Leyla Ahmic: Academic Profile

Meet Leyla Ahmic! She is a seventeen-year-old dual enrollment student who currently wishes to pursue a degree in Business Administration. Born and raised in Georgia, she has been educated in this state’s elementary and high schools. Although she is majoring in Business Administration, she actually has a passion for music and likes math (I know, right?) and Spanish classes. During her early high school years, she was part of her high school’s IB (International Baccalaureate) program but has now moved on to dual enrollment to take college classes and earn credits while finishing her senior year (Ahmic).

During her last semester of dual enrollment, the article “Taking My Parents to College” has been her favorite reading. Leyla was born in Georgia, but her first language is Bosnian due to her parents, who decided to move from Bosnia to the United States (Ahmic). Jennine Capó Crucet’s parents had no idea how college worked since they had never attended one (Capó Crucet). Because of her Bosnian parents, who do not completely have had a full grasp of how the United States system works, Leyla can relate to the writer’s experience. However, although her parents may not know how some things work, she expresses that her friends have been of great help to her by guiding her and explaining how things are done.

To compensate for her parent’s lack of knowledge about the American system, Leyla has developed organization, responsibility, and diligence. According to her, she likes “to schedule and make sure that everything is done on time.” Thanks to her organization, she has developed an attraction for online classes. She says that this class method allows her to keep on track with her responsibilities and control her own schedule. Organization has also helped her develop responsibility and diligence. Besides having her schedule neat and tidy, she also likes to stick to it to make sure that everything is done correctly. She strives to polish her work (as she declares to be a perfectionist) and tries to do her best. In addition to her interest for online classes, she also expresses content with the number of resources that the university provides for students’ success in this online setting (Ahmic).

Although she likes the resources provided for college students, not everything is perfect at college level. “I find paying for textbooks in college really frustrating; we are already paying a lot of money,” she said as she expressed her frustration with textbook paying at universities. She believes that education should be cheaper and more accessible for students, as many low-income families struggle to afford school for their children (Ahmic).

Despite colleges’ expensiveness, Leyla’s parents do their best to provide her with a good education. She has been pushed and encouraged by her parents to succeed in her schoolwork, which she has been able to do. Her biggest influences are her parents, but she also considers her best friend to influence her academics significantly. They have been together since they were little. To push each other, they compete and strive to get better results in the next assignment. Leyla’s and her best friend’s competitivity has helped shape what she can refer to as her academic self today (Ahmic).

Leyla’s academic self, which has been developed throughout the years, makes her an excellent student. However, she says that she still does not know what to do after college. She loves music and believes to be good at it, but she was fearful of not being successful in that path and decided to study Business Administration (Ahmic). Many students choose not to study what they find most attractive for several reasons: lack of resources, fear of failure, convenience, job market, etc. Without dedicating to music, Leyla already demonstrates to be an outstanding student. I can only imagine the results when she applies her traits to what she loves.

 

 

Works Cited

Capó Crucet, Jennine. “Taking My Parents to College.” The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/taking-my-parents-to-college.html.

Ahmic, Leyla. Interview. Conducted by Ezequiel Lorenzo, 1 February 2021.

Kaleb Lynum: Academic Profile

This is a photo of Kaleb.

Through this assignment, I had the opportunity to meet Kaleb, a dual enrollment student at Georgia State University. From kindergarten to eighth grade, he attended a school in California called Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy, and from there until now (senior year), he studies at Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy. He describes himself as an average high school student who gets A’s and a few B’s from time to time. However, for me, he did not seem like someone “average” since the discipline and dedication that he demonstrated during our calls showed the opposite. 

For me, a dual enrollment student would not be considered average, and I must admit that I am amazed that 17-year-old Kaleb is already in college and at the same time in high school! As an international student from the Dominican Republic, I did not know what dual enrollment was until I met Kaleb. Although it is common to do this in the United States, this fact about my partner revealed certain things to me about his academic concept. First, Kaleb is already preparing for the next stage of his life, like a saying that goes “he is ready to go.” Second, he does not want to waste his time. He is confident and ready for the next stage of his life: college. This is something he learned and took from his brother, who also did dual enrollment (Lynum).

