Week 1:
It was a stressful yet rewarding first week of school. Whenever a new school year begins I always get this overwhelming feeling of excitement. This year was of course no different. It was a big week for new beginnings. I started the nursing program, and also served my first week as a student ambassador.
These weeks amabassador virtual welcome week activities went extremely well in my eyes. Being able to see students whom I worked with as a SOL was very rewarding. I was also pleasantly surprised by the number of participants we got. With everything being online I was expecting the numbers to be lower. Talking with new students and encouraging them to get involved on campus is one of my favorite things to do. I had such an amazing experience as a SOL and to hear from students who are also interested in becoming a SOL was such fun! Friday's welcome week activity was very uplifting for me. It is so important to me that we as representatives of UC Blue Ash make it clear to the students that their voices are heard. With the past and present happenings in the world, it's important to talk and let your opinions be heard. I think the conversation was very uplifting and we had great discussions.
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Lastly, being able to work the welcome desk was super fun and experience I am excited about doing all year long. Greeting people with a nice smile and hello as they welcome our campus is important. I'm also glad I get to share my knowledge of the campus with students as they enter. Learning to work the phone was a bit interesting at first but by the end of my shift, I would have considered myself a pro. All in all, I would have considered it a great first week of school despite all the new adjustmates we have had to make.
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Week 2:
This week I spent some time being productive at home. With the current state of the world and the virus going around it wasn't safe for me to go to campus. However, this allowed me to get a lot of work done. I was able to get my peer mentorship all figured out. Throughout the course of the week, I met with my mentor professor several times so we could finalize or groups and make our agreement. On Tuesday evening I was also able to join them in there class via zoom to introduce myself and tell them a little more about what it means to have a mentor. I am excited to be working with the students. It also makes me excited that I am a mentor for a group of pre-health profession students considering I was in their same boat last school year. The class is intro to pre-health professions which I also had to take last fall. When looking over their course calendar to see what they would be doing this fall just about everything was the same so that makes it that much easier for me to be able to help them along the way. Like I said it was a slow but eventful week. I wasn't able to work the welcome desk which I was upset about but it was for the best. In the weeks to come, I look forward to working with my students to make sure their time at UC Blue Ash is enjoyable.
Week 3:
This past week has been eventful and productive. This was my first week out of quarantine and I was able to work the welcome desk for the second time this semester. It went well, I was able to help several students find several different locations on campus. That's one thing I love about being an ambassador is the knowledge I have of the campus. I get such a rewarding feeling after being able to help a student or even being able to answer the phone and direct them to the right person to talk to. Something else that has been super exciting for me is being able to see the occasional SOL that I worked with over the summer. Due to COVID we were never really able to see each other in person so it has been fun to see them on campus.
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On top of working the welcome desk I sent out my first mass email to all of my mentees and I got several replies back. The students seem very invested and interested in this opportunity for them. I could see myself making very close relationships and even maybe some lifelong friends out of the opportunity. It's an unfortunate time to start college and a very hard time making friends so I am excited to be able to offer friendship to my other student peers.
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The last event that I had for this week was the ambassador meeting. It was so nice being able to see everyone's face again. It made me realize that we have such an inspirational group of ambassador and I wouldn't want to serve as an ambassador at UCBA with anyone else.
Week 4:
This week I was yet again another stressful week. I can not believe that it is already week 4 of school! I can already tell that this school year is just going to fly by. I have been struggling with the feeling of missing out on opportunities due to COVID for instance in my nursing class we aren't allowed to practice specific skills on one another because of COVID. With the ambassador position, we don't have as many events to sign up for, and if we do have events there always online. I know that this is a feeling everyone is struggling with and it definitely isn't the most ideal time to be in college.
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This week I made a seires of videos for Pete Grammer. It was fun to be able to meet up with daniel at blue ash and fim some short clips while social distencing of course. I love UCBA and love being able to rave about UCBA so this event was right up my ally. My other ambassador's responsibility for this week was working the welcome desk again. I was able to help several different people find what they were looking for and that always feels very rewarding. I also wrote the first AOTW for Chauncey. I love that we do this as ambassadors, I think it's super uplifting and its good to hear from the other ambassadors when you are doing things right.
