As a young adult, doing what makes you happy is the ultimate life goal. We spend day in and day out dreaming of what can make life reminiscent to what we envision life.  As an artist myself I understand the passion and fire it takes to fulfill a dream from a young age as Christian Aycock is currently doing. Christian Aycock, a seventeen-year-old musician is a true reflection of chasing your dreams from a young age. After numerous unsuccessful meetings on my part, I finally was able to sit down with Christian and discuss the components which make up his artistic and academic self.

                        What makes Christian so phenomenal is the multifaceted attributes of his life. A chorus singer from Drew Charter School to a Kroger courtesy clerk, advancing toward his dreams. All while being a part of a nine-sibling family, we can only imagine the beautiful chaos of his family. Being one of nine builds character, Christian described some of those character traits as determined, productive and helpful. All attributes that will assist him along his academic journey. Christian Aycock’s academic journey began as a typical K-12 experience. Commencing at Hope Hill Elementary and now Drew Charter School. Christian has dreams of continuing his secondary education at esteemed colleges such as Morehouse, Clark Atlanta and Georgia State University. In order to facilitate this goal Christian made good grades and became a dual enrollment student, which is how I met this wonderful soul. As a dual enrollment student, Aycock hopes to gain some college experience to aid in the transition from high school senior to college freshman. Aspiring to live out his dreams as a music conductor and music composer. While diligently participating in academic pursuits.

Manuel Alcoser-Mejia is a Freshman at Georgia State, and he graduated from Macintosh High School. The main reason he is going to college is for his family.  Both of his parents are immigrants, and he is a first-generation college student. One of the bigger reasons his parents moved here was better opportunities to go to school. If he doesn’t go to college, he feels like he will disappoint them.  He has two younger siblings, 7 and 12, and he wants to set an example for them. 

His 3 words to describe his academic self are lazy, hard-working, and procrastinating.  If he could change anything about his work ethic, he would change his scheduling because sometimes there are conflicts with his schedule, and he does not really feel like doing something, so it is hard for him to find the motivation to finish it. His mom is his biggest influence on his academic self, as she pushed and helped him through high school.  

One of his favorite subjects is math, and that is the one he is most proud of. Sometimes it is hard to understand, but he likes learning it. He takes an online math class that challenges him. It takes him a long time to complete the assignments, as they are difficult.  The major he wants to pursue is engineering, as it was his pathway through high school, and he really enjoyed it. When he is older, he wants to become a mechanical engineer. The article I feel that most relates to him is Intro to The New Education because he wants to not just learn technology, but also apply it to help the world. He wants to set an example for his younger siblings so that they too can go to college. These ideals are very important to him.  

In high school, he felt stressed with the SAT test, as he didn’t know how much it influenced college decisions. Towards the end of the year, he realized this and booked a last-minute SAT, and it was the last one he could take.  On testing day, he forgot his ID, so he had to go back home and grab it. When he got back, the doors were closed, but the people inside were able to bring him in at the last minute and put him in a different testing room.  

One thing about college that frustrates him is not fully knowing what classes he needs to do for engineering. He asked academic advisors, and he has a plan of classes he needs to do, but he doesn’t know if he needs to do them. If he could go to another school, he would go to Kennesaw and get a bachelor’s in engineering and a lot of his friends go there. He would also like to go to Georgia Tech because he believes it is the best in the state. He doesn’t know what degree to get yet, hoping bachelors then get a job. If it’s hard for him to get a job to get a bachelor’s degree, then he will go and get a masters. 

Audrey is a senior in Charter Highschool. When it comes to her academics, she sees herself as hard working, self-compassionate, and persistent. Since Audrey is a senior in high school, she was given an opportunity to do programs that could help with her academic self and for her final year she decided to join the dual enrollment program. Dual enrollment is a program that is common among every high school in Georgia. It takes any willing student that wants to go to a college to gain experience and even gain college credit.  