After that conversation, Kaleb taught me what the colloquial term “senioritis” means. When he told me, “I would describe myself as having senioritis,” I thought that he loved being a senior, but I was wrong. Kaleb expressed that he is ready to be done with high school, which I found utterly ironic because he is literally in college. Even though it might sound a bit contradictory to the aforementioned, Kaleb then mentioned his goals and dreams.

Among his goals and dreams is to get a degree in Biology to later become a doctor. Still, he first gave me impressions of studying something related to sports or business administration (first impressions can surely be misleading). Kaleb comes from a family of doctors. However, his reason for studying medicine is not that he feels pressured to follow the same steps as his family but rather what he clarified, “I just want to help people.” His plans for when he graduates from college include creating his own hospital, something he sees as possible due to his leadership skills (Lynum).

From this talk about dreams and goals, I learned many things that helped me realize that I can learn so much from my classmates. In the interview, Kaleb described himself as having a growth mindset and as being a resourceful student. When I asked him what he does when he feels like he is not good at a subject, he said that he “communicates with his professors, and he goes to YouTube and teaches himself if he needs to.” What Kaleb told me connects to one of Dr. Stephen Chew’s videos, “Beliefs That Make You Fail or Succeed,” where Dr. Chew explained that “academic success is more a matter of hard work than an inborn talent.” Kaleb totally agrees with Dr. Stephen Chew and lives by this concept. When facing a challenge, students should have a similar approach since successfulness does not come from natural talent but from hard work and perseverance.

Citations:

Lynum, Kaleb. Interview. Conducted by Solanlly Rijo, 30-31 January 2021.

Chew, Stephen. “Beliefs That Make You Fail or Succeed,” YouTube, uploaded by Samford University, 16 August 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH95h36NChI. 

Nicole Berry: Academic Profile

        This is a glimpse of Nicole Berry’s academic self. I had the chance to interview and explore more in detail what this meant for her. Questions about how she has gotten to where she is now, and what makes her unique in her way as a student. Nicole is a first-generation student who graduated from Henry Grady High School in 2020 and currently majoring in Nursing at Georgia State Perimeter College. She later is planning on transferring off to the Georgia State University downtown location. These are the more general details about her, but Nicole is so much more than just you’re your typical “college student.” She is enthusiastic about her lifelong goals in her academic career. 

            While attending high school, Nicole was eager to reach out for more opportunities. She has a curious mind and a yearning to learn more. She explained to me that at the time there weren’t many resources to reach out to. She did what she could and searched for these resources herself. Nicole found an awesome summer volunteering opportunity at her local hospital. This gave her a path to a whole new environment and got her hands-on tools that could later help in college. She also got access to mentors at this hospital. After graduating high school, she enrolled at Georgia State. She told me, “College isn’t much different from high school, when I came to Perimeter I didn’t know that what we are doing here would be similar to doing work in high school”. I saw that as a sign of confidence. I believe it is because of the opportunities she had during high school.

            As both Nicole and I continued to communicate. Three primary words clearly expressed her academic self as hard-working, motivated, and inspired to make changes in the world. She is very eager about learning new things. Nicole works a lot both in and outside of school. She dedicates a lot of time out of her day to focus on schoolwork and being a student. While at the same time having to also work on the side. We went into talking about how she also takes care of someone who has a disability. She takes her time to communicate, listen, cook, and clean for them. She is certain that having an education can help provide better care for the people around her.  She mentioned that at the beginning of this semester that she ran into some issues regarding her schedule but managed to balance it all at the end of the day. I got to ask Nicole about where exactly her motivation originates from. She told me “I’m motivated to work to learn”, this is especially true for all of us as students but for her, it means she can impact the community around her. Another motivation for her is her family. She strives to make them proud. Inspiration is also one major component of Nicole’s academic self. She has had a vision since the age of nine. While at a doctor’s appointment for a family member who needed to get their tonsils removed. She knew it was meant for her from a very young age and has stuck with it since. Almost like a promise to herself. Just the fact that she does all this proves a very strong person. 

