Blue and Gold
Transcript: By: Alice Whitmire Blue and Gold SUMMARY SUMMARY My First Semester This semester was definitely a learning experience for me. It was my first time living away from my family for an extended period of time and there were definitely challenges involved. It took some time to get used to being independent and managing college. However, this semester has been so great. I have been able to meet so many people, do so many fun things and to grow so much as an individual just by being here. So in review I would say this semester has been challenging but so rewarding. I cannot wait for what is to come. Growth Growth 1 2 3 Balancing my time: At the beginning of the semester it was difficult to balance my time and find enough hours in my day to juggle all the things I wanted to do. After working through the first few weeks and sitting down with a planner to budget my time, I got really good at time management. I am really proud of how far I have come in terms of my capability to fit all of the aspects of my life together in a way that works for me. Academics: Coming into college I really wanted to do well academically. I knew it might be easy for me to get overwhelmed by all the other aspects of my transition and forget the school work. So, I made it a goal of mine to study hard and do well. I think that having this goal really helped to motivate me to keep my grades up and stay focused not only on friends and extracurricular activities and transition but also on my academics which are important as well. I learned how to study well and how to take advantage of things that are offered on campus like the writing center. Getting involved: It has been super fun for me to get to explore UTC this semester and figure out where my niche is. I have tried out a lot of different clubs and organizations and found the ones I think I'll stick with. I knew coming in that I wanted to get out, have fun and get involved and I think I have grown a lot through the pursuit of this goal. I have met great people, learned a lot about UTC and had a lot of fun in the process. I am so excited to see where my involvement with things like Young Life here on campus takes me. 3 objectives/goals/topics I learned something from or grew the most in Goal Moving Forward My Goal for Spring 2019 Next semester I want to work on identifying and locating new and varied resources on campus in order to increase my awareness and use of them. While I do think I have done an adequate job of this so far, I do have a few specific and certain places that I go to regularly and hardly explore all of campus. There are parts of campus that I could take more advantage of and that I just never go to but would like to start. I'm not saying I will stop going to my favorite spot in the library, but maybe I will explore new areas of campus to hang out in. Advice Advice to Future Freshmen: Having survived my first semester at UTC, here are two of my suggestions for any freshmen entering into the craziness of college: o Get out of your dorm! Your experience will be so much richer if you are out and about and with people doing things, whether that means studying in the library, exploring Chattanooga or participating in a campus organization/activity Get out of your dorm! #1 o Budget your time wisely. Make sure you are getting enough time to rest, eat, and study, as well as hang out with your friends and get involved. These things are important for your success mentally physically and emotionally. Budget your time #2