A driven, flexible, and innovative student with determination and passion describes the academic profile of Manasvi Gaddam. Being a high school dual enrollment senior during a pandemic has had it’s challenges for Manasvi, but she is determined to position herself into the lifestyle she desires. 

Born in Illinois, moving to Georgia at the age of 2, attending a private school, charter school, and then 2 public schools, life always moves pretty fast for Manasvi. Between studying, dancing, and a close bond with her family, Manasvi is able to balance a busy schedule and still give her best effort with anything thrown towards her. She started dual enrollment at the beginning of her senior year this year. Starting with a Government class last semester and now an English class this semester, she is set on starting college to take some steps closer to her dream career.

With her ability to adapt fast, achieve many goals, and have different perspectives of situations, she has earned a spot at Georgia Tech for her freshman year of college. As a hands-on learner, Manasvi struggled with being faced with online school during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, through all the struggle and hardships she faced, she still stayed focused on her goals. A source that has helped Manasvi through her online college experience so far is the GSU informational videos that give organization tips, how to communicate with peers and professors, and how to tackle online school. Her first goal was to get into a college, which she achieved. Now, she is ready to tackle college and is ready to grow into the person she was born to be. 

Life has many paths set for Manasvi and with all of these paths presented, she is willing to get into the world as quickly as she can. She will be attending Georgia Tech in the fall and plans to be a computer science major. Along with her life always moving pretty fast, Manasvi is currently taking as many AP classes and dual enrollment classes as possible so she can go through college with a breeze. After graduating college early, Manasvi has many paths she could decide to take. She could go on to law school and become a patent lawyer or continue her path with computer science and dive into machine learning for a master’s in Artificial Intelligence. 

Whatever path Manasvi decides to follow in her future, she will excel and continue to stay driven, flexible, and innovative. With these academic standards she has set for herself, you can plan to see her take on a patent law position, step into the world of computer science, or even a part of an Artificial Intelligence team. You can also plan to see Manasvi travel the world she has dreamed to see and start to have many connections with people outside of her close-knit circle of family and friends. She is comfortable in her close-knit circle, but she is ready to become the person she has set for herself and create her own life experience. The future for Manasvi is bright, with many high standards and a passionate attitude, nothing will hold her back from exceeding her own expectations.

Sources:

Gaddam, Manasvi. Interview. Conducted by Emma-Leigh Barfield.

GSU Keep Learning: Resources for Learning “What Organizational Strategies Can Help You in Your Online Course?”, February 2021

 I wrote this essay based on emails and text interviews about Caitlyn’s academic self. I had questionnaires on her educational background, pathway, and ultimate career goal.
 
 Caitlyn took an economics class last summer, and this is her first year as a dual enrollment student. Even though she had a hard time in the registration process, she is enjoying her first dual enrollment year. Caitlyn is currently attending 11th grade at Morrow magnet school. She chooses Morrow because the school has an excellent program in a healthcare pathway and AP-oriented classes. She found herself would be unstressed in going to her home school, which is North Clayton, but they didn’t have all the academic resources to help her achieve her goal. That’s the reason she went to a magnet school. Yet, they had a great healthcare program with a clinic. She wanted a rigorous and more competitive academic curriculum, hence her decision to participate in the Morrow magnet program. Her ultimate career goal is emergency room physician with a sub-specialty in cardiology.
 
 Caitlyn picks three words of her academic self, which are impatient, independent, hard-working. She considers those are the three key factors that will lead her to success and keep her motivated. She told me the first word impatient refers to her personality. She describes herself as “hot-headed” what she meant by that is when there is a conflict, she thinks the best way to solve it is to jump in and take action. When this happens, she does not wait. Instead, she is trying to solve it right away. I can relate it to her favorite reading, which is “Some people are just born writers” by Jill Parrot. It says, “Good writing instruction can only occur if the person believes they can be a good writer.” She firmly believes that what happens around her can be solved on her own. This is the reason why she likes online learning. It would seem that online learning is suitable for her because she is making an effort something that she wants to achieve. Lastly, she has been a hard-working student. Not only that, her mother gives her all the advice she needs to find what she wants to be when growing up, helping her pursue her dreams come true, and advising her to make a better choice. Caitlyn’s mother is her mentor, who has three degrees in different fields. It motivates her to get a good grade. Since she was a child, she vaguely wanted to work in the healthcare field, she recently specified it.

 I have seen taking online classes frustrates many students. Caitlyn is not one of them. She prefers taking online courses, and she is doing great. Those who think, “Maybe someday, I’ll go to school and get my degree, but I have to work now do not have time to go to school” How about overcoming all the barriers and going to school now? It is later than you think.

Citation:

Caitlyn Eukre Academic Self interview 2021
Some people are just born good writers by Jill Parrot

In the past, it has been hard to communicate with peers in online courses. This project allowed me to get to know one of my classmates, Daniel Gonzalez. This is Daniel’s first year at Georgia State University, and he graduated from North Atlanta High School in 2020. During high school, he enjoyed math and Spanish and played soccer after school. We discussed our favorite subjects and we both learned that our favorites are philosophy and mythological history, his favorite being Norse mythology.

When I asked Daniel when he started doing online classes he said that he started this semester. Last semester, he struggled finding connections with other students, so he decided to enroll in online courses in January. I asked Daniel why he decided to choose Georgia State, and he mentioned that it was one of the closest schools to his house and he wanted to continue working while taking classes. 

