“ 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

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.

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.

About my partner, Kiara, she had gone through her own academic experience. Back in high school, she had to go through the new school system, which was virtual learning, because the pandemic had taken place. Therefore, she and all other students had no other choice but to adapt to the new alternative system of learning. It was not an easy road for Kiara, for she had to get situated in this new style of learning by getting organized and keeping up in time management. But through all of that, she continued to stay positive, balanced, and determined in order to fulfill her goals of getting good grades and passing her classes. And she did just that, which is outstanding.

Kiara is, currently, attending Georgia state university to pursue her career in criminal justice. She chose Georgia state because the community is better than some other colleges like HBCU, which was another option that she could have attended. In addition to GSU, the school gave her more opportunities to stay focused.  So, as Kiara is attending GSU, she can get her work done and do whatever else that she wants to do such as work or even go to any social events in a timely manner. The reason for this statement is because Kiara realized that if she attended HBCU, she would not have been able to focus on her priorities, therefore, it would negatively affect her performance in school. So, by making the right decision for herself, Kiara has maintained a balanced lifestyle with her personal life and her academics.

Determination is another key factor that Kiara uses to describe her academic self. When it comes to learning, she does whatever it takes to make sure that she understands any material in all aspects. Kiara could not settle for less, so whether if it is to set up meeting times with the professor, to attend any free tutoring classes for help, or even to study in a group with her friends in the library, she has that level of determination in order to succeed. Kiara really understood the concept of dealing with challenges in order to improve. In addition, she knows to plan ahead, which is very important for not just school, but for every single opportunity that is given in life.

Negativity is not a good trait that one must have in his or her life. Therefore, Kiara made sure that she did not include negativity in hers. She is all about positivity, for that is where you really benefit from in life. When you really think about it, what is the point of being negative? What does it do for you? It does not do anything good for you, so there is no need for anybody to portray such a bad habit. Kiara states, “I learned to stay positive because if you are always negative and have bad frequencies around you, it starts to rub off on you and you are just not going to get anything done.”

Ultimately, Kiara has improved, drastically, with her academic self. She, indeed, had to overcome past obstacles to get to where she is at right now, but that is what made her into the person that she is now. If there is one thing that Kiara is proud about with her academic self, that one thing is that she was able to improve academically, and she is also able to take advantage of her time and resources.

Citations

• Giles, Kiara; Kiara’s Academic Profile. January 2022
• Chew, Stephen, PhD; “Developing a Mindset of Successful Learning”
• Jonker, Jude; Peer review. February 2022

This is an academic profile on Kayla, a classmate in my English class as well as a freshman at Georgia state university. Like most of her classmates, Kayla has been at GSU for one semester. Kayla was born in Georgia, and she went to Browns mill elementary school from kindergarten to 5th grade. She then went to tapestry public charter school from 6th to 12th grade and as soon as she graduated, she enrolled at GSU. Kayla enrolled at GSU as soon as she graduated because it was either that or getting a job. She chose the Clarkston campus at GSU because it was more cost-friendly. She intends to major in engineering and her long-term goal is to set up a research and development site in Atlanta.

She will achieve her goal through her academic skills and the three words she chose to describe her academic self were creative, attentive, and resourceful.

She chose creative as her first word because of her interest in art. Kayla likes to apply her creative artistic lens in any assignment she does. Her second word, attentive, was chosen because it describes Kayla’s focus in her classes. She never caused commotions but instead took detailed notes in class and made sure to be mindful of upcoming assignments. She also chose resourceful because even though she wasn’t the best student she still tried to improve in areas that needed help. She took advantage of tutoring opportunities whenever she did poorly on a test and made sure to speak to teachers if she needed help. If what she was looking for couldn’t be found at school, then she searched the internet and took notes on what she found.

Kayla feels that her past experiences have prepared her for future semesters in college by teaching her to work hard and use any resources available. Her high school teacher was unorthodox in the way that she taught so it showed Kayla irregular and creative ways to learn and interact with teachers. This experience helped her to connect with professors in college which she assumed would be hard due to the popular notion that professors aren’t easy to talk to. 

Kayla’s influence is her family members, and she will pursue her goal and achieve it by putting lessons taught in class like the study myths video to use which demonstrate common mistakes people do when studying. She is proud of her natural talent in math. In the end, Kayla is an attentive, hardworking student with hopes of setting up a site in Atlanta to help people.

Meet Abass Salat!

This is his first year attending Georgia State Perimeter College and is a dual enrollment student. He currently does not have a major but plans to major in respiratory therapy in the future. Abass says He chose to attend Georgia state because not only is it close to home, but because of the opportunities of dual enrollment and DECA which is a highschool that specializes in dual enrollment. His three words to describe his academic self profile were: Motivated, Adaptive and Supported would describe my academic self to be motivated because of the high standard goals he sets for himself. He plans to finish college with a 4.0, graduate medical school, and start his own practice with little to no debt. He is determined and motivated to accomplish these goals,so he can support his family members and live a comfortable life.
                  Additionally, he goes on to describe his academic self as supported because of the amount of effort his parents put into supporting him throughout his life wishing nothing for him but to succeed in everything he does in school and life. As well as teachers,peers and all resources provided by the school such as tutoring,financial aid and more.
                  Lastly, He also describes his academic self as adaptive because every semester he has to adjust a new schedule whether it is in person or online with new teachers,new classmates, new workload, and new expectations which can be a lot especially now due to covid. I followed with a question asking how can you connect this to the reading :COVID-Era College He responded saying he can relate “because of how different school has changed due to the pandemic and having to take online remote class courses which he did not really enjoy however he made it a priority to make the transition from face to face to at home remote learning and succeed expanding his capacity to handle change in any given circumstance.”
                      One question I asked Abass during the interview is: How does he like English 1102 thus far, and what are some differences compared with your English 1101 course? Which did he prefer better, were there any challenges and why? This question was asked to see how he handled change when his selected course teacher unexpectedly changed which connects his ability to be adaptive. He answered with english1101 because he loves writing essays more than reading although he doesnt mind having to be prepared to read a lot more in and out of the classroom.
Towards the end of the phone Interview Abass Revealed that he has a problem with procrastination. His academic self doesn’t procrastinate when there is a surplus of time but when there is a shortage of time. He believes the root of this issue is that when his schedule gets too filled and Iose free-time, it causes him to use work time to do missed free-time activities. I followed this with the question, “ Do you like to study? If so, how often and long are your study sessions?” As he responded “I do but it’s hard to be motivated sometimes or stay focused for a long period of time” however he mentions that “Dr.Chews “How to Study” Video series has helped him to understand how to study, deep level thinking and learning the orienting task instead of memorizing material.
                In Conclusion, Overall Abass is a very hardworking and dedicated student who Strives to exceed his goals no matter what obstacle or challenges he encounters and acknowledges that he will work on improving his weakness in procrastinating to achieve the most in his academic success.

                                                                             Works Cited

Abass Salat, Pair Interview transcript, Conducted by Thomesia Williams, February, 30 2022

Chew, Stephen. “How to Study.” How to Get the Most Out of Studying, 25 Mar. 2015,

https://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study.
Czar Rochelle, COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied, Inside Higher Ed, 24 March 2021