            While being as motivated and hardworking as Nicole. We all still run into small inconveniences. Nicole had said to me that she had closely related to the video on “How to get the most out of studying” video series specifically “Developing a Mindset for Successful Learning” with Dr. Stephen Chew. Her approach towards this specific video is that she is trying to get more effective with picking up information while studying. Not just skimming through unnecessary information. It is something she is personally trying to improve and continue to work on. She makes the most out of what she has and uses it wisely. 

           This interview allowed me to reach out and learn more about a person who works very hard. Even though Nicole has a very occupied schedule she still manages to make the most out of it. She is very inspiring as a person and as a student. She wants only the best for herself. I am super hopeful that her academic approach will lead her to become a great Nurse! 

Academic Profile: Jada Dunn

Jada Dunn is a smart and ambitious 22-year-old sophomore currently attending Georgia State University. When describing herself academically, Jada is persistent, ambitious, and sometimes anxious. Jada is a native of the peach state, born at Dekalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Dunwoody Elementary, Tucker Middle, and Riverwood International Charter School for K-12.

While growing up, Jada was raised in a tight-knit Christian family. She attended Wieuca Road Baptist Church frequently, even becoming a mentor to young children. Outside of the church, Jada spent her days curiously observing the world around her. This curiosity would later inspire Jada to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

Initially, choosing a career path wasn’t easy for Jada. She revealed to me, “I honestly did not know what I would even go to college for. I decided to give myself a year after high school to see if I felt the same way. Within that year, I became fascinated with psychology and decided I wanted to be a psychologist.” Jada’s role of mentoring children as a youth further amplified her career goals. She plans on working specifically with children as a pediatric psychologist.

When interviewing Jada, I asked, “Why pediatric psychology and why GSU?” Her response was clear, “I chose my career path because I feel like psychology is something I would strive in. I feel as though I have a gift with people, and this is the right direction for me. I’ve worked with children at Wieuca Baptist Church since I was fourteen. I feel this experience has connected me with children more than adults. I feel it’s very important to teach kids how to deal with their trauma and psychological issues. Among many reasons, I chose GSU because my mother graduated from here. It only made sense for me to attend Georgia State as well.”

With dreams of attending Howard for grad school, Jada is more focused than ever on becoming the best person she can be. Whenever possible, she surrounds herself with inspiring and diligent women. When asked who her biggest influence is, Jada proudly mentioned her aunt, and best friend Tiffany. “My biggest influence is my aunt, as well as Tiffanny because they are both hard-working and driven,” Jada states. “Tiffany is in grad school at Howard University and my aunt is a very successful business-woman. They both are also my mentors.”

For Jada, becoming a pediatric psychologist is her dream career. She is full of compassion and empathy for others. She looks forward to improving the lives of young children and adolescents with psychology in the near future. As summed up in her own words, “I’m excited to be able to have the education and ability to get people through situations that might be holding them back from being a better them.”

Works Cited:

Dunn, Jada. Telephone interview. 5th Feb. 2021

 

Hannah Feinstein:Academic Profile

Hannah Feinstein possesses a quirkiness that is reminisce of the actresses from the show Broad City, rectangular glasses upon her face and an enviable short haircut that she casually flips back in mid conversation. You can immediately get the perception that Hannah is the kind of individual who sat by the weird girl in class or defended the quiet boy at lunch who painted his nail lavender. Hannah doesn’t seem to fit into any of the high school or college archetypes. She’s uniquely herself with an impressive sensitivity and a keen awareness of her privilege.

