My first year as a University of Cincinnati student was an adventure. My life was turned upside down in August when I moved the whole 6.7 miles away from home to live on campus with a brand new friend. Then everything changed again with the spread of COVID-19. Although I would have loved to finish my classes in person, I made it through online learning and successfully completed my first year of college. I feel that I grew substantially as a student, a professional, and as a person.
I was an extremely independent and adventurous high school student. I only gave myself three days to pack for college because I was working as a nanny in New York City after traveling through Greece during the summer. I felt prepared for the independence of college, but it still managed to rattle me. I found myself replying with “I am still adjusting, but I like it” when asked how college was - even in second semester. I had to learn to narrow down my interests and be extremely intentional about making commitments. I worked to find student organizations related to my professional and personal interests. One of the groups I work with is UC’s Transition Access Program (TAP) as an academic coach. I began by volunteering to help TAP students during their academic support class, working one-on-one to help understand classwork and stay focussed on assignments. I am now a paid coach and feel so grateful to have met the TAP students, staff, and fellow coaches. The group is one of the most caring and supportive communities within UC I have found and I feel challenged as a peer mentor. Although I do not see myself making a career in transition work or special education, I have realized how much I can and will still learn. I believe I better understand the impact good support can have on people in need and ways to teach others how to advocate for themselves. I plan to continue my work with TAP as long as I am at UC and look forward to increasing my commitment. I also made wonderful friends throughout the year. I met a group of girls through one of my first classes who all share my same major. We have been able to compare minors or certificates and see the different ways our major can be applied to the real world. I also became best friends with my roommate, Allison. We only met once before moving in together, but got to explore life at UC together. Allison and I even managed to take a weekend trip to New York City and Washington DC for the 2020 Women’s March. One of the greatest lessons I learned during my first year in college was the importance of focussing on yourself. I found that it was not worth the energy to worry that my experience is not the same as my peers. I decided to stray from my high school interests by starting new activities like riding horses, but also hold onto interests I truly enjoyed. I continued to play the cello and stayed in touch with good friends even in this new phase of life. Before making the commitment to attend the University of Cincinnati I questioned what the right decision was. I am extremely fortunate to have received a very generous scholarship from UC, which has also presented me with a number of great experiences, but I had always pictured myself going to school far away without anyone I knew before. What I learned throughout my first year was that my education at UC truly does go beyond Cincinnati. I have more opportunities than I ever imagined and I plan to continue to explore as many as I can. I feel confident that the University of Cincinnati will empower me to be an agent of change.