Honors Reflections

I began my honors journey in August 2022. As a new college student, I wasn't completely sure what was expected of me. I quickly learned that the expectations were not very different to the ones I held for myself. With the goal of graduate school in mind, I have always held myself to high academic standards and that was what I intended to continue from grade school on. The academics were not the difficult part for me, it can be difficult to find a good life balance between school, work, and friends and family. I have worked hard to make sure that I balance my life well by sticking to a schedule for work, school, and leisure time.

"All growth starts at the end of your comfort zone."

~ Anonymous

Freshman Year

I am empathetic, passionate, and determined; I want to help others succeed. My dream of becoming a pediatric occupational therapist is very important to me, in hopes that it will fulfill my desires to see others grow and succeed.

I want to become a pediatric occupational therapist to be able to help children succeed in life. I tend stay within my comfort zone so to help myself get out of my comfort zone I have applied for a position at Bradford Woods as a camp counselor for this summer. I have never worked a job like this before, and this will be a great opportunity to get work experience in a different place with new people. I want to become more adventurous and gain more experiences that will help me in the future. I need to become more confident and comfortable with talking to new people to build my communication skills. I want to be constantly learning and growing in my life, I feel that in my chosen career I will be learning and experiencing new things every day.

Senior Year

I am determined, passionate, and resilient. I have goals that I have every intention of reaching and I have worked hard to get to where I am today.

I want to become a well-rounded individual who can have a good work and home life balance. My dream of becoming a pediatric occupational therapist is just one way that I show how important helping others is to me. My career is very important to me, but I also know that I do not want it to completely control my life, I have aspirations other than having a successful career. I want to prioritize my own wants and needs as well as care for those around me.

Reflection

Looking back at who I was freshman year, I can see how much I wanted to broaden my horizon at the beginning of college. After working one job and having the same group of friends since middle school, I was ready to meet new people and learn new things. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, but not too far. IU Indy was ideal for me because they had the major I wanted and it was really close to home, enabling me to live at home while going to school. I really wanted to start building my resume with experiences that would look good for graduate schools. So, I started volunteering and shadowing at Riley Hospital and looking for new jobs in healthcare settings. After volunteering, I landed my rehab tech job at Riley Hospital, and it was exactly what I had hoped. I was learning and getting experiences to put on my resume. Being in the honors college pushed me to think outside the box and find the things that interested me most about my course work and explore them further. Looking back, I have no regrets in choosing IU Indianapolis and the honors college because of how happy I am with where I am at in life right now.

Journey Map

Freshman Year

During my freshman year of college, I was focused much more on big ideas rather than specific plans. Looking forward I wasn't sure exactly what way my path would take, so I stuck more to focusing on big life events on my journey map. These events I was surer of the order and could predict what I wanted for my life to look like. I kept to larger academic events rather than smaller specific goals.

Senior Year Reflection

Looking at where I am now in my academic journey, I am proud of my accomplishments and where I am headed. I was accepted into IU Indy's Occupational Therapy program, and I am looking forward to graduation and starting my next degree. I was able to get the experience in rehab like I had planned through shadowing and two jobs. It ensured what I already knew about my preference to working in pediatrics to adult care.

After working at Athletico for a semester with primarily adults I learned that that is definitely not the population I see myself working in the future. Academically, I have performed the best I ever have, I have my highest GPA ever and have been on the Dean's List for multiple semesters. Being a dedicated student and honors scholar, I prioritize my grades and how I perform in my classes. For all the honors contracts I have completed, I have made sure to exceed the expectations on each project I have worked on. Currently I am on the right path to graduation in May of 2026. I cannot wait to celebrate after earning the degree I have been working towards for the last four years.

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