One of her main reasons for joining was that it was better than staying in school and getting caught up with classes she did not care about. It would also help her gain college credit that could help towards getting scholarships. When she first joined the program, she originally wanted to go to a college in the downtown area but did not have high enough grades to get into it, so she decided to go to Perimeter. Since she is a hard-working student, after a few months, she did end up meeting the criteria to get into the downtown college but ended up staying here in Perimeter. So far, while staying in this college, she has found nothing confusing with the challenges it has to offer and is confident with the challenges that may come up in the future. 

She hopes by the time she graduates that she can get in the college she wants to go to which is the University of Georgia. She has been wanting to go to it ever since she was in school and hopes that she will be able to qualify for it. Once she gets to college, she plans to get a master’s degree in something related to business. So far in her preparation for college, she has done the SAT. When asked about how it was, she said it was stressful and hard. She tried it a couple times but was not able to get the scores she was hoping to get. She eventually hired a tutor that helped her finally get the scores that she wanted. She did not give up and kept trying to become her best academic self with her persistence. 

She has worked hard to achieve her goals like joining the Dual enrollment program, working on getting better SAT scores, and working on her academic self. When looking at all the things she had to do to achieve what she wants it reminds me of a sentence I read in the “The New Education” “students are on a journey, making sacrifices of time, money, and attention to strive for a significant change in their lives” (Davidson 3) which she is clearly doing. In a way it makes me feel motivated to work on my academic self and hopefully for others reading this it can help motivate themselves too.  

Over the last week, I had the chance to get to know one of my colleagues a little better, Asia Shakir. As of right now, Asia is a student at GSU enrolled in her first year of a dual enrollment program and is in her senior year at the Drew Charter School. For the majority of her academic life, she has only ever attended this one institution. This being her last year, Asia has made the great decision to venture out and learn about the world of college. Things seemed tough for her in the beginning, but Asia is one passionate student who is determined to “stick it through” to the end.  

When I asked why she decided to enroll in GSU’s dual enrollment program, Asia answered it seemed a great fit for the pre-college experience and to explore the many opportunities it had to offer. As her senior year comes to an end, her full college years are to begin. She plans to major in Business, aspiring to own her own business someday. One thing that you may not know about Asia is that she is a student with many talents. In the world of cosmetology, Asia has honed her skills as a nail technician and hair stylist. With a passion for beauty and a drive to continuously improve, she aims to expand her services and grow her expertise in the industry. 

Regarding academics, it is no question that Asia has an aptitude to learn. However, the things that really motivate her are the idea of completing things to the end and her Aunt Chynahn.  When it comes to college, Asia believes that investing in her education is something that in the long run will help develop her skills and that “sticking it through” will benefit her.  At first, I didn’t quite understand what she meant by sticking it through. Through discussion, I learned that she meant college, for her, is more than just getting a degree, but learning meaningful principles she can apply to herself later in life. Kind of like the ones from Stephen Chews’ studying videos. She resonates with his enlightenment and has taken a liking to his straightforward teaching.   

Stephen Chew’s videos aren’t the only candid things that seem to impact her. Another major influence in her life would be her Aunt Chaynahn. Asia describes her as a force to be reckoned with. Her admiration for her aunt’s boldness and fierce attitude is something I noticed that makes her beam ear to ear.  I can tell that her aunt really motivates her to be the person she wants to be. Asia says her Aunt Chayahn is a person who sets her heart out to do what she wants and never lets anything stand in her way. She is motivated by this to complete her own journey through college and seeks to have a similar attitude of not letting any hardships get in the way (sticking it through).  

In short, what I’ve learned from Asia is that she is a person who strives for not only success but efficiency.  As she sets out into soon-to-be adult life, it can be said that with her willingness and determination, she can do anything she puts her mind to. It was an amazing opportunity to get to meet her and be able to talk about who her Academic Self is. I think she is on a great path to being the person she seeks to be.    

-Shakir, Asia. Interviews. Conducted by Shamis Saeed, Jan-Feb 2023. 

-Weaver, Rebecca. Class Lecture, Jan. 2023.   

