First Year at UTSA

Inspired Read: Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

I am pleased to announce that I am finally done with my first year at college! In all honesty, it was a rough and long year but along with that followed lessons and memories caused me to grow. I implemented all the changes I mentioned in my previous post, “First Semester Reflection and Second Semester Growth”.

First, I would like to congratulate myself on my academic progress this year. I took on a larger course load which required much more of my time. This allowed me to put more of my study habits to use. Overall, this year was very great academically.

In lieu of a planner, I used a big monthly calendar. I placed it right next to my desk so I could easily see what I had going on for the day. I had space to write club meetings, classes, and social events and even color-code them. This gave me a great overview of my month and week. I would recommend this to anyone. I continued using a priority list like last semester. While the calendar was great for having an overall view of things, the priority list was sorted nearly to the hour. I turned in all my assignments on time and kept up with my work. It was very satisfying to cross things out once they were completed. This will be a permanent part of my day and study life.

My first-semester goal was to make the Honor Roll. This seemed like a daunting task, but it was much easier to complete because I effectively planned out my method to achieve it. I finished this year with a 4.0, which means I surpassed my goal of being on the Honor Roll and landed on the President’s List twice. I had a bit of a rough start at the beginning because I was new to the way college classes worked. However, once I got used to it I started succeeding.

A more personal goal was to be more involved in organizations that helped me make friends. I joined the African Student Association, Women of Honor, and Model United Nations. Next year we should resume in-person meetings and events which will help boost involvement. The goal is to eventually join the Executive Boards for these organizations. They all speak very clearly to my goals and interests and I would be honored to serve my community more.

I plan to continue learning this summer and gain some credits. This summer I will be participating in an internship at the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. I will also be working with Honors College at UTSA participating in a service project and taking some courses. I am super excited to partake in these events this summer and learn about San Antonio. This year was crazy but it was still very productive. I learned more about myself which I plan to carry with me my entire life. I struggled a little bit but that taught me a lesson about perseverance that I can never forget. This summer has a ton of potential and is filled with all the lessons I will learn, memories I will make, and friendships I will forge.

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Helpful Links:

“First Semester Reflection and Second Semester Growth”- https://graciouslygrace.wixsite.com/graciouslygrace/post/first-semester-reflection-and-second-semester-growth