In this essay, I will be introducing William Rast-Wells and his academic self. I started off with a simple introduction and proceeded to ask him a series of questions regarding how his life has shaped him academically. William is 19 years old, and this is his second semester at Georgia State Perimeter College. He is a first-generation college student and is majoring in Psychology. William grew up in the rural area of South Carolina for the majority of his childhood. Through these years, William was actively finding himself and how he wanted to live his life. Around his 11th grade year, William felt like making money was more beneficial to him than continuing an education. He spent less time in school and more time trying to make a living. His mom’s side of the family was not as supportive of him when he decided to take this route. William has strong perseverance and did not allow these actions and opinions to take a toll on how he wanted to pursue his future endeavors. William takes an interest in chemistry and forensics. Growing up, he got a little bit of exposure from his uncle, who was a chemistry professor. Even though he is pursuing his interest at GSU Clarkston, he plans to transfer to Georgia State’s Downtown campus after a few semesters. He also plans to get a master’s degree because the psychology and forensics field is more accepting of people who have higher credentials. With this, he wants to use his knowledge to gain employment in the forensic field, one that aids in litigation or in a clinical/lab environment. The classes he’s taking to pursue this career are psychology, history, statistics, english, and global issues.

William expressed the words that he would use to describe his academic self are conscientious, scatterbrained, and reserved.  Although some of these words may seem like they can’t fit all in one person, William described himself as one who doesn’t seek out many social interactions and is very specific when it comes to his work. These traits cause questioning when it comes to academics. He told me that they also prevent him from asking important questions that could help him refocus his thoughts. Dr. Steven Chew’s video on good study strategies to be successful in college highlight the important facts of how having a solid understanding directly correlates to how much effort and hard work is put into the groundwork. This analysis has shown to be very true regarding William. He cannot effectively prepare for his classes without having a strong comprehension of the material. To get this, William must push himself to ask those crucial questions and gain key details to better his overall knowledge and understanding.

As William wants to work in the field of forensics and chemistry, he knows that to be successful, he must work on things like being less reserved and more open to curiosity and questioning himself. His main goal going through college is to delve deep into subjects he cares about. William emphasized that he wants to gain this knowledge through curricula that accentuates depth over breadth. This self-observation aligns with Dr. Chew’s value of finding pleasure in what is being learned. Connecting the subjects he cares about to the ones he questions can open other potential interests that have not been identified. While working on things like that, he continues to be self-critical. Feedback helps him learn and grow from his mistakes and challenges, also a topic from Dr. Chew. He judges himself and his work more rigorously than the standard. His outcome is usually more underwhelming than expected. He doesn’t necessarily see this as a bad thing. It further shows his dedication to the subjects he enjoys most and his receptiveness to criticism from himself and others.

As we see, William knows and is confident about his academic path and future plans. He hopes to gain occupational opportunities and expand his worldview as he progresses through school. Having a better understanding of his skills, capabilities, and those of other people will grow his passion for the future. His perseverance and awareness continue to inspire the people around him and hopefully the people reading. William will continue to go on a path that benefits him most, regardless of critics, and college is only honing his character and academics further.

My partner’s name is Moaz Shoaib. He is 19 years old, and this is his second semester at GSU. He is from Pakistan, and he has spent most of his academic life in Pakistan. He moved here in his senior year and graduated High School. That means he completed his k12 in Pakistan. He can also speak three different languages which are English, Urdu, and Punjabi. The senior year in high school was very difficult for him but the day he graduated he was full of motivation, and he was eager to continue his studies. He described his academic self as logical, curious, and problem-solving attitude.

After he graduated high school, he realized he had some decisions to make and he had to make them fast. The main decision he had to make is where he would be going to college. He decided he would attend Georgia State University. He said GSU was the best fit for him and he felt really at home on campus and he loved the environment. He is majoring in Biology, and he wants to become a doctor. He hasn’t decided what he is going to specialize in but he said he will make up his mind along the way. He wants to get into a medical college and get a MD degree. He said his personality aligns with this profession because of his thinking process, and he always try to think of different possibilities or try to see a single thing with different perspectives.

One of the interesting things he told me is about his favorite subject which is Math. This further describes the qualities of his academic self, which are problem solving attitude and being curious. He told me he has always enjoyed solving problems because he enjoys challenging himself. Which is also why he decided to major in Biology because he knew the route he was taking would not be easy. While he does enjoy the challenge sometimes, he did admit that sometimes it can be frustrating. He says being a biology major often only leaves time for school and doesn’t give him much time to enjoy himself, as he is always swamped with homework. Even though he may not have all the time in the world he does tell me that he enjoys hobbies just as anybody else does. He likes sports which requires a lot of practice to be able to play that specific sports. So, he like doing things again and again until he masters it, even if it can seem in possible.

I asked him about his favorite books, and one of his favorite books is 1984. He read that book in high school, and he loved it. He told me the reason why he liked that book is because it was about the system and how system is always watching people, and the people try to fight system. He said questioning is important because it can help with self-reflection and be more focused on your goals. I think that was the point where he developed his other ability about his academic self, which is being curious.

