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Year In Review

2020 | 2021

The 2020-2021 year has been truly unforgettable with the COVID-19 pandemic taking center stage and uprooting almost all aspects of daily life worldwide. Although the 2020-2021 year has largely been a year of challenge, sadness, and change; the changes and growth that people—including myself—have undergone to adapt to the “new normal” will endure. 


As a student during the pandemic, the breakout of COVID-19 and the subsequent shutdowns changed the traditional model and expectations of education. The initial separation from my peers as in-person classes moved online was surprising. I had to learn new ways to share and communicate with peers, attend virtual lessons, and provide feedback. Additionally, the change of venue for virtual, at-home, learning was initially a challenge as distractions presented themselves and there was no separation from school and home. At times, after particularly busy or stressful weeks, I would have the feeling of “I want to go home” but I was already there. Finding a balance was challenging yet rewarding once found. The organizational and moderating skills I refined during virtual learning will continue to benefit me academically and professionally. 


Although ever present in our lives, technology became a window to the educational world we previously experienced in person. Although challenging at times, I viewed learning about new technologies as an opportunity. During this time, I also completed my digital learning design certificate and I think that experiencing how technology can be integrated and adapted to supplement education could not have come at a better point in my academic progress. I learned about and experienced new resources and learning opportunities because of the spotlight shined on technology during the past year and I look forward to continuing to utilize them throughout my professional career. I found online professional development opportunities to be especially beneficial as information sessions that were traditionally held in-person were made available to those throughout the state, and country, through virtual conferences (such as the 2021 Ohio Educational Technology Conference). 


Emphasis on technology also allowed me to participate in and take on leadership roles during the uncertain year as I was a (virtual) UHP welcome retreat leader, participated in virtual roles as a UHP ambassador. I was able to help welcome and assist incoming UC students throughout Ohio, and the country, through these virtual opportunities. 


In addition to the technology utilized throughout the semester (that was at times a blessing and a curse), I also had my parents and numerous professors to help me succeed throughout the year. Overall, I believe that I grew as a person in terms of motivation, dedication, organization, and confidence throughout the past year as I managed my academic coursework, outside (degree) assessment preparation, work, and participation in UHP programs. 

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2018 | 2019

           Throughout the past year, I have come across numerous impactful experiences that have altered my thinking, understanding of others and perception of the world. These experiences have been both UHP, UC and non-academically based. My most recent impactful experiences include:

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  • BIOL 3060: Dying Well-When Breath Becomes Air | UHP Honors Seminar

BIOL 3060 has been the most transformative and eye-opening course that I have taken-so far-throughout my school career as it addressed the topic of death and its various dimensions (ranging from biological processes and preparations to the emotional impact of dying on both

the individual and the individual’s family).

  • HNRS 3044: Mad Gods and Marvelous Worlds-Celtic and Scandinavian Myth and Legend (Myths, Legends & Belief Systems) | UHP Honors Seminar

           HNRS 3044 has been both extremely interesting and informational; informational not only in the sense of learning new legends, myths, et cetera, but also how cultures, their legends and mythology can connect to, influence and remain integrated into societies (and their histories) over time.

  • HIST 2022: Native American History | UC Course

  • CI 3003: Teaching and Learning in Diverse Classrooms | UC Course

           Throughout HIST 2022: Native American History and CI 3003: Teaching and Learning in Diverse Classrooms, I was forced to evaluate how I previously viewed the world, other people and to develop a deeper perception of cultural relativism. The Native American History course that I took in the Spring 2019 semester was especially eye-opening and significant to understanding the difficulties various ethnic groups have faced in the United States over time. I decided to take the course to learn more about a group of people that I had very little knowledge about; Native Americans are not a primary topic in U.S. history and are almost always portrayed negatively/barbarically in art, film and literature. This class allowed me to learn about the prosperity, decimation and current disparities faced by Native Americans (in chronological order) throughout history and realize how ethnic figures/mascots are used to dehumanize members of such ethnic groups and present them as below white/American people. CI 3003 provided me with excellent information, opportunities for analysis and field experience that allowed me to recognize and learn how to incorporate the diversity of my future students and their unique cultural backgrounds in my future classroom.