     Hello peers. I would like to introduce Asma Nadir. During the over an hour phone call we had, I learned quite a bit about her and her academic self. Asma is 20 years old and is a current sophomore here at Georgia State Clarkston campus and has been attending since she first started as a freshman. She is a middle child and she values family, friends, loyalty, and education. She currently works at Target as a cashier and has been for the past 2 years. In her free time, she likes to hang out with friends, watch Turkish shows, and play badminton. 

     Asma attended kindergarten through middle school in Afghanistan, then came to America when she was 15 and attended Clarkston high school. She graduated high school with a 3.95 gpa being top 10 in her class. Asma decided to go to college immediately following high school. She chose to attend GSU’s Clarkston campus because it was the cheaper option compared to other popular colleges/universities, but she still wanted the college experience.  As of right now, Asma plans to earn her associate degree majoring in engineering at GSU Clarkston, then transfer to Georgia Tech majoring in architecture this fall. She wants to earn her master’s degree and be an architect. Her goal is to design homes for the less fortunate here, and back in her country Afghanistan.

     The three words Asma used to describe her academic self were: hardworking, social, and independent. Those words go to show a lot about Asma. The biggest influence on her academic self are her friends, teachers, and the people she follows on social media because they are very hardworking. When she sees them it’s like positive competition for her, and they motivate her to stay on track. When it comes to her academics, she is proud that she is responsible for the work that is given to her and always manages to turn in her assignments on time. Asma’s favorite video that we watched in class was the “How To Get The Most Out Of Studying” video series by Dr Chew. Similar to the topic, the video series is simply just tips and tricks to train your mind to study. Which Asma found very beneficial.

     Something that Asma finds frustrating about college is the fact that advisors don’t care about what students need based on their major. They often throw students in classes that they don’t necessarily need, and it seems to be a waste of time and money. She believes that the classes taken in the first 2 years of college aren’t a necessity, but the classes more related to your major are what really counts. So essentially, it comes down to the classes being taken.

The below writing is the synopsis of my interview with Kayla Graham. Kayla is a first-year pre-med nursing student at Georgia State University, and her journey to get to where she is now is evidence of her determination and versatility. Born with Jamaican roots, Kayla grew up in a strict household where academics were highly valued. However, it wasn’t until she joined the National Guard that she truly valued her education. Despite going through high school just because she had to be there, Kayla is now determined to finish what she started. She says that is evolving, learning to “enjoy” the academic process, and embracing the opportunities that college has to offer.

Out of the three words I asked Kayla to describe herself with, the first one was discipline. Kayla attributes the army as being her biggest motivator, shaping her into the disciplined individual she is today. Kayla was initially intimidated by the pressure of academic expectations but soon realized that her military background had prepared her well. She began to embrace the learning process and started to appreciate the results of her discipline and hard work.

Kayla’s interests are far-reaching, in addition to her academics, Kayla has a passion for aesthetics, graphics and design, and she has already completed her certification as an esthetician. In addition, Kayla is a spiritual person, which has helped her maintain balance in her life. Hence why the second word she used to describe herself is broad.

Kayla’s third word to describe herself was evolving. She has come a long way from just wanting to attend high school because she had to, to now being determined to finish what she started and fulfill her goal of becoming a nurse and her realizing that learning can be enjoyable. Kayla believes that her determination and discipline will overcome the challenges she is set to face. As Dr. Stephen Chew said in his principles to develop a mindset for learning video, Kayla aspires to find value in what she is studying to do her best in it.

In conclusion, I asked Kayla, why college? Kayla answered by saying that College was a chance for her to evolve and try new things and she decided to embrace it. She hopes that the obstacles that are to come, like the ones she has faced before, will help her continue to grow and evolve. For me, Kayla’s background really shows that a positive attitude, an open mind, and determination could help someone grow as an individual. She is a reminder that anything is possible with hard work and discipline.

Sources:

• Kayla Graham, pair interview transcript, January 2022
• Chew, Stephen. Https://Www.samford.edu/Departments/Academic-Success-Center/How-to-Study.
   

