Third Year at the University of Cincinnati
Semester Breakdown
The first semester of my third year of college challenged me in many unexpected ways. After finally becoming a resident advisor and gaining more financial stability, I thought that this would be one of my easiest semesters to date. However, during the summer prior to the semester starting, I let myself get burned out by working a full-time and part-time job throughout the break without taking any time to rest. As a result, I was constantly exhausted throughout the fall semester and was never able to gain the edge I needed to reach my expectations both academically and in regards to involvement. While I did thoroughly enjoy my position as an RA, I also let it become an excuse to blow off extracurricular activities and time that should have been devoted to academics. There were highlights to the semester as I built stronger connections with a few of my friends and was once again able to go the NABA regional conference which was in Milwaukee this year. At the conference I was able to reconnect with many people in the accounting profession and grow closer with our chapter’s NABA group at UC which was still working to become an established chapter.
Spring semester of my third year in college was a time for me to settle down a bit and put my future path into perspective. After coming out of the LeaderShape Institute with a reborn sense of integrity, I decided to be truthful with what I could realistically accomplish in college prior to becoming a full-time employee. I also gained a better sense of self during this semester which helped me cope with the difficulties that the semester brought. These included my laptop which broke during the first week of the semester, and a couple of tough courses that were unlike most I had taken in college. Additionally, during this semester I was able to take an honors course through DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, Planning) which focused on the art and architecture in Dubai and included a 10 day study tour to the city during Spring Break. That experience easily became the highlight of my semester as I was able to meet amazing people and explore an awesome city that I can’t compare to any other city I have been to before. Overall, while the semester (and year) didn’t go how I expected it to, I think I grew the most on the inside as I put my past and current plans into perspective which has allowed me to take everything in stride without getting as overwhelmed as I used to be. Looking ahead to senior year, I have a 'now or never' mentality as there are still international places I wish to visit, prep I need to do for graduate school, and decisions needed to be made about my future occupation in regards to living location and of course, eventually completing the CPA.
Spring semester of my third year in college was a time for me to settle down a bit and put my future path into perspective. After coming out of the LeaderShape Institute with a reborn sense of integrity, I decided to be truthful with what I could realistically accomplish in college prior to becoming a full-time employee. I also gained a better sense of self during this semester which helped me cope with the difficulties that the semester brought. These included my laptop which broke during the first week of the semester, and a couple of tough courses that were unlike most I had taken in college. Additionally, during this semester I was able to take an honors course through DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, Planning) which focused on the art and architecture in Dubai and included a 10 day study tour to the city during Spring Break. That experience easily became the highlight of my semester as I was able to meet amazing people and explore an awesome city that I can’t compare to any other city I have been to before. Overall, while the semester (and year) didn’t go how I expected it to, I think I grew the most on the inside as I put my past and current plans into perspective which has allowed me to take everything in stride without getting as overwhelmed as I used to be. Looking ahead to senior year, I have a 'now or never' mentality as there are still international places I wish to visit, prep I need to do for graduate school, and decisions needed to be made about my future occupation in regards to living location and of course, eventually completing the CPA.
National Association of Black Accountants - Regional Conference
This was the second year that I attended the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Central Region Conference. This year, the conference took place in Milwaukee and featured college students and professionals from all over the Midwest. As a member of a new University of Cincinnati Chapter, it was very exciting to establish connections with students from other chapters which will no doubt make our chapter stronger.