in school and had no major issues learning or comprehending all subjects learned. When he made it to 7th grade, he excelled when learning subjects like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, but math was a difficult subject for him to understand, especially during the first few months of school. Although it was challenging, he got over this obstacle and passed on to the 8th grade. In 8th grade he did well, and at the end of the year took the Ministry National exam, which he passed, and it moved him up to the 9th grade.
In the 9th grade, he attended a school called Glory, which he stayed at until the end of his 10th grade year. Within these years, he did exceptionally well in all subjects, except math, which became increasingly harder for him to understand. Although he was struggling with math, he was still getting average scores on his tests. Since he still did not understand math, his uncle helped him with it every day after school. The tutoring from his uncle really helped him and over time his grade for math got better.
Then during his 10th grade year, he took another national exam and passed, this helped him transfer to Diamond Academy for his 11th and 12th grade years. During these last two years of high school, he did well and graduated, but since the pandemic happened during his graduation year the ceremony was delayed, and he was simply handed his certificate.
During his 11th grade year, Adil injured his knee while playing soccer and had to stop attending school for a few months. During these few months he thought about his future and about what careers he would like to pursue. This little break from school helped him figure out what he wanted to do with life. Another thing that helped him figure out what he wanted to do with his life was his culture. In Ethiopian culture, it is believed that the key to success is knowledge and that is why knowledge is a highly valued asset. This belief influenced Adil tremendously and continuously motivated him to work hard when it came to his studies. Also, Ethiopia being a third world country is what influenced him to get a good education to give more opportunities to himself and his family, and to later help his country.
Adil’s passion for gaining more knowledge is the reason why he came to the United States. And that is also the reason why he continuously works on academic skills that he lacks, such as time management and not using proper study techniques. Adil’s academic journey had led him to become a Business Administration Undergraduate, majoring in Finance. He also stated that he has later plans to minor in International Relations.
Academic Profile of Kash Johnson
My project is on the academic perspective of Kashauna Johnson, but she prefers to go by Kash. Kash currently majors in early childhood education and this is her last semester here before moving to the main campus which she is very excited for. Kash comes from Texas and graduated high school from Brookwood High. She currently a teacher for 2nd graders, and after watching a video of her kids creating a play for a talent show, I can see her passion for her line of work.
When asked about 3 words that describe her academically, Kash said procrastinator, hard-working, and consistent. Kash says her procrastination stems from her wanting to get the job done perfectly, and I can relate to that significantly. Although she said she procrastinates, she also says she’s working to limit that and works diligently to get the task finished. I asked Kash how was school for her growing up. Kash stated that “Elementary school was easy to me, that I was a distraction to the other kids because I understood it faster.” Kash was put into a GT program (Gifted and Talented) program and was able to use her intelligence (and hyperactivity) on field trips and harder work. However, things changed when she moved to Georgia when her mom got a job as a Deputy. Middle School showed to be a harder challenge, and she applied herself less, and just wanted whatever grade she got.
Although she had a rough middle school experience, Kash had her mom to push her to continue to try in school. She got back up and continued to motivate herself for school. Kash had less problems in Highschool, and was able to graduate and head to West Georgia. She lived on campus, and she joked that with all the fun she had, she had troubles with doing the work. Her aloof caused he to fail Language Arts 1102 in the end at the final exam. This links to Dr. Chews “How to get the most out of studying” video where he explains that “Effective preparation requires your total focus” where she was having fun and not getting rid of her distractions to do her work.
After Kash went through educational hardships, she began to go through financial hardships, as West Georgia wasn’t giving her financial aid. This is similar to what Roshelle Czar had to go through. Even though she “grew up with an innate passion for school” she had struggles financially and there was nothing the school could’ve done to help. Even though this situation would’ve left many people broken and their dreams shattered, Kash pushed through and found Georgia State University to finish her classes. This keeps up to her Hardworking nature, and because of that I was able to tell her story. Kash consistently choose not to give up and went down the harder road to get the dream she planned for herself. Hearing Kash’s story provides me with this question; How much should someone sacrifice given the circumstances of their life, and does everyone need someone to push them, similar to who Kash had in her life?
Works Cited
Blog, #RealCollege. “Redesigning College Education: Dismantling Trauma during Covid.” Medium, Medium, 28 Oct. 2021, https://hope4college.medium.com/redesigning-college-education-dismantling-trauma-during-covid-97ad3319edbd.
How to Get the Most Out of Studying, Stephen Chew, https://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study.
Isatu’s Academic Profile
Isatu’s Academic Profile
This essay is an introduction of Isatu Diallo and her academic self based off an interview and texts. Isatu is 20 years old and has spent all of k-12 in Georgia. She started college in the fall of 2020, and this is her 4th semester/ 2nd year at Georgia State University which she attends because it was one of her top school picks and she got accepted. Right after high school, Isatu started college because she did not want to wait long after and if she did wait long, she wouldn’t have wanted to go to college, and Isatu didn’t want that. Isatu is currently enrolled in Biology, Ethics, English, and Human communication. She doesn’t have a particular favorite subject, but she likes Biology. She is majoring in nursing and her career goals are to be a travel nurse and to have her own business.