In conclusion, I learned that Moaz Shoaib he is very well-rounded person. He has his goals set and he never steps back to put in his one hundred percent.

Blog on Samir

                        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.  

The person I interviewed is Tom Nguyen. He is a dual enrollment student at Georgia State Perimeter College. He is a junior in high school and attends Dekalb Early College Academy. He has lived in Stone Mountain, Georgia all his life. He refers to himself as a gamer who prefers first-person shooting games. He is also considered to be well-traveled. He has been outside the country multiple times and has been to Japan and Vietnam, his home country.

Three words that Tom chose to describe his academic self are “out of the box, creative, and different”. His biggest influencers for his academic self are his family, more specifically his two older siblings and his parents. His brother, was the one to pave his path of going to the same high school, doing dual enrollment, and then later going to Georgia Tech. Although he has realized that he doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps completely but wants a head start in college. As of right now Tom does not have a major but has an idea of what he wants to major in computer science.

This being his second semester at GSU, he is really enjoying his time here. He appreciates the certain freedom that comes with college and professors not hovering over you the way high school teachers do. Things that frustrate him about college is the way professors use multiple sites when it comes to assignments, it becomes complicated to check everything so that you won’t be late or miss assignments entirely. In the video, “Developing a Mindset for Successful Learning” by Dr. Chew, he speaks about the 10 study strategy principles. One of them is, “successful learning requires planning ahead”. This can be related to the multiple sites, being that communication with your professor is very important to the planning process.

Not really knowing what aspect he wants to focus on within that major, he is confident that he wants to work with technology because it is something he is passionate about.

Chew, S. (n.d.). How to study. How to Get the Most Out of Studying. Retrieved from https://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study

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.

Academic Profile

This is an interview done with the remarkable Shelby Crum. Shelby is a 21-year-old young woman who was born in California but grew up mostly in Indiana. Seven months ago, she and her boyfriend, Jacob, decided to make a change and move to Georgia, which landed her at GSU. During her time here, she encountered a lot of trial and error within her academic journey. With these experiences, she seems to have a unique perspective on academics and describes it as a way to conduct oneself in a learning environment. She expressed herself as reserved and curious, traits that have helped her explore different career paths after her high school graduation in 2019.

To begin, one would say Shelby’s academic journey has been a winding road. After considering a degree in business, she decided to pursue a career in beauty. However, she soon discovered that her true passion was in the healthcare field. This realization led her to switch her major to nursing, a decision she has not regretted yet. Shelby is deeply invested in her nursing studies and enjoys learning about the human body. She finds anatomy and physiology particularly interesting and has a strong desire to understand how the body works. Her curiosity to learn make her a dedicated student and a future asset to the healthcare industry.

Moreover, Shelby believes that learning new things is a critical component of becoming “our most authentic selves.” She acknowledges that knowledge is important for everyone, as it allows individuals to speak confidently and express their thoughts and opinions effectively. Despite the challenges of learning, she remains motivated and engaged, even in her favorite subjects. Although Shelby recognizes that learning can have its difficulties, she remains dedicated to her education. She understands that staying motivated and committed to her goals is essential to achieving success.

Her dedication and focus have led her to attain great knowledge. She believes that the key to attaining knowledge is to start small and gradually build up. Rather than diving into the hardest assignments right away, Shelby begins by completing smaller tasks and thoroughly reviewing her work. This approach not only helps her to solidify her understanding of the material, but it also gives her a sense of accomplishment and motivation to tackle more challenging assignments. Through her methodical approach to learning, Shelby is able to immerse herself fully in her studies and gain a deep understanding of the subject matter.

This deep understanding allows her to stay on top of the academic competition because she believes that the grading system is important in measuring academic progress; however, she also feels that the current education system is too focused on competition and places too much pressure on students to perform at a certain level. She believes that the approach to education should be less restrictive, allowing students to explore their interests and strengths without fear of failure. This perspective aligns with ideas presented in “The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World Flux” by Cathy N. Davidson, where the author argues that traditional teaching and grading methods are outdated and instead suggests a more personalized and student-centered approach to education. The book highlights the importance of fostering creativity, critical thinking, and passion in students rather than just teaching to the test. Shelby’s thoughts reflect the need for a shift in education that prioritizes a student’s growth and well-being over grades and competition.

In conclusion, Shelby Crum is a remarkable young woman with a unique perspective on academics. Her journey has been filled with trial and error, but she remains dedicated to her education and is deeply invested in her nursing studies. Shelby believes that knowledge is essential for becoming one’s most authentic self. She also believes that the key to attaining knowledge is through dedication, focus, and a methodical approach to learning. Furthermore, she feels that the current education system places too much emphasis on competition and grades and that a more student-centered approach to education would benefit students. Her views align with the ideas presented in The New Education by Cathy Davidson, further emphasizing the need for a shift in the way education is approached. Shelby’s dedication and commitment to her education make her a promising future asset to the healthcare industry.

Works Cited 

• Davidson, Cathy N. The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World Flux. 2nd ed., Basic Books, 2017.
• Crum, Shelby, Pair interview transcript, February 2023
• Weaver, Rebecca, PhD; Project #1, Profile of fellow student (“academic self” interview) February 2023, GSU ATL