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Week 5:
This week I was able to meet with my peer mentor students as they begin working on their first project for Intro to Health Professions. It was exciting to be able to work with them since I took the same class only last fall. The group of students I was assingnened are all planning on applying to the nursing program. I got some great questions about what to expect, what to talk about in your application essay, how many students get accepted, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to answer those questions for them considering I am a nursing student.
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Another event that I worked on this week was the voter registration kick-off event on Monday. This was a super neat event and I always love when I get to do things with Molly. She is so inspiring and I really look up to her in many ways. This event was set up a little different in the sense that Daniel and I were sorta like the mediators of the group and kept the conversation going. We were also joined by several different professors and other staff of UCBA so it was great to be able to see everyone's faces.
Week 6:
This was another slow week but productive week. We had no ambassador meeting this week. We also had no events. I did work the welcome desk, however. It was a good shift, I can tell that I am getting the hang of things and am starting to memorize certain extension numbers. I was able to help a number of students get to whom they wanna talk to. I did send out a mass email to my peer mentor students to make them aware of certain deadlines coming up. I had a few students interested in setting up a 1:1 but I have not yet been able to get ahold of them.
Outside of ambassador responsibilities I recently got a new job at good sam hospital. I am excited to start and start gaining experience in a field I would like to one day pursue. I have my second nursing test next week so I have been studying hard for that. I have also been staying healthy and with the current state of the world thats all I can ask for!
Week 7:
Wow, I can't believe we're already in week seven of school! I feel like the days are just flying by, and I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought this school year was going to be really slow. I've recently been feeling like there's not enough time in the day to get everything done. I know from past experience that weeks 4-8 are typically some of the hardest in my opinion. I'm still trucking along, nursing school is very hard which is to be expected but my goodness!
Ambassador responsibilities are going good, I'm excited about the opportunity to possibly get to host my own event. I have a meeting with Pamela from the accessibility recourse office next week to talk about my ideas. I think it would be very beneficial for students to hear more about the accessibility resource office and get to hear my experience with it. I also feel as if students feel like these resources aren't available to them due to COVID and that's not the case. My hope is to allow students to have conversations about their needs to try and break this stigma around testing. Outside of that, the welcome desk was good I got very few calls but I always enjoy talking with Stephanie and Chauncey who work before and after me. I really enjoyed the ambassador meeting this week. It's always so fun to be able to catch up with everyone and have us all in one spot virtually of course. I also liked how we talked about stress. I feel like it was something we could all relate to and we could all work on.
Week 8:
This week I was apart of this month's D&I meeting that was on Tuesday. David and I were selected to sit in on the meeting and give our own personal opinion about things going on at UCBA. There was a lot that I learned during this meeting about the decision making that goes on at Blue Ash. This was only their second meeting so it was still them going over basic by-laws and what not. Other than that I just worked my welcome desk shift and filmed my personal experience video. While I was filming my video about "my favorite spot on campus" it made me realize how many favorite spots I have and how much I love this campus. It also made me a little sad because things just aren't the same on-campus anymore. I wish more than anything we were able to have events on campus but I understand that with the current state of the world that isn't possible. I'm trying to remain hopeful and stay positive that things will get better soon but I feel like I am almost being ripped away part of my college experience. This week was supposed to be my first week of clinical and I wasnt able to go due to covid which is a bummer. WE CAN DO THIS!!
Week 9:
This week I definitely turned my bed into my work desk all week. Not the best thing but hey I was at least still productive. I am one that absolutely despises cold weather and now that it's getting cold outside I never want to get out of bed. It also rained pretty much every day this week so it just seemed appropriate to spend most of my time in my bed. One thing I did get out of bed for this week was my success coaching workshops. I absolutely loved being able to speak with the students about ways to get involved and explain to them how I am involved. I think it was a very good presentation all 3 times I presented it. What I loved most about it the diversity in the students and how every group was different and asked different questions. I feel for these new students... it's hard especially right now to make friends and find ways to get involved. One thing that one of the students said that really stood out to me was "I just want to be able to eat free food in person with friends sitting next to me". This got me thinking about how I haven't been able to get any free food this year because all events are online. No, but in all seriousness, it was great to be able to talk with these students about campus link and be able to share my experinces of being an ambassador at UCBA.