The three words Isatu described her academic self as are determined, open minded, and hardworking. Isatu challenges her thinking by trying to understand her mistakes, and she’s willing to make changes which helps her move forward. She’s determined to achieve higher grades this semester, advance her learning in the classroom and make herself better as a student. She is openminded to different opportunities, willing to work with others and understand new ideas and experiences. (Diallo)
One thing that frustrates Isatu about college is the amount of work, and how it can be overwhelming. In high school, Isatu mentioned that she wasn’t very hardworking and open minded, and that she missed out on alot of things and was failing her classes because of that. But she knew that if she kept going down this way she wouldn’t have been able to succeed so she started working on herself and took ownership of her hard work. (Diallo)
Isatu is a hardworking and determined student, who goes above and beyond to be creative, and is always looking for ways to better herself as a student. The person that she is now is because of the many obstacles she had to overcome, which is why one thing about her academic self that she is proud of is that she’s putting in more work to try harder at school. Isatu’s profile has led me to think about, if students lack motivation to be productive and complete assignments, will the thought of failing classes be enough to change their academic self in order to succeed?
Works Cited:
Diallo, Isatu. Interview. Conducted by Abdulaziz Usman, 24 January 2022.
Diallo, Isatu. “Academic Self”, January 18, 2022
Academic Profile of SaNajah Blackman
This paper summarizes an interview with MS. SaNajah Blackman about her background and academic self during her school years. We held face-to-face and online interviews to get to know each other and discuss our papers. SaNajah was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on January 15, 2005, and is currently 17 years old. She is the oldest of three siblings. Her family was frequently moving from Michigan to Georgia during her youth until her grandmother opted to stay in Georgia, at which point her mother decided to stay with their grandmother for a year until they could find a place to live. She went from place to place after moving out, and when I asked why they moved from Michigan to Georgia, she stated her mother wanted to offer them a better opportunity.
SaNajah attended Panola Way Elementary School alongside some of her younger aunties, uncles, and cousins while living with her grandmother, and she stated in our interview that she attended perhaps 8 or 9 different primary schools. She attended Snellville Middle School in 6th grade and about three months into 7th grade when her family relocated to Stone Mountain; thus, she spent the balance of 7th grade and the complete 8th grade at Stone Mountain Middle School. After middle school, her mother encouraged her to select between a performing arts school and DeKalb Early College Academy, so she chose DeKalb Early College Academy, took her exam and was accepted. She enrolled in dual enrollment in August of 2018, the same year she started high school, and she began college studies in August of 2021, but she has still yet to decide on a major. She was an honor roll student and excelled in her studies throughout elementary school. She told me that she understands things quickly and does well on examinations, which she believes helped her succeed. This is similar to Dr. Steven Chew’s study tactics, which highlight the necessity of having a solid level of knowledge as a direct outcome of how hard one studies.
SaNajah’s academic self is described by three words: determined, passionate, and independent. She told me she was enthusiastic about her life and doing. SaNajah was also very resolute in her decision, which is why she said she was independent since she was a small child, which helped her focus on her future.
I was astounded by her life narrative and how far she had come. This led me to ask her who her biggest inspiration was and what she thought about life in general. She had a very profound response. She said that her mother was her biggest influencer because she gave her the life SaNajah has today with all of her complete efforts. SaNajah also mentioned that life is a history of someone accomplishing remarkable things during their time on earth, and she is trying her hardest to be the most remarkable person she could have imagined.
In conclusion, I saw a very bright mind in SaNajah and learned a lot from her experiences, so I finally asked her goals, and she said her goal is to continue her studies for the time being and has no specific desire on what she wants to do after that, and I believe she will achieve her goals and be successful. Overall, I found SaNajah’s story interesting and very inspiring, especially considering that I am a student just like her.
A picture of SaNajah in 2011 was Captured by a school photographer in Michigan.
“Academic Profile”: Isaiah Bankston
Hi, everyone. I would like to introduce you to Isaiah Bankston, an 18-year-old current high school student that is taking dual enrollment classes at Georgia State University’s perimeter college at the same time. He has lived in Georgia all his life. When asked about his k-12 experience he responded with, “I went to a predominately black elementary school and had a lot of diversity through middle and high school.” As I asked him how his education was in school, he responded, “I kind of walked with a sense of entitlement since I was always put in advanced classes but of course I was hit with a reality check when I got to college”. He knew he had to improve his academic self when he saw the transition between high school and college. He chooses Georgia State University because, in his opinion, it is a reliable school for finding a job in the future.
Isaiah’s academic self can be described in three words: spontaneous, creative, and disorderly. His creative and spontaneous self-expression serves as valuable tools to his success; however, his disorderly interferes and makes his life a little more difficult. He realized that his academic self and normal self have merged and become part of his life. His academic journey has not always been easy. He has faced anxiety due to his need to focus on both high school and college classwork and procrastination. His academic self is growing every day, and he has realized that he is truly capable of achieving many successes as his academic self.
