Extra Credit-A History of Truffles

I attended A History of Truffles with Bryn at McCutchen House. I figured ooh truffles, you know, the tasty chocolate ones. Turns out, truffles are a member of the fungus family. Although the presentation dragged a bit in the middle, I found it to be very interesting, especially considering I had no clue what an actual truffle was. I learned that there are Summer truffles which are reddish brown and black Winter truffles (which Chef Pernell prefers). Also, large female European pigs were used to hunt for the truffles up to a couple years ago. It’s very important that the pig is a female though because the scent of the truffles serves as a kind of aphrodisiac to them. Now, dogs are more commonly used. Any dog can be trained to hunt for truffles but it’s a very tedious process, so truffle dogs are very expensive. Truffles are also very expensive. Chef Pernell’s students even prepared truffle soup and chocolate truffles for us. The chocolate truffles were very thickly covered in messy cocoa powder, so they did not taste that good to me since cocoa powder isn’t very appealing. The truffle soup was absolutely amazing though! I am really glad that I went to this presentation. I really learned a lot. And I can now say that I know what an actual truffle is.

Personal Challenge

At first, my personal challenge was to go skydiving. It’s always been a dream of mine and joining the club here made me realize that I can fulfill it fairly easily. I was planning on going with my roommate and our other friend but I ended up taking the Carolina Convoy with my boyfriend to go to the Alabama Game that weekend for, one, the Alabama game, and two, one of my best friends goes to Alabama. Missing that weekend, I was then going to go on the next and last one for the semester. However, I missed the meeting where we had to pay our deposit. So, I cannot go skydiving until next semester. The next personal challenge I had lined up was giving blood in the annual Carolina vs. Clemson blood drive. In high school, I was always too young and thin to give blood. Gaining muscle playing lacrosse last spring, I surpassed the minimum weight to give blood. I have always loved the idea behind it. If you give blood once, you can save three lives! But there’s one thing…I’m terrified of needles. I always have hated shots. It’s not that they hurt; I just get really freaked out before they stick me. Also, for my lacrosse physical, I had to get five shots and blood taken in one day. Ouch. And the doctor couldn’t find my vein to take blood. She stuck me EIGHT times. And then proceeded to tell me that I have “rolling veins,” meaning that my veins roll away from the needle. How convenient. So I decided that I’d finally give blood and get over my fear. Once I convinced myself that I could do it, I went over to Russell with my roommate. Upon reading the booklet, it said to see someone if you were under 19 or under 5’6” as a female. I happen to be both. The lady informed me that since I’m 18 and 5’4”, I have to be 124 lbs to give blood instead of 110 lbs at 5’4” when I’m 19. So again, personal challenge fail. My next personal challenge was to ace all five of my last Latin quizzes. Latin is my hardest subject this semester. I performed dismally on the first couple, so I vowed to do well on all of the remaining ones. I succeeded.

Conversation-Stephen Garcia

I thought it would be really interesting to hear Steven Garcia present on the Capstone Scholars’ motto of, “Dream Big, Impact the Community, and Leave a Legacy,” however, I was a little disappointed. Upon receiving the email noting the change of location to Dreyton Hall due to anticipated high attendance, I made sure to get there early. It wasn’t packed at all. Also, the email had said that Garcia would only be talking for fifteen minutes! I was a little skeptical. As it turns out, Stephen Garcia had not planned out ANYTHING to say and instead asked for questions. Cop out. To be fair, I would not want to lead a Capstone Conversation either, especially not to my peers. Garcia did not really say much anything of substance, only to learn from his mistakes, do as he says not as he does…oh, and that he thinks tennis is a little “gay.”

Cinema & Extra Credit-Jamaica

I attended the alternate Capstone Cinema on the Journalism’s class service trip to Jamaica in Russell House Theatre. I actually really enjoyed it. The speakers were a tad dull but I found the video to be very inspiring. I have never been on a service tri, mission trip, or anything of the sort but I have always really wanted to go. I actually really enjoy helping people and interacting with little kids, like the people on the Jamaica trip did for a bit, is my absolute favorite. The video was really cute and funny; it really made me want to just up and take a trip to Jamaica or anywhere in need really. I also thought it was really cool that Russell House had a showing for the movie they made as part of their class and that they opened it up to professors, parents, students, anyone. I am glad that I chose to attend this one.