We all have some academic aspects to us when it comes to school. We are all different and learn different ways. And based on these aspects whether you’re good at writing or math or science etc.. can reflect your motivation on being your best academic self in those areas. Jacob doesn’t really have a favorite subject he’s passionate about but he enjoys studying communication and likes writing especially persuasive essays describing his academic self as creative, intuitive, and unintelligent.

Jacob moved schools  frequently so he has been to many starting out at High Plains elementary school then went to Cherry creek middle school, transfering  to later to Renford middle school then spending all four years at Decatur high school. When you get out of high school you have a few choices and Jacob chose college, Jacob came straight out of high school and into college Georgia state, to be exact and has been here three years and four semesters. When we think about college you have to think about cost,housing,majors,etc..so when it comes to Georgia State it’s a great pick for Jacob its affordable and not to far from home. His point of view of the college in general is similar to the ted talk video we discussed in class and that yes college is a scam perpetuating the cycle of debt and the workload of college. His current major is undecided but he’s thinking about going into communications. His current classes consist of biology, english, and business. He likes college so far but the workload and social aspect not so much but loves the freedom he has to learn and try what he wants.

We all have things, beliefs, mindsets, or people that influence our actions everyday and motivate us to be our academic self. Jacobs biggest influence was knowledge and truthfulness and his older brother who is currently in law school. He feels that knowledge is key and can really help you in the long run. Jacob also feels that truthfulness in one’s work is also important to building and influencing your academic self. These influences push him to be the student he is today. 

One of the ways in which the American Psychological Association (APA) defines academic self-concept is an individual’s evaluation of their own overall learning skill/performance. Though rather humble, Evan Perlmutter should think highly of himself in this regard. Evan is a high school student who is also attending college. Dual enrolled at Tucker High School, and here at Georgia State Perimeter College for the year, he has been admitted to and plans to attend The University of Georgia next year. He is getting ahead of the game in his collegiate student career. Few high school students get a leg up in college by choosing to attending college courses before they complete high school.

Why is Evan attending college courses while in high school?

Funny, you should ask.…

He’s doing so, partly because “[his] older brother did”.

So, what other things has Evan done just because his brother has done?    Surprisingly, not much.?!

These two only sibling brothers are only 3 years apart, but their mild, tenderhearted rivalry extends solely to video games and, our focus, academia. In this composition we will discuss Evan’s academic-self.

Evan views himself as well organized and a great manager of his time. He is happy to be excelling in his courses. He is settled, confident and he is doing well. He likes science and math; he does not particularly care for language arts of social sciences. Evan’s father is an environmental engineer and his brother is a mechanical engineering major at Georgia Tech. Much like the chosen fields of his father and brother, Evan, who will be off to UGA soon, will be a landscape architect. Lionel Trilling, well known professor of Oxford, Harvard and most notably Columbia, believed that students regarded college “merely as a process of accreditation, with an economic-social end in view” (Delbanco 17). In some ways Evan agrees as he would not attend college if he did not feel that it was important to his career. Inevitably, Evan’s goal is to help people through his passion to help the environment. As cites grow and expand Evan sees an increased demand for city planning in urban design. Somewhat contrastingly from his father and brother, Evan’s mother is a therapist, counseling patients that suffer emotionally with pain reprocessing. Although Evan feels that his father is the biggest influence in his life, he has picked up on traits tied in more so with emotional intelligence from his mother. Evan recognizes that the influences both of his mother and father is why landscape architecture sparks his interests. Though, it is a science related field the outcome of landscape architecture relates to achieving environmental ascetics that affect not just environmental but social-behavioral outcomes.           

Delbanco remarks that “going to college means to be released into a playground of unregulated freedom” (19). However, Evan is in no way a socialite, and isn’t looking forward to becoming one, as gregarious interaction can be seen traditionally as one of the hallmarks of young college life. Evan has always attended public school. Coming up in school, he mostly stuck to a small group of friends, but he does reveal that his experiences in the schools he has attended has led to experience with diverse groups people. He revels in that fact. He should, as helping others is his aim. Listed are just a few of the traits that Evan will take with him on his journey, both in his academic-self ergo his future.     