Since entering Dual Enrollment last semester, Isaiah has made remarkable academic progress. He used to be someone who would procrastinate a lot and put things off until the last minute before college. But, after getting his first zero in college, he realized he had to stop procrastinating and get his work done. In college, he has missed a few assignments, but not as many as he did in high school, which is a positive sign because he knows that college requires more of his time. This is a clear example of why it is never too late to make positive changes to your academic mindset. However, he explained, “I learned very quickly the importance of knowing due dates and meeting them ahead of time.” He knew once he got in college that it was not the same as high school, which is why he is improving himself everyday by staying up to date and not procrastinating.
Isaiah Bankston is a dedicated person/student because he is currently in his senior year of high school. He has a job and is doing dual enrollment in Georgia State University’s perimeter college all at the same time which is admirable. This is something that is challenging to do all at once, so it shows that Isaiah is capable of achieving anything he sets his mind to. Isaiah is a student who is trying to improve himself every day in order to make his academic self even better. He stated, “While I still have room to improve, I hope that I can look back on this year and see major growth”. Therefore, if you ever doubt yourself, just remember that there is always room for improvement.
Citations:
Bankston, Isaiah, personal interview, conducted by Emily Perales, January 2022
Bankston, Isaiah. “Academic self IP1”, January 18, 2022
Steven C, Ph.D.; “Developing a Mindset for Successful Learning.” YouTube, 25 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=htv6eap1-_M&list=PL85708E6EA236E3DB.
Academic Profile: Louis Tran
This is an academic profile on Louis Tran, an individual who is maintaining college life step by step. Louis is a classmate of mine who I had the pleasure of getting to know academically and personally. Nineteen-year-old Louis is a part of the graduating class of 2021. He is in his third year of college. Which was achieved by joining the dual enrollment program.
Which Is an early college program you can enter when in high school to fast-track your undergraduate years. Louis’s dream profession is to become a divorce/family attorney or social worker. He loves working with the mind and communicating with others. He thinks this profession is best and hits two birds with one stone.
Louis went through Georgia public schooling along with going to a private Christian charter school throughout his high school years. Louis already was a part of GSU throughout his high school years. Which made the transition to a GSU campus all that much easier. He completed his college courses online and graduated high school with college credits. His academic life has been an accomplishment for him. Which was a result of him striving to pass each assignment. Despite Louis’s supportive parents, he still faces pressure from them like any student. Although they want the best for him, the pressure can be overwhelming. With that, the class Louis often struggles with is math. Math is a subject Louis could do better in and hopes to do better in. The classes that he feels are the easiest are history, literature, and critical thinking. Louis’s favorite class currently is drug & behavior. He loves to see how drugs can impact the mind and the behavior of the human body. He does hands-on tasks in that class which makes him enjoy it even more and positively impacts his academic stance.
Louis views his academic self as “moderately okay”. Three words that Louis describes his academic self as-is: determined, not afraid to ask questions, and slow to get started. Louis views himself this way because he makes A’s and B’s and to him, that’s just okay. Although he knows he can always do better he is proud of where he is. Louis’ expectations for this class are to do his utmost best and pass this class with a B minimum but he hopes to finish the class with an A. Louis comes to school to go to class and only to class. He does not participate in any on-campus activities. This correlates with the reading we did call “ COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?” Where it discusses how college life and social life have changed. The normality now is to go to class and straight home. For Louis, this is the usual routine.
Overall Louis is a hard-working student who continues to do his best to achieve his dreams and goals. He has high hopes for this class and looks forward to passing with an outstanding grade. To also better himself in the subject of math. Lastly, Louis wants to better his social life by going to the library more and exploring other buildings. College life is hard but maintaining a life out of school is important. Ask yourself if your school-to-life balance works and how you can improve it.
Neal’s Academic Profile
Neal is a very nonchalant person who is yet determined, adaptive and resourceful when it comes to his academics. While those are some great qualities to have, Neal is also quite the procrastinator, he tends to get assignments just in time before the due date. He does not like to be forced to do things; handling things on his own time is more of his feng shui. Neal is proud of how flexible he can be with his academics, and he also says that his family and himself motivates him the most to keep going in school.
Oakhurst Elementary School is where it all started for Neal. Both of his grandparents are teachers and coincidentally his grandfather taught at Oakhurst. So, growing up Neal had someone to always make sure he was on track with all his academics. He does not remember much about what kind of student he was in elementary school, but he remembers things from grades 6th to now. In 6th grade he was always on top of his work and did not think twice about getting his assignments in before the due date. A year later in 7th grade is when he started to procrastinate a little bit, nothing major.
Now, transitioning into high school Neal carried on with his delaying tactics. Though procrastinating never really puts a strain on Neal, which is why he still does the same thing now. He may not do the work as soon as it is assigned, he makes sure all his work gets in before the due date.
Neal is majoring in engineering; he wants to be a mechanical engineer once he has finished school. He is quite a math whiz and enjoys solving problems. It’s something about working out a problem step by step and finding the answer is rewarding to him. Moreover, He is an in person type of person, he was not a fan of online learning, because he just was not as engaged as he would be in person with his classmates and professors.