Social Event-First Hot Cookie Friday

The Capstone Social Event that I attended was the very first Hot Cookie Friday. At the time, I was not at all worried about the Capstone Scholars requirements; I am pretty sure the idea of hot cookies and socializing just enticed me. I went with my roommate Shelley and the Capstone Study Shack was absolutely packed. We had to wait in line just to get up the stairs and sign it. It was also pretty hot that day and all of those bodies packed into such a small area of course made it even hotter. When we finally got up, all of the cookies were gone. We had to wait for another batch but they were so delicious. There was also ice cream although neither Shelly nor I ate it. We talked to some people and introduced ourselves to Dr. Hickey (for what felt like the eighth time) and chatted with him a bit. Shelly and I even placed stars on our hometown on the map on the wall. Overall, it was a pretty interesting experience.

U101

For me, University 101 was the one class that I didn’t really mind coming to. I really liked everyone in the class and class discussions were always interesting to say the least. I feel like u101 helped to make the college transition easier for me, although at times it was a bit tedious. Whenever I didn’t forget to do my blogs or it wasn’t over a break, blogging was always beneficial because it helped me to reflect on my week. I have always enjoyed writing, even just to clear my head, and to be able to do so in such an informal manner was relaxing. I always ended up going off on various tangents and sometimes my blog posts were much longer than necessary, making it evident that blogs feel more to me like leisure than assignment. It’s just freeing to be able to type your stream of conscious every once in awhile.

Mentoring Conversations

Engaging Aliyah in conversations about academic success and involvement was incredibly easy and effortless. I feel like everyone has a preset of answers made up for questions like these too since you are asked them so often. Aliyah replied that she was interested in orchestra, softball, and math. She also said that she was doing well in school and that currently, she wanted to ace tomorrow’s history quiz. So, to prepare for it, I showed Aliyah a way that I learned to review vocabulary by yourself that I learned in eleventh grade Spanish that I still use today for Latin. We ran out of time completing the game, so she told me she’d complete it for homework and use it as her study guide that she had to show her teacher. My plans for saying goodbye are pretty loose. I want to be able to do whatever Aliyah wants to do and just talk with her about her day and maybe her friend drama. Also, this week, Aliyah told me about the Hand Middle band, orchestra, and chorus concert on Wednesday that she’s playing Cello in. She told me that she really wants me to be able to come and see her play. So after our final mentoring session next Tuesday, I will attend the concert on Wednesday to support her. I feel like attending her concert is an appropriate and fitting end to our mentoring relationship.

Thanksgiving

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is what my entire dad’s side of the family calls, “Turkey Bowl.” During half-time of the first football game on television, everyone goes outside, splits into teams, and plays a game of two-hand-touch football. Usually my family spends Thanksgiving in Jacksonville, Florida, with my aunt and uncle, three cousins, and our grandma and grandpa. This year however, our Thanksgiving was spent at home. Although it was kind of lonely without all of the extra people around (and a lot colder), it was still a lot of fun to be able to see everyone. Also, since my boyfriend is from Massachusetts, he wasn’t able to go home for Thanksgiving and instead, my mother invited him to have Thanksgiving with us in Charlotte. Despite all of the changes to our Thanksgiving traditions, Turkey Bowl is one that still lives on. My mother was busy preparing our entire Thanksgiving feast from scratch, although we all helped, so she did not participate, but the addition of my boyfriend to the family roster made our teams even. The teams were me, my little sister, and my father, aka Team Domination, against my older brother, my little brother, and my boyfriend aka, The Champions. Needless to say, Team Domination, well, dominated.

Leadership

My weaknesses as a leader are probably the fact that I tend to be a lot less aggressive and a lot more submissive around people I do not really know and that sometimes I am not the most optimistic person. I feel like both of these are important traits to have because a leader needs to be seen as the most dominant and the most enthusiastic; that’s why people look up to and follow them. My strengths as a leader are probably my emotional stability and my tough-mindedness. I am able to keep my head in frustrating and stressful situations and I feel like I can handle them fairly well because I have had a lot of practice. I can always seem to put stuff like that out of my mind. Although it may not seem like it, and it may not be the most admirable quality, I am also extremely stubborn. I feel like both of these are important because you have to be able to keep a clear head to be able to make decisions and you have to be able to stick to your decisions and back them up whether they were the right decisions to make or not. I aspire to make a difference here by being an active member of Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences (SEAS) and trying to keep my fellow marine science majors motivated to stick through the super intense course load and let them know that they can do it and still have time to have fun too.