Hannah’s fledgling academic self was first discovered within the confines of her home. Her mother was a teacher and the guiding influence on her eventual career choice. Her mother had went back to school upon becoming pregnant with Hannah. She cheekily expressed, “I basically got a degree when being birthed.” A career in childcare wasn’t necessarily preordained it took a few walks in the dark to get to that consensus. She found herself at the University of Central Florida away from her family taking on the major of hospitality management. She quickly recognized that she didn’t like the structure and realized that most of what she was being taught could easily be learned through hands-on experience at a restaurant. She dropped out after one year, finding a job at Disney’s Orlando theme park. It’s the vision of tourists biting into gigantic turkey legs and children giddy after a ride on the teacups. It was a job, perfunctory and routine. Hannah didn’t envision ever going back to school, but a deadly fatal virus had other ideas.

March , April , May , June floated as the world became a zombie dystopia. It was a Shakespearean tragedy. Hannah regretted going out of state for school and saw it as a waste of money. She had dropped out of an English class that semester , fretting over a five page essay. Her academic self was shedding its skin at that point. She was creative, but only saw perfection in her writing. The first draft had to be the equivalent of  Shakespearean prose or she couldn’t fathom going further. Hannah preferred math. The answers were readily there and it was concrete. English asked more of her, begged her to determine more of the text and of herself. She spent the pandemic months with the idea that she would eventually be able to go back and work at Disney. The call never came. Without an air of anything special Hannah, thought to herself, “Where is the nearest place to get my degree.” 

The Alpharetta Georgia State campus became the newest space for Hannah’s academic self. She had admitted to being a procrastinator, a creative, but also even a little performative. She espoused, “The me I put on, versus the me I actually am.” For Hannah the focus academically isn’t primarily being the most intellectually inept but pursuing what is the most profound and actively kind. Passionately, she spoke of her conflict with the elitist spaces of college. This idea can be interpreted further with the article, Taking My Parents to College. In the article it explores the exact perception of elitism and how it can be isolating for marginalized individuals, creating an environment of feeling like an imposter, an alien in the room. It’s obvious that Hannah’s empathy translates to an academic self that is reflective and evolving. 

            For Hannah the academic setting has changed, and what she longs for is communication. The interaction with her classmates is what she misses. She finds comfort in the hijinks of the characters on Parks and Recreation. She admits that she prefers the quiet sound of nothing when she studies. The literature of Harry Potter books seemed to be the only books she could stomach. Her lack of  reading was an adolescent rebellion, she sought ways to be completely different from her sister, that meant no pages of Judy Blume to be discovered. It seems that with any person the academic self is a multitude of experiences. The first time you raised your hand in class. The first subject that challenged you. The book that gave language to your oppression. Hannah’s academic self-began with her mother, the teacher.  Hannah will soon become a fourth teacher one day eventually leading her pupils to the journey of their academic selves.

 

Sabria Hall Academic Profile

Hello class! My name is Hanah Feinstein, and I had the pleasure of interviewing Sabria Hall. Before I dive deep into my conversation with Sabria, I need to apologize to you, the reader. I need to apologize that you are only reading about Sabria Hall second hand as opposed to getting the privileged to speak with her directly. Sabria Hall is a one-of-a-kind, creative, and empathetic person who inspires anyone who meets her. So, I am sorry that while I won the lottery in getting the opportunity to talk with her, you are only reading about the glimmer of light that she is. But this is the position we find ourselves, so please join me as we learn about our inspiring classmate, Sabria Hall. 

Today, Sabria Hall is a student at Georgia State University majoring in film and media studies. But to see how she got here, we need to rewind back to 2011. In 2011, Sabria dropped out of high school, and she never expected to return to formal education. Instead, books were her education. Through reading, she was taught creativity, world building, and how limitless her potential is. Books empowered Sabria to develop her own individual academic self outside of the classroom. Instead of just memorizing facts, she views academics creatively, and through critical thinking. While she was educating herself through books, she was also gaining life skills as an employee at Chik-Fil-A. The company was impressed by Sabria’s leadership initiatives and compassion for her coworkers, so she was quickly promoted to a managerial position. As a manger, Sabria gained confidence in her capacity to achieve anything she put her mind to. This confidence encouraged Sabria to go back to school despite her friends doubting her. In 2019, she proved her cynics wrong by getting her GED, and soon after she applied to Georgia State University. This decade has awarded Sabria with life lessons that she translates into her academic self 

