Joel Caleb is a Virginia Tech football player who attended the same high school as me. I am his number one fan. During my freshmen year I went to our Friday night football games looking for Joel to do well. He was recruited by many colleges across the nation for his football talent. Joel broke many records at Clover Hill High School and was invited to the U.S All-American Army Bowl. He was ranked number 3 in the state, number 84 in the nation and number 7 at his position. He now plays running back at Virginia Tech and wears number 15.

The Student Rec Center is my favorite facility here at Old Dominion. This was an easy choice in facility because I go there every day. After a long day of classes, you can enter the SRC and attend a yoga class or many other classes that are provided. The SRC is a place anyone can enjoy. They have a great weight room, with new exercise equipment. Not only do they have weights and cardio machines, but they have indoor soccer, rock wall, ping pong, basketball courts and a track to run on above the courts. This facility is a good way to meet people with the same interest as you.

When I read this sample essay the writer set up his paper perfectly. He gave background knowledge and a thesis in his first paragraph. Then he followed up with three good points. He talked about work, academics and family for his next three paragraphs. Even though the conclusion was three sentences; he tied everything back together re-stating the thesis.

From high school to college there is a big difference in expectations. The professors expect me to take responsibility of my work and actions. During high school, teachers, faculty members ans parents checked on you to make sure your grades were good. In college all I have is myself. My parents aren’t here to check my grades and homework, so I must use my resources. If I do not complete my homework, I will not receive a second chance. Time management is the  most important thing in college. I should have a schedule of when I’m going to class, eating, studying then free time. The studying should be broken up into different time slots. In high school, I could get away with not studying and do well on the test. That will not work in college; it is detrimental to my grade not to study.

Michael Austin

University 150

Elizabeth Isenkul

September 15, 2014

Transition to College Writing

Throughout grade school into middle school, teachers had their own unique ways to take notes. They expressed how important it is to have good notes because in the following year, the teacher will expect me to have good note taking strategies. All the way from elementary school until college teachers would upload a PowerPoint and told me to copy it word for word. I did not take notes well enough in high school to be able to have success in college. Professors in college all have various ways me to take notes in able to succeed in their course. Upon different variables, diverse note-taking strategies are key.

Depending on the subject, the professor will have a different way of telling me to take notes. During my Interpreting European history course, my teacher will lecture while placing a slide on the board. We must write down what is on the board and the key points he talks about. In this class I outline, listening and then writing in bullet points in an organized pattern based on space indentation. I place major points farthest to the left, then indent each more detail point to the right. Levels of importance are indicated by distance away from the major point. This strategy helps me determine what the most vital points are, so i can focus on those.

My Environmental Science professor uses a different approach to teaching. She will place a PowerPoint on the but tells us not to copy everything up there but to listen to her lecture, then pick and choose which information is most valuable. In this class I use the mapping technique. This format helps me to visually track my lecture regardless of conditions. Little thinking is needed and relationships can easily be seen. It is also easy to edit my notes by adding numbers, marks, and color coding. During review I restructure the thought processes which force me to check understanding. Also, I write down the most important bolded vocabulary words from the PowerPoint. My notes are very organized and by using colors and various marks I know which information to study more.

Although I may like one strategy, changing to different techniques depending on the subject is the way to success. Changes in study habits must vary to be successful at the college level. Being a great note taker in college will pay off so it is mandatory to have strategies setting me up to achieve my goals in graduating.

Michael Austin

Elizabeth Isenkul

University 150

September 10, 2014

Transition to College

Senior year of high school is when we begin to make life changing decisions. Some choose the military or join the workplace, while others attend college. These decisions are challenging and take maturity. College is an entirely different world from high school. The bare minimum is not accepted anymore and will not suffice; I must go above and beyond the call of duty. Unlike high school, a tremendous amount of studying and independent is done on my own. A transitioning plan should be established before entering college. In order to excel at the university level, we need to make essential changes. Setting goals that we want to achieve for each class and creating a schedule of when to attend class, study and also for free time is a good method for success. College is the process of becoming an adult, which means learning how to become independent and being able to manage our time.