  • Employment with Avenues for Success Summer Camp and After-School Program

          I am currently employed with the Avenues for Success Before/After School Programs in the Norwood City Schools District. In Summer 2018, I was a summer camp counselor and during the 2018-2019 school year I worked at the Before/After School Programs at the district’s three elementary schools. During the school year, I led two clubs consisting of students in grades K-6; an experience much like my future career as an educator in the sense of teaching/guiding children. Learning how to interact, teach and work with children of various age groups has provided me with a valuable foundation for my future career.

 

Professional Goals for the upcoming 2019-2020 year include:

  • Complete all Pre-Cohort Course Requirements

  • Complete all History Minor Course Requirements

  • Gain a further understanding of cultural intricacies and the impact global events can have on various countries, people and roles of life through my involvement in HIST 3096. To quote the course program, this course “emphasizes the comprehensive impact of warfare not only on the battlefield, but also on the intellectual, cultural and political life of belligerent states, above all Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan and the United States” as well as speaks to “all of who we are as integrated and inescapably embodied intellectual, feeling and ethical human persons”. This course additionally includes a study tour to London, Paris and Normandy; I look forward to being able to connect the information learned and developments made in the class in a global setting.  

  • Continue to gain experience for my future career and current major by working with Avenues for Success.

 

Personal Goals for the upcoming 2019-2020 year include:

  • Continue volunteering with organizations such as: The Humane Society of Warren County, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and Mathew 25 Ministries.

  • Pursue interest/hobby in photography

  • Pursue interest/hobby in AMV making (I currently have no knowledge of how to make one of these 😊 )

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2017 | 2018

      The definition of a global citizen scholar, and its influence in one’s daily life, varies by person; to me, a global citizen scholar is someone who constantly considers the world, its diversity and the identity of other groups of people/nationalities when thinking about problems, solutions, relations and advances. Overall, to be a global citizen scholar is to have an open mindset that embraces the strengths and unique identities of other people and see the challenges facing others around you; to not view the world through only one lens.

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       One facet of a global citizen scholar is being able to understand people through various mediums of expression whether these be movements, music or the written/spoken word. It is in this sense, that I made progress towards becoming a global citizen scholar as I learned how to better understand people through their personal strengths (explored in the Clifton strengths portion of my ‘Gateway to University Honors’ course) and the artistic medium of dance which can convey emotion, history and emotion in the form of communicative movement (studied in the honors seminar: ‘Dance in the City’).

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     Outside of the honors courses at UC, I also had the opportunity to aid in the classrooms of elementary students; I first assisted a former teacher of mine with her class of third graders multiple days for a total of thirty hours and later assisted several kindergarten teachers at the Fairview-Clifton German Language School for another ten hours. These forty hours of observing the teaching profession through the lens of a teacher rather than as a student were extremely valuable to both my contemplation of changing my major and my progress on the path to becoming a global citizen scholar as I was able to interact with students in grades k-3 and learn how to best help and teach them. In order to adapt my help and teaching style to each student/age group I had to utilize the strength analyzing skills taught in the gateway course. Being able to understand various age groups in addition to people of different backgrounds and nationalities is also important for global citizen scholars as well as people in general as everyone can learn something new from someone else, regardless of age or origin.

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     Being able to recognize one’s strengths and reflect upon them (and my own) in order to further comprehend their identities and their ambitions will undeniably help me understand and work with my future coworkers. While I did not consider dance and dance interpretation as one of my strengths prior to taking ‘Dance in the city’, the course opened my eyes to the importance of dance throughout history and its importance in the expression of ideas and emotions; making me view dance through the lens of a dancer rather than an observer. While dance itself is a beautiful, unique, art form, it is also an irrefutable medium of communication that embodies much of the same ideas as my definition of a global citizen scholar as dance creates a medium of understanding between people. People do not have to speak the same language in order to comprehend the un-containable joy of a swing dancer or the solemn routine of a ballet dancer dressed in blue; the emotion and meaning is simply understood.