Spirituality

I feel like religion, spirituality, and faith are all separate aspects of human beliefs that can intersect but still maintain their separate entities. Religion is a belief in a higher power that affects human destiny, spirituality is more how intact you are with your beliefs about life, religious or not, and then faith is just an unadulterated trust in someone or something, be it a religious figure or not. I was raised Catholic by my mother. My father is an atheist and none of his side goes to church but my mom’s side is pretty involved with Catholicism. I love being Catholic and the idea of believing in a higher power and just something greater than oneself. Before college, I was unsure whether I would keep attending church here at USC because I have always been a firm believer that God does not spite you for not attending church and that you are allowed to keep your faith close to you no matter where you are or what day of the week it is. When I got here I decided I would keep going to church because it’s just something I want to do for myself and I enjoy it. I found the Catholic parish and I attend church every Sunday at nine with my roommate. I feel like spirituality and faith are the more personal sectors of religion and they are unaffected by geographical location. I have heard that religion is a lot more intense in the South though. I mean, I’ve always grown up with it and I actually like how intact people here are in their faith. I believe that in order to live, you have to have hope for something in your life, or there’s no point. Faith is also extremely important. A belief in something greater than oneself, even if it’s just a simple faith in say, a sports team, is a beautiful thing and perhaps one of the purest aspects of the human race.

Relationships

I have formed a bunch of new relationships here at USC. Coming from Charlotte, you would think that I would know a ton of people but really I only knew one guy from my high school and then one guy from a neighboring school who happened to be my best friend’s boyfriend. So coming here, I knew I would have to make a lot of friends and I feel like I’ve succeeded. Having all of them there makes me feel more adjusted to college life. I really love my floor; we’re all pretty close. It’s fun just to hang out with them if I don’t have anything to do. Also, three of the guys from my floor are in my chemistry class, so I always have someone to sit with during chemistry and if I ever needed help, I know that they would be there to help me, no questions asked. Also, two of the girls on my floor, Bryn and my good friend Melissa, are marine science majors also and we’re all in the same marine science class. Melissa’s also in my lab and we’re in the same lab group. I always ask them questions when I need help. I love the group of friends I’ve become a part of. They’re really fun and they can always cheer me up if I’ve had a rough couple of class days or if I’ve been super stressed. I also know I can tell my roommate about any of my problems because she’s always there to listen. I met my boyfriend and started dating him here too. I am probably the closest to him and he’s really great. He always tells me that everything’s going to be alright and I’ll get through this semester just fine. This morning he really helped me out because I was absolutely exhausted from getting up at five am for my marine science field trip yesterday and I wanted to just skip Latin and history. He made me get up and go though because he knew I needed to attend them and stay on top of my work. Everyone here just keeps me really grounded and I’m really thankful for all of the people I’ve met so far.

Study Abroad

I have considered studying abroad. I am actually almost certain that I will sometime during my four years at USC, probably during junior year. If I do study abroad, I will probably go to Australia. Australia is a great place to study abroad in for Marine Science, since it is entirely surrounded by water, plus, it’s warm, so that is always nice. The only barriers I could possibly foresee would be fiscal issues or the issue of not graduating on time. My parents are paying for college and they told me that they would only pay for four years, and then I’m on my own. So if studying abroad would set me back a semester, I would never be able to do it. I think that it would definitely be a beneficial experience though. There would be a lot of in-field hands-on experience as well as cultural enlightenment. I definitely hope I will be studying abroad before these four years are up.

Mentoring-Week Three

My overall experience with Hand Middle School has been wonderful. Everyone has been very nice and helpful with whatever questions I have had regarding the mentoring or even just getting around the school. Aleyah has been a great mentee also. She likes to talk and sometimes even asks me questions. Mostly she likes to spend our time playing board games such as checkers and Sorry. Mentoring has also made me think about considering a serious career in child care. I think it is most important to cover why Aleyah should get involved and why it matters to have a successful academic career. It would also be important to cover tips on how she can accomplish these things. Three questions about involvement could be, “What kinds of things are you interested in? How can you get more involved? Why is it important to be involved?” Three questions about academic success could be, “How are you doing in school? What are your personal academic goals? How can you achieve them?”