Delbanco, Andrew. College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be – Updated Edition on JSTOR.    

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1287khf.3.

Glae Paw was initially born in Thailand and was part of a refugee group before she came to the USA. She was born on July 2, 2006, and is 16 years old. Her parents are from a village on the border of Thailand. Glae moved to America in 2012, so she spent more time here than in her own country. From kindergarten to 2-grade, she went to Indian Creek Elementary. Later, she transferred to a charter school at International Community School during 3rd grade. From 3rd to 5th grade, soccer became one of her hobbies, and she enjoyed it more than school. Glae attended GSU as a dual enrollment student in her 11th-grade year in high school. Based on the definition of the academic self, Glae describes herself as creative, curious, and persevering.

Glae thinks of herself as creative because she feels that everyone has this trait as them like it’s self-built. Anyone can be creative in various circumstances, but she feels her originality is most evident in the classroom. When working on practical undertakings or writing fiction, Glae frequently exhibits greater creativity. Glae completed numerous tasks in her previous academic years, including crafts. In middle and high school, Glae would use boxes to create the water cycle or biomes, and she would use clay or styrofoam to make the cells and their parts. These initiatives, according to Glae, require inventiveness, which she demonstrated when dealing with it. Being given the task of writing a story was familiar to Glae after each grade. Yet, whenever Glae is given an assignment, she always thinks of something different, something beyond imagination or something within realism. Glae feels that her environment and surroundings influence her creativity.

Curiosity is another quality Glae identified with her academic persona. For Glae, there is a fresh experience at every grade. When Glae transitioned from elementary to middle school, she encountered new readings, math challenges, and writing assignments. Math problems that previously required adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing integers progress to equations and properties that are more complicated. Many constraints constrained the narrative writing that Glae used to do to particular types of writing, such as narrative poems or various forms of poetry in general. As Glae reads about new topics, she can also expand her expertise. These shifts increase her interest as she is exposed to unique learning circumstances. When Glae is in a new or different class, she gets curious about the various teachings, strategies, and modes of instruction. She also believes that curiosity is a quality that comes naturally to everyone. She felt foreign at that moment because of the various educational levels she had completed, which led her to imagine what it would be like in that situation. Glae has been exposed to a different learning environment even up to this point, which causes me to wonder and reflect.

These traits are how Glae would evaluate her academic self to be. Glae explores her surroundings with wonder as she navigates the ever-changing educational environment. This sparks her thoughts and questions regarding the future’s prospects and expectations. She is also prompted to wonder and ponder, which helps her acquire knowledge and experience that she could use later. Additionally, Glae is developing her perseverance abilities due to the ongoing changes. Glae must be able to grasp the earlier lessons and make an effort to comprehend the classes she is currently taking because each subject’s information builds on what she has already learned. There may be changes in new teaching material, but she feels like it shouldn’t stop or discourage her from progressing. The school has also allowed her to show creativity through arts, construction, and questioning within the different levels of its adjustments.

During the DelbancoCollege reading, the sentences that stood out to her were during the Introduction (pg.2, paragraph 2) “the criteria we use to assess the quality of college- number of publication by its faculty, size of the endowment, selectivity in admission, rule of alumni giving, even graduation rates- tell very little about what it does for its students.” It stood out to her because she felt like those characteristics had always been what she centered and surrounded herself during school environment, and then suddenly reading about how it “tells little about what it does” seemed surprising. Another sentence that stood out to her was (pg 3, paragraph 2) “A college should be a place where young people find themselves navigating the territory between adolescence and adulthood. It should provide guidance, not coercion, as students find their way to self-knowledge.” This sentence stood out to Glae because she agreed with the statement. Glae felt that college should be where she could explore her interests.

Citation

Delbanco, Andrew. College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2014.