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     While the definition of a global citizen scholar can vary by person, I will do my best to follow and adhere to my definition throughout my education at the University of Cincinnati in order to foster an appreciation of all people, strengths and methods of communication: from writing to dance. These experiences have inspired me to follow a new academic path: education.

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2019 | 2020

The 2019-2020 academic year has been one of great change as I have experienced several formative academic and non-academic experiences that I will draw from in shaping both my personal and professional lives. From studying WWII and travelling to Europe to working on my digital learning certificate and experiencing digital instruction firsthand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have learned more about the international, interpersonal and intrapersonal relations than I had ever expected to this year. If condensed into “most impactful experiences”, the 2019-2020 academic year has been defined by the following:

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  • HIST3096: A Global History of World War II: Ideology, Culture, Politics | Seminar & Study Tour

          Also featured on the “EXPERIENCES” page, HIST3096 was a seminar and study tour combo (London, Paris & Normandy) that I can easily identify as the most formative of all of my academic courses and experiences at UC thus far. This course was especially impactful because of the course instruction and materials and the study tour component in which we were able to see firsthand testimonials and museum items as well as the lasting scars left on the Normandy coast as a result of D-Day. These scars were both physical and human. As a result of this course, I learned a lot about viewpoints, the depths and importance of beliefs as well as international unity in ways of thinking, animosity, pain and grief. As a future educator, the expansion of such realizations is significant to how I plan on introducing topics and guide conversation within my classroom.

  • HIST3111: History of the World in 100 Objects | Seminar & Study Tour

          Also featured on the “EXPERIENCES” page, HIST3111 was originally a seminar and study tour combo (London) that was restructured as a result of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the study tour component. The course was primarily focused on the presentation of history in media, books and museums. Over the course of the semester, we learned about how and why museums and media would influence the story of a historical object or event through their presentation of it. While we were not able to analyze the presentation of a chosen object at The British Museum in Spring 2020, the class utilized the presentation methods learned throughout the semester to create a digital museum containing broad “halls” with sub-idea “Exhibits”. Within my group’s Hall of Ideology, I created a Foreign Relations exhibit. I found this course to be significant to my role as a future educator as well as academic learner as it expanded my knowledge of how groups can influence historical “stories” and people’s understanding of an object or event through presentation. Such recognition has inspired me to further critically analyze information and sources as well as instill such analyzation and realization in my future students.

  • Digital Learning Design Certificate: 1 Requirement Remaining

          During the Spring 2020 semester, I completed three technology related courses that applied towards obtaining my Digital Learning Certificate: CI2001: Digital Communication, COMM2089: Internet and Everyday Life & IDT4170: Mobile Learning. These three courses were extremely important to my role as a future educator as I learned about mobile and digital learning methods and design rules that enhance learning (as well as which design themes to avoid). These courses were also highlighted in importance as academic instruction at UC as well as at the school I work at was forced online/outside of the physical classroom as a result of COVID-19.

  • COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Employment with Avenues for Success Summer Camp and After-School Program

  • Becoming an Honors Ambassador and Welcome Retreat Leader

          Although I have yet to participate in any activities as an Honors Ambassador or Honors Welcome Retreat Leader, I am excited to assist UHP in welcoming new UHP members and sharing my experiences with others with the hope that they too will be able to discover and learn about their interests.

Referring back to my projected professional and personal goals for 2019-2020 as outlined in the 2018-2019 Year In Review, I was able to fulfill all of the goals outlined.

 

Academic/Professional Goals for the upcoming 2020-2021 year include:

  • Complete All Cohort Requirements for the Fall 2020 Semester

  • Actively Participate with the UHP as an Honors Ambassador

  • Join a new club on-campus related to UC or an academic/professional subject. 

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