Wellness

The life I am leading at college is probably not the healthiest. I don’t make it to the gym everyday because of my schedule and since it’s getting colder, I don’t even want to be outside to run, especially due to the fact that the ninth floor of capstone has no hot water and the showers are always freezing, even if you take them at seven in the morning, or four in the afternoon. I probably only eat breakfast once or twice a week because I can’t get up early enough to do it, and I have a nasty habit of eating lunch and dinner so late, sometimes I just skip meals. I’ve been trying to eat healthier, aka not Gibbes amazing grilled cheese everyday, but it’s more difficult at college because there’s no one to tell you no. Also, I get a lot of care packages filled with goodies and snacks, and my room is like a grocery store with all of the food I have in it. It is actually ridiculous. I also can’t seem to get to sleep very early ever because I want to spend all the time that I’m not in class or doing the obscene amount of homework that I do have, with my friends and my boyfriend. There’s no way I could ever get the recommended nine hours a night. Despite all of this, I do have an insanely healthy immune system. I don’t think I can even tell you the last time I was sick. I think it’s probably due to the fact that orange juice (Florida’s Natural, no pulp, extra calcium) is my favorite thing to drink. I’m also not too worried about my weight. But next semester I am taking a class less, so I actually have time to go to the gym, and so I’m not so stressed out with my course load. Also, intramural lacrosse will be starting up in the spring, so I’ll probably give it a shot. I’ve also been trying to eat healthier on a daily basis, no grilled cheese each time I go to Gibbes, and I’ve arranged my food on a shelf on the opposite side of the room so I don’t snack as much. Once next semester rolls around, I should be getting more sleep too but I never got very much at home anyways, and I often would function on little to no sleep, and that’s without the aid of redbull or coffee. I know that maybe these aren’t the healthiest choices but I feel like they’re just a part of college life; I’m not too worried.

Mentoring-Week One

Two weeks ago, I was assigned my six grade mentee from Hand Middle School. Her name is Aleyah, and she is almost taller than me! Although I suppose that is not very hard. At first I was nervous because when Aleyah came down to fill out her paperwork, she was super quiet, and did not even say anything to me. Thankfully, as soon as we embarked on the perilous journey that was my school tour, Aleyah was chattering away. It was perilous due to the fact that as soon as classes changed, students were running through the hallways and jumping down the stairs, and one of Aleyah’s friends even ran into me. I also got whistled at by a middle schooler, which was of course, a nice touch. But despite all of this, I greatly enjoyed just walking around and talking to Aleyah. As a sixth grader, she’s very smart, and even more importantly, she has the drive to do well. I also learned that we have a lot in common. Aleyah is in orchestra, just as I was in band from fifth to twelfth grade, and although she was disappointed to be missing this period every Tuesday, she enjoys me being there because she said it’s “just like having a friend to hang out with while everyone else is in class.” Aleyah also plays softball, and I played for eleven years. Since Aleyah is a sixth grader, she cannot play softball for Hand, so she plays for her community organization. She also plans to participate in track and field for Hand in the spring. I don’t really feel that there are any additional resources or support that I need to make my mentoring with Aleyah effective. I just need to be myself and be there for her while we conquer our transitions together.

Diversity

I have always felt that diversity is simply something or someone that is physically, emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically different than one’s beliefs or oneself, nothing more, nothing less. Since kindergarten, our generation has been taught that diversity is just something that exists, a part of life, and that it should never be viewed as a bad thing, because it isn’t. Maybe someone has a different skin color than you or is from a different ethnic background, so what? They’re still a living, breathing human being, born with the gift of life; a person, same as you and me. My view of diversity has not changed here at Carolina and I do not believe it ever really will. However, at Carolina, I think I’ve learned exactly what it means to be diverse. Coming to college sometimes is a culture shock, it was for me. There are just so many various types of people and so many stereotypes but then there are always the exceptions, the people who break the mold, that continue to expand and widen your horizons, if only on the basis of who people can be, and as far as I’m concerned, humanity’s limits are endless.

ACE

I did not really know what to expect going into my first ACE appointment. I have never really been one of those kids that has had difficulty in school and therefore never really seen the need for tutoring, which is what I always kind of saw ACE as. Actually, that’s probably the reason I had not made an appointment sooner. I went into the appointment not really sure what to talk about besides my obvious procrastination issues and used that as the foundation of our conversation. Many of the time management principles were brought up and instead of just telling me what they were, we went through how I could apply them specifically to my life, which I liked. We also blocked off times for studying and time for friends, which I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick to, but at least it gives me an idea of how much time to devote to each aspect of my life. We also briefly talked about study habits, as my Latin tests and quizzes seem unwilling to move out of the average range, no matter how long or rigorously I study. If I had a second meeting, it would probably just be a follow up meeting, unless I started having extreme difficulty in one of my classes. At least now I know it’s there, and it’s not just a site for tutoring, it’s a site for advice.