We also discussed our biggest struggles in academic environments, and he mentioned that he has a hard time asking for help when he needs it and tends to let work pile up due to procrastination. Another thing that made his educational journey more difficult is that English is his second language. As an only child, it was hard for him to adapt to English classes, but math doesn’t have much of a language barrier so he took more advanced classes in math. 

Daniel’s major at GSU is in computer engineering, and he is very dedicated to gaining expertise in this subject. We discussed our hobbies and he mentioned that he built his own gaming computer, which is very impressive. He told me that his mother is one of his biggest inspirations due to her hardworking and passionate personality. 

After speaking with Daniel and learning more about his life, I learned that everyone is capable of being successful if they work hard enough. Daniel had to struggle with language barriers all throughout school, but he still earned good grades and took classes that will help him with his future career choices. He is a very persistent and hardworking student, and is able to multitask in school and work. The most important thing I learned from talking with Daniel is that these traits are what makes people successful. 

                                           Ms. Dominique Lawson- Georgia State University

      This profile is a compilation of interviews held with Dominique Lawson that were conducted over email. During the email interviews, we discussed our academic selves, high school experiences, and our plans for the future. Dominique dropped out of high school but later received her GED at the age of 30. When she had decided to leave school, her grandmother had just passed away, and she had to move in with her best friends. It understandably became hard for her to make school a priority. In 2017, she decided that she wanted to change her life, so she enrolled at Miami Dade Community College and studied for her GED. Dominique struggled with the math portion of the test, but with a lot of studying, she passed. The frustrating thing about college for her is that she has to take three or more classes to receive financial aid. She has been a student at GSU since 2018, but she has only completed one spring semester. Dominique believes that anyone who is trying to make something out of their life with nothing is an influence to her.

      The three words that described her academic self were structured, strategic, and thorough. She prefers to get assignments done on time and to perfect them the first time she does them. She spends a few hours both before and after work double-checking her assignments to make sure there are no flaws. She plans out each day to ensure she has time for school and will often wake up at five a.m. to complete assignments in advance. She refuses to risk falling behind on her school work. She does not have any continuous study habits, but she is a good note-taker. Dominique’s academic self is motivated to break a generation curse, and the idea of becoming too overwhelmed and walking away from school is Dominiques biggest academic fear.

      Dominique’s fear of becoming too overwhelmed with school motivates her to spend as much of her free time as she can perfecting her assignments. However, her biggest academic challenge is finding balance between school and work. Both are very important to her, and to achieve her academic goal, she has to stick to a daily schedule. Dominique has faced a few personal challenges as well on her journey of obtaining her college degree. Not only did she lose her grandmother in high school, but she faced the loss of her mother in 2019. Before this loss, she was a full-time student but to maintain balance in her life, she understandably sits out summer sessions.

      Dominique is currently majoring in health science, where she plans to become a Nurse Practitioner. Unlike being a regular nurse, becoming a nurse practitioner will give her open space to treat her patients in a broader manner. The loss of her grandmother was Dominique’s inspiration to pursue nursing. She was always good at taking care of others therefore, this career just felt right for her. She plans to complete her nursing degree while employed at Emory as a nursing tech and at Morehouse school of medicine as a research coordinator. Dominique has two academic goals. The first, is to raise her GPA to the highest it can be. The second, is to finish her BSA.

 Introducing to you Miss Molly Hamaan

Written by Sheila Dixon

           This essay contains information from an interview with Molly Hamaan about her academic self. We spoke on the phone and talked much about who we were as college students today.  Molly is a Georgia native. She attended a private school as a young child at a private school by the name of McGinnis Woods County Day School, she went on from there to graduate from Centennial High School in Roswell, GA where she found a love for music. Throughout her four years in high school, Molly participated in the Marching Band. She also has skills with various instruments including the trumpet and the piano.

           First, I’d like to say thank you to her for being an essential worker. She works at the McGinnis Woods Day school, the same school she attended as a child along with being a student and is a second-semester student here at Georgia State pursuing a career in Nursing.  Her goal is to become a nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department. I asked her why she chose that particular department with enthusiasm she said, “because it is bringing a new life into the world.”

            When asked to describe her academic self, Molly stated she was a “perfectionist”. Molly evaluates herself as needing to perform highly in her work studies. She is influenced by her grandfather, who did not do well academically so he went on the succeed in the Navy. She went on to say that he was a major influence on her perfectionism. He encouraged her to always work hard because” when you work hard you can achieve anything in life” she explained.

          Our conversation when on to give notice that we were much alike not wanting to be underachievers. She was able to relate the test-taking anxiety we get when doing the tests online. Molly’s connection with Dr. Chew’s video called “Developing a Mindset for Successful Learning,”  was his first principle, “your level of understanding is a direct result of how hard you prepare” came with her ideology of mastering herself at being a perfectionist in getting good grades.

          So, one wouldn’t agree that being an online student is very hard we see it differently. Although we differ in age her coming right out of high school to college and me waiting for ten years or more, we still face some of the same challenges when it comes to virtual learning. Being watched, overthinking, and second-guessing because we don’t want to fail. Is online learning a good decision for every scholar? The real question how can one overcome the challenges of virtuous learning when all we know is remote learning?

Works Cited

Chew, Steven, director.” Developing a Mindset for Successful Learning”. YouTube, uploaded by Samford University, 25 Aug 16, 2011, https:// www.youtube.com/sheliadixon

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.

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. 

        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! 

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 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.