Sabria Hall is a named to rememberOne day we are going to see her name in lights as she wins Oscars for filmmaking. Sabria is studying film with a focus in directingscreenwriting, and editing. She loves all genres of films, and she observes aspects of movies that the typical viewer would never notice. She applies his type of critical analysis to her school academics as well. Her earliest influence was Spike Lee. Sabria immediately fell in love with his films, but she felt discouraged to enter the film industry because of the lack of representation of Black female filmmakersHer perception changed when she discovered filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Seeing Ava DuVernay’s success as a filmmaker inspired Sabria to pursue her dreams. Sabria’s determination and intelligence will be the momentum to making her dreams a reality.  

Sabria is an excellent writer. Her creativity shines in her ability to convey language in the written form. She is a prose pro. However, she admits that her biggest weakness is not being receptive to criticism. She does not like getting feedback on her writing, and this inhibits her stories from being as great as they could be. Even great writers need to revise their work and receive constructive criticism. The interactive, social nature of writing makes peer review not only an effective source of feedback, but also an essential skill” (Friend 276). Bad Ideas About Writing teaches us the benefits of receiving feedback and constructive criticism to improve our writing. Sabria’s goal for this class is to become more comfortable with receiving feedback 

As our conversation progressed, we started talking about our favorite TV shows. We shared our love for Parks and Rec, and Sabria says she identifies with Leslie Knope. Leslie Knope is a compassionate leader who is motivated by her ambitions and devoted to caring for the people around herSabria Hall really is a real-life Leslie Knope. Like Ava DuVernay inspired her, Sabria Hall is going to inspire so many young girls to follow their dreams.  

Friend, Christopher. “Student Writing Must Be Graded By The Teacher.” Bad Ideas About  Writing.” Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, The Digital Publishing Institute,  2017, 273-276. 

Emma-Leigh Barfield: Academic Profile

This essay describes the academic journey of Emma Leigh-Barfield. Determinant, passionate, and self-aware are the three words to describe Emma’s academic and personal self. After receiving her first camera at just 8 years old Emma discovered a passion for photography and cinematography that lead her to pursue a film degree at Georgia State University. As a 2nd year student, Emma has used the unfortunate circumstance of having to attend school virtually to her favor by pursuing all her various interests. While taking school, Emma juggles school and working at her church, as a wedding cinematographer, and at her family restaurant. By taking only three classes, Emma is able to indulge in various activities ranging from writing short stories to crocheting.

After Emma graduated from high school in May of 2019, she decided to take a break year. During this year she rediscovered her motivation and passion for learning and art. Emma underwent a major transformation from high school to college in both personal and academic aspects where she developed effective work ethics integral to her college successes and experienced a personal self-growth. Emma stressed the importance of organization and its value to her success by claiming that without her break year to learn these strategies she would have surely struggled her first year. Emma’s strategies for organization are linked to the GSU information videos discussing organization strategies that can help for online classes. The videos emphasized the importance of being cognizant of deadlines and additional information from professors similar to what Emma believed was important.

Outside of her academic pursuits, Emma loves art and journalism. She also loves to hike, go kayaking, and travel (before the pandemic of course!). Her favorite places to travels were Amsterdam, Paris, and London where she was enticed by the beauty and culture of the city.

Despite not having the traditional college experience, Emma has created her own unique experience undertaking her several interests in art and photography. Despite the obstacles in meeting people and indulge in a community to grow her experiences, Emma has found her college experience greatly enjoyable as she is left with time to engage in her various passions and determine her future career path.