Time management is one of the hardest concepts for some high school seniors to grasp. During my senior year, I did not manage my time wisely. My first priority was football, and I wasn’t concentrating on studying or homework. After football practices I would come home, watch TV, eat dinner, and then go to bed without doing any homework. On the weekends, I always found myself watching college or professional football all day, without studying. I was seventeen years old; I thought I knew it all. I wasn’t worried about my parents telling me to manage my time wisely. We had available resources in the morning before school to study and complete homework, also to study. These resources seemed absurd to me, since I would have to wake up earlier. The first nine weeks report card came back and was dismal. My parents informed me that the first semester is very important in applying for colleges. When the second nine weeks came around, I decided to take charge of my future. In order to be accepted into the colleges I desired, I knew I had to change my immature behaviors. Managing their time in college is mandatory to enable students to excel.

Success means the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. I searched this definition prior to the first day of class here at Old Dominion University. The phrase that stuck with me was “ the accomplishment of one’s goals.” Once we set goals, we can strive to achieve these goals. Furthermore, to have goals I must have a dream. We must have a dream of what we want to do in life; then the journey to success begins. I will choose the right goals for each class and what I want to accomplish by the end of the course. Without goals to reach the the dream, all we would have is a wish. I will write the dream on a piece of paper and place it into an envelope. When I am searching for the reason why I should be studying or contemplating not going to class, I will open the envelope and regain my motivation to be successful.

Necessary transitions are imperative to making college a place to begin my career. All of the sources I could possibly need are right in front of me. I must take advantage of every single one of them, and explore all the doors that will open for me in return. Time management and setting goals are vital to success.

Michael Austin

Robert Del Corso

Interpreting European Past

October 29, 2014

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws and Nature and Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind required that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Jefferson is confirming that the idea of independence is grounded in natural law and the God who gave us that law. “Nature’s God” was a term used often by eighteenth-century deists. These deists believed that God created the world, instilled it with natural laws of science, morality, and politics, and did not interfere with it any further. Jefferson’s choice of the phrase “Nature’s God” is so vague that it would have been accepted by nearly all of the colonists. Deists, freethinkers, and Enlightenment liberals, would have no problem affirming the idea that natural rights come from God.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” the belief that the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” came from God. This is the same as Jefferson’s use of the phrase “Nature’s God” in the first paragraph, Franklin never elaborates any further on the details of this “Creator.”

Michael Austin

University 150

Elizabeth Isenkul

October 27, 2014

College athletes as a whole, not just football players, should not get paid. These athletes are granted top notch facilities from, the weight room, the locker room, the dorms and practice areas. Also, division 1 programs supply their athletes with the newest equipment and sports apparel. Most division athletes are on full scholarships, which means their school is being paid for to play a sport. College tuition may cost up to 100,000 dollars or more, and the university decides to pay for it. They forget they are “student-athletes”.

University of Georgia Bulldogs running back, Todd Gurley, was suspended indefinitely on accusations of a violation of the National Collegiate Athletics Association rules(Darren Rovell, Espn). Todd Gurley was in the running for college football’s most covenant award, the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker. This all came to a halt on the morning of October 9th 2014. Allegedly, Gurley has authenticated at least 500 Gurley signed items with certificates of authenticity, including more than 300 jerseys, more than 30 mini-helmets, more than 70 photos and even 10 baseballs and nine Nike cleats(Darren Rovell, Espn). Whether Gurley received money or not is still unknown, but the signing of memorabilia is in strict violation of NCAA policy. Georgia is no longer selling Todd Gurley number 3 jerseys on its official website; the school was previously selling two Nike jerseys, one for $134.95 and one for $89.95 (Darren Rovell, Espn). Even though Gurley leads the Bulldogs with 773 yards rushing yards and eight touchdowns averaging 8.2 yards per carry, giving Georgia a solid 4-1 record he still does not deserve money(Darren Rovell, Espn). If athletes want to make money while in college they should get a job, instead of jeopardizing their career. Last year there was a case with an Texas A&M football quarterback. This player signed memorabilia and was suspended for one game. This type of punishment is unacceptable. The athletes take risk of getting caught because the consequences were just a “slap on the wrist”. In the Gurley case this season, the NCAA ruled him suspended indefinitely until further investigation (Darren Rovell, Espn). The NCAA finally stepped up and took control of the players; this will be a great testament of what will happen if you violate the rules.

Services, ESPN.com News. “Gurley Banned for Alleged violation.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

I’m a student in University 150. Please check my journals and essays here.

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