Spring 2019
My friend Griffin and me on the last day of the Peer Educator retreat! We actually took this picture to send to one of our mutual professors, because we knew that she would appreciate the value in taking a retreat.
This quarter was by far the worst quarter I’ve had so far academically at UW, but also the best socially. I took developmental psych (PSYCH 306), the development of brain connection (PSYCH 430), human anatomy and physiology (BIO 118), and the peer educator prep seminar (HONORS 397). Truthfully, I had no interest in developmental, but it was taught by Lauren Graham, who we all know I adore because she’s come up like 4 previous times throughout my portfolio. It ended up being one of my hardest classes due to my lack of interest, because I had a hard time finding the motivation to do the work. In the end though, lectures were super interesting, and I did very well in the class! Development of brain connections was taught by Adrian Andelin, who was also my TA back when I was a student in PSYCH 202 last winter. It was his first time teaching the class, so it was really interesting to watch him shape it over time. The first half of the quarter was a traditional lecture style, but the second half of the course consisted of 30 minute presentations made by each student. I did my presentation on the neurobiology of serial killers, which was a super interesting topic for me. Although I loved the chance to do my own research and present it, it was very tiring listening to student presentations for 5 weeks. Next fall, I will be a TA for Adrian as he teaches cognitive psych. Originally this class was supposed to be taught by Andrea Stocco and I was going to TA for him, but he passed the class on to Adrian and he agreed to keep me on as a TA! By far my hardest course this quarter was BIO 118. I haven’t taken a biology course since freshman year of high school, and the college level moves at a quicker pace than I was prepared for. In the end I did well in the class grade-wise, but it was a big difference from psychology courses, and it was definitely a test of my abilities and motivation to persevere. The biggest tool was office hours because the extra exposure to material was definitely necessary for me.
Pi Phi continues to be one of the best things I am involved in, and being VPMD continued to be an awesome experience. I organized a TON of sisterhoods with other houses, and we actually ended up winning a Panhellenic challenge aimed at increasing inter-sorority relations. I also coordinated a few speakers to come to the house, including the one mandatory event called Critical Conversations. Although it was stressful to manage everything, we always got good feedback from members, and it was incredibly fulfilling to see my ideas come to life at the house. Next year I will be moving out of the house and into Coco Mansion with my friends, which is bittersweet. I have loved my time in the house, but it will definitely be nice living on our own as we approach graduation. I hit a wall this past quarter in terms of motivation, and it was really my friends who helped push me to keep going, but also provided a break from school whenever I needed it. Nothing CRAZY happened this quarter—there are no gamedays, I didn’t go to any concerts, or travel anywhere—but it was SO much fun. I have no idea what made it like that, but I know it was thanks to my amazing friends. This summer I will be doing an Honors study abroad in the Netherlands, and then I will be going to London for a second study abroad program with King’s College! I’m a little nervous to be abroad for so long, but I know I’m going to have an AMAZING time and I can’t wait to write all about it.
Use this button to read my reflection on my quarter in the peer educator prep seminar! It was a formative experience and I'm so excited to get started leading in the fall.
This button takes you to a document with a selection of discussion posts from my time in Honors 397. I selected these specific posts because they characterize how I was thinking and feeling at various points throughout the quarter, and how my thinking changed with the activities we did. I also think that these discussions tie in well with the messages I wrote about learning in my reflection. For instance, one describes how I came to learn about my strengths and weaknesses of leading, while another discusses how I noticed my teaching style was more lecture-like.