Emma’s future holds several possibilities from moving to Atlanta and obtain a 4-year degree, getting an internship or job in the film industry, or becoming a photography director. No matter the path Emma’s unique experiences and versatile interests are no doubt going to allow her to exceed all her expectations.

Sources

  • Emma-Leigh Barfield, Momodou J et al, Pair interview transcript, February 2021
  • GSU Resources for Learning Remotely  “What Organizational Strategies Can Help You in Your Online Course?”, February 2021

Clettis Stephens: Academic Profile

Picture of Clettis Stephens

Selfie of Clettis Stephens

An adage that we all have likely heard before goes: “patience is a virtue”, which truly fits Clettis Stephens. Along with using the Japanese proverb: “fall seven times and stand up eight” (Reynolds, 2011) to describe him, I have the pleasure of introducing our resilient classmate Clettis Stephens who recently allowed me the opportunity to view his stance on his academic self. Through learning more about him, I came to find that he can be a bit too critical towards himself, but this has only served to keep him humble and motivated as he strives to achieve a personal goal whilst refusing to give up for his own and his family’s sakes. Currently in his third semester at GSU majoring in computer science, he has shown he is a persistent individual who treads carefully due to an ongoing fear of failure. This fear, though, serves as a driving force to try his hardest in his third attempt at receiving a college degree.

Clettis comes from “an area where a majority of my family members did not make it to college”. He expanded on that statement by adding “I’m not sure most of them made it out of high school”. Given this explanation, it’s understandable why he carries this fear of failure as it is apparent that he doesn’t want to simply be a statistic along with that majority of his family members he mentioned. With this kind of environment as a foundation in mind, his self-reflected description of his academic self was: nervous, pessimistic, and overworking. However, now at a point in life where he has his own family (a wife and three children), Clettis has made yet another attempt to ensure he has a different outcome from the setting he grew up around despite carrying a negative outlook on his academic self.

In citing his biggest influence on his academic self being his fear of failure, Clettis referred to previous college attempts by saying “I tend to deal with thinking I will have to retake classes halfway through the semester due to not receiving the grades that I would like to have”. However, a fear of failure is not Clettis’ only influence on his academic self. He also cited his wife and kids as also being his largest influence as “they motivate me to do better at everything I do”. During my opportunity to pick his brain I came to realize that while Clettis is rather negative towards himself in self-reflection, his wife and children serve as an even bigger inspiration for him that supersedes his own fears and self-description evidenced by the fact that he has returned to school now three times. He endeavors to be a father who shows his children that nothing is impossible, and that they “can do any and everything you put your mind to as long as you put the work in”.

Despite now having his own family to care for, Clettis has given college education another shot in becoming a career corporate systems analyst showing that nothing in life really is ever “too late”. My advice to Clettis is to continue trying your best to organize your time help make you successful, for as Dr. Chew of Samford University states, “You have to commit the time and hard work necessary to succeed” followed by his advice, “You have to recognize that the time you have will limit your likelihood of success” (Samford University, 2011). Clettis has likely accomplished more in his personal life than many of his fellow students at GSU (with many personal/ professional high and low points), but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to complete a degree from a college institution. I found myself relating a lot to Clettis’ self-description, but ultimately felt that he should give himself more credit. I enjoyed my chance to get to know Clettis, and would really enjoy if he gave me more opportunity to learn from him in the future to further develop my own academic self.

 

 

 

Sources:

Reynolds, G. (2011, March 24). Fall down seven times, get Up eight: The power of japanese resilience. Retrieved February 05, 2021, from https://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2011/03/fall-down-seven-times-get-up-eight-the-power-of-japanese-resilience.html

Samford University. (2011, August 16). How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, “Beliefs That Make You Fail… Or Succeed” [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved February 05, 2021, from https://youtu.be/RH95h36NChI

 

ACADEMIC PROFILE FOR John Dinh

 

I had the pleasure of being paired up with John Dinh, and upon making initial contact I was able to determine a friendship will be established after this class assignment is completed. From our first few exchanges, I was able to tell he is an immensely helpful, considerate, and all-around generous individual. We had some hiccups trying to get our scheduling down and I could not have been more relieved with the way he wanted to go over and beyond to make sure we were able to get this interview completed. The questions that I compiled together came from trying to figure out what will help me learn about John as a student and an individual.