Week 10:
This week, unlike many other weeks, was a jam-packed week full of ambassador responsibilities. I feel as if I am finally getting somewhere with my mentees and figuring out good ways to communicate with them. I created a jot-form earlier in the week. This consisted of some easy questions that my mentees could answer quickly. Then on Tuesday David and I went and spoke with the students and had them fill out our jot-forms right then and there. This allowed for several responses that I don't think we would have got if we weren't able to talk to them in person (or zoom) I guess you could say. I am highly satisfied with my results from my jot-form. I had NINE students request to set up a 1:1 with me! I also created a GroupMe with my students as a way to be able to communicate. I think it's easier for students to communicate through GroupMe rather than reply on long threads of emails. I am in the process of chatting with the students who were interested in setting up a 1:1 and hopefully, I will know more by next week. Another exciting event I was apart of this week was Daniel Lee's mental health event. I think it was super successful and we had a lot of great discussions about mental health and ways we can overcome challenges. I am in the process of trying to communicate with Pamila Goins so that we can set up a time to talk about my idea of an event. More details to come with that too hopefully! Other than that I worked the welcome desk which is always a good time. There was actually an event going on, on campus so I was able to see way more faces (with masks of course) walk through the doors.
Week 11:
I can not believe we're already on week 11 of school. I feel like time is flying by but at the same time, it also feels like it's going very slow. I'm excited about winter break. I for one can not wait to just get a break from school for a little while. This week I wasn't able to work my welcome desk shift because I wasn't feeling very good so it was a more slow week of ambassador responsibilities. I was able to attend the meeting on Thursday and it got me very excited for next semester. I think Daniel, Stella, Chris, and Sarah are doing a great job working around COVID and finding ways that we can still serve as ambassadors. Oh and Sarah's PREGNANT I'm so excited for her and her soon to be baby.
Week 12:
We're doing it, people! we're already on week 12 of school! Not too long and will be eating turkey and watching Christmas movies with our family. I am very excited about the break coming up. I have felt like this semester has been nonstop hard work. I'm excited to get to go home and see my family and my doggies. I haven't been home since September so to say I'm excited is an understatement. This week for ambassador duties I just worked my welcome desk shift. It was probably the busiest shift I have had yet. Lots of phone calls about the upcoming admission date for next semester. It made me really excited for all the folks getting ready to start their journey at blue ash. I love this school and my only hope is that all of them will love it as well. Online or not I have a gut feeling that next semester is going to be great for alot of people.
Week 13:
The semester is wrapping up quickly and it's completely blowing my mind. I feel like we just started the semester. This fall semester has definitely been a little weird but we are near the end! While sitting at the welcome desk this week I couldn't help but think "I wish there were more people here". I understand the circumstances right now are not right to be in persona and I am super impressed with UCBA and the way they have gone about this whole thing. I'm excited for the incoming students in the spring semester to get to experience a great college. Online or not I know that they will have a great experience with UCBA as their school. I for one am excited for next semester and for a fresh start. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of this online stuff and I am super excited about my classes.
Week 14:
One more week to go! I can tell that everyone is starting to wind down and get into the winter break mode. I know I am excited to get to spend some time at home over break just catching up on sleep and working. As I look back on this semester I really learned a lot. It was a strange semester but a good time to learn and grow. I have had the opportunity to work with and meet some amazing people. I am excited for next semester. Not only is it a fresh start but it's a chance to continue to serve as an ambassador. I know that this semester wasn't exactly ideal but I am very proud of us all for working around the challenges.
Week 15:
This week has been a busy week with just wrapping up the semester and preparing for finals. I was able to work the welcome desk twice this week because I picked up Noah's shift on Tuesday for a couple of extra hours. It's crazy as I look back at the being of the semester, my biggest worry was that I wouldn't be able to get all the hours but somehow someway I did. Things add up very quickly! I'm excited about this break like I have said in weeks pasts. I'm also excited about being able to step back in my SOL shoes and do an orientation. One more week to go, keep pushing!
Week 16:
Last week of the fall 2020 semester. It was a bit difficult but we all made it! This week I picked up Miranda's welcome desk shift on Tuesday so that I could get my remaining hour. I didn't have any finals that I really took this week. All my finals were either papers or I just had to have them done by Tuesday and I decided to get them all done over the weekend. It was a bit strange because usually UCBA would be so packed with people cramming for finals and this year there was no one. I hope that everyone has a nice relaxing break and you do something productive that will benefit you next semester. I know for me I need to buy a new planner because mine runs out in december. See you all in 2021!