John went to Hapeville Elementary from kindergarten to fifth grade. During the grades of 6th through 8th, he attended Paul D. West Middle went on to attend West Lake High School where he graduated from. After high school, he went to Oxford College of Emory University for 2 years obtaining his Associates of Arts. He decided that he needed to take a mental break from learning to do some soul searching to figure out what he wanted to major in and what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He is currently at Georgia State University pursuing a degree in business administration he wants to transfer to Georgia State University Business School where he will be obtaining a dual major in CIS (Computer Information Systems) and Managerial Services. John wants to start a career as an HRIS (Human Resource Information System) analyst, or any kind of work dealing with information systems.

Some of John’s biggest influencers and motivators of his academic self are his siblings and someone that he worked alongside. John refers to himself as a more indecisive person and expressed that he struggled for years when it came to deciding what would be beneficial for him. He uses his brothers for daily motivation, their eagerness, and quickness when it comes to figuring out what it was that they wanted to do career-wise, supplying him with the push he needed to finish his journey into choosing his career. A human resource manager and mentor of his, while he was working at Delta, inspired him to strive for a career in human resources.

During this current climate that we are living in with having to do online learning compared to face-to-face learning, John expressed that networking has been very baffling and frustrating. Due to the pandemic, he is not able to take part in any of the activities that are hosted by Georgia State University which makes it harder for him to reach out and build relationships and network to get guidance from peers on his career path and options.

In the conclusion of the interview with John, it is ok to take a step back if you are not confident with what it is that you want to do career-wise or even what you want to obtain while you are in school. Some people can maneuver through life with everything figured out but sometimes you must take a break, rely on some of your mentors and influencers when you are “going with the flow” without any direction on which way you should be going. I can say that I related to john throughout this interview, and I know it is more of us out there “just going with the flow” but we will get it done. Don’t be afraid to reach on and introduce yourself to John he has been a very informative and enjoyable person during this project.

Saba Hill Academic Profile

Who is Saba Hill? Saba is currently in her last semester of her freshman year at Georgia State University majoring in Biology with the goal of becoming a neurosurgeon. She chose Georgia State University because she feels like it will give her the experience she is looking for and also because of the smaller class sizes and cheaper tuition. She attended Steven’s Elementary, Everitt Middle School for 7th to 8th grade, and Wheat High school. After graduating high school she took a break from school and worked. Taking a break from school allowed her to decide what she wanted to do, she started off thinking she would be a prosecutor, then an engineer. She wanted her career to be based around helping others and that is when she decided that she wanted to be a doctor and is on a pre-med track at Georgia State University. In Saba’s words, she would describe her academic self as conscientious, determined, a leader, and a perfectionist.

She is not only a student but also a mother to her son and a soon to be the bride to her fiance. These two individuals play a significant role in her academic self. Her fiance, John has influenced her through his hard work and dedication. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in electrical engineering, and has worked for NASA, and loves his job. Her son who she had at 21 is now 4 and has a huge influence on her life. She wants to be able to provide for him and give him a good life and that has greatly influenced her academic self. Being a better person for her son is a motherly instinct as she explains and it encourages her and makes her want to keep going.

College can bring both proud moments but there are times where it could be frustrating and baffling. Saba finds having to take classes that she has no interest in frustrating. She does understand the importance of having a diverse education, but being forced to take a class she has no interest in is frustrating. She explains her art class last semester as a frustrating moment, she struggled through it because she had no interest in it and it was boring to her. Taking a physics class over the art class would have been better in her opinion. Although that did frustrate her, her GPA and many other accomplishments are proud moments in her academic journey. She currently holds a 4.00 GPA and was able to make the President’s list last semester.