Resume

Kaitlin Little
littlem@mailbox.sc.edu

Current Address:
USC Student Box 81336
1400 Greene Street
Columbia, SC, 29225
(704) 995-3220

Educational Experience
David W. Butler High School, Matthews, NC
Graduated in June, 2009
Cumulative Weighted GPA: 4.20
Cumulative Unweighted GPA: 3.59
Class Rank: 61 of 580

The University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Will Graduate in 2013
Major: Marine Science

Honors and Awards
2nd Place Photography, Women’s Guild Art Competition, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

2nd Place Photography, Women’s Guild Art Competition, Second Level, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

Photography Recognition, Art Event, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

Photography Entry, Festival in the Park, Art Festival, Charlotte, NC, Grade 12.

Photography Scholarship Nomination, Grade 12.

McKissick Scholars Award Academic Scholarship, USC, 2009.

Capstone Scholar, USC, 2009 to 2011.

Leadership Positions
Nursery Supervisor, St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC, Grades 9 and 10.

Head of Recreation during Vacation Bible School, St. Mark’s Lutheran, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

Bake Sale Student Co-chair, Butler Marching Band, Butler High School, Matthews, NC, Grade 11.

Community Service
Room in the Inn Volunteer, St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC, Grades 9 and 10.

Smile Train Foundation Bake Sale, Butler Interact Club, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

Pancake Breakfast at Senior Levine Center, Butler Interact Club, Charlotte, NC, Grade 11.

Ticket Booth Manager at Matthews Alive, Butler Marching Band, Matthews, NC, Grades 9 to 12.

Children’s Craft Organizer, Parents’ Night Out at Morningstar LutheranChurch, Charlotte, NC, Grade 10.

Global Earth Day Volunteer, Hands on Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, Grades 10 and 11.

Game Coordinator at Annual Easter Festival, St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC, Grade 9.

Volunteer, Mint Hill Public Library, Mint Hill, NC, Grades 9 and 10.

Student Mentor at Hand Middle School, Columbia, SC, 2009.

Extracurricular Activities: Member of Girl Power, Grades 9 and 10.

Member of Interact Club, Grades 11 and 12.

Member of Latin Club, Grade 12.

Member of Butler’s first Women’s Lacrosse Team, Grades 11 and 12.

Member of SOAR and Mount Harmony Baptist Church Softball, Grades 9 and 10.

Member of the Butler Marching Band, Grades 9 to 12.

Member of National Honors Society, Grade 12.

Member of Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences, 2009.

Member of Flying Gamecocks Skydiving Club, 2009.

Member of SCUBA Club, 2009.

Employment
Academic Intern for Matthews Animal Clinic, Matthews, NC, summer before Grade 11.

Member of the Christmas Program Orchestra, First Baptist Church, Matthews, NC, Grades 11 and 12.

Ticket Scanner, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC, summer before Grade 12.

This resume was difficult to make since it was so general and I did not have a particular job, position, or reason to make it. I also don’t have a college grade point average yet to include. I included most of my high school stuff since it was a general resume, and therefore everything would be relevant. The format didn’t transfer very well into this blog post but this is the overall idea.

Marine Science!

Coming into life at the University of South Carolina, I decided on the major of marine science. I had always fell back onto marine biology as a possible major whenever anyone would ask me what I wanted to do when I “grew up;” I never really put that much thought into it. That is, until college applications rolled around. What if I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life? I ran through all of my possible majors in my head: Zoology, Marine Biology, English, Psychology, Animal Behavior, Biology, Photography, Journalism…clearly I had no clue what I wanted to do. I ended up narrowing it down to Zoology, Marine Biology, Psychology and Animal Behavior. I eliminated Animal Behavior because I realized that that was a very narrow field of study, even though that was possibly what interested me the most. Plus, most schools did not offer programs in it, and after ruling Florida Institute of Technology out, I had no idea where else it was even offered. I then ran into the issue of my top two schools, the University of South Carolina and North Carolina State University, only offering one of my programs. NCSU has an exceptional Zoology program and does not have a Marine Biology program but USC has an exceptional Marine Science program, although they do not have Zoology. I decided on USC for all other aspects of the university, and to major in Marine Science, with a concentration in Biology, and a possible minor in Psychology; I do not regret it in the least. I am not quite sure what I want to do with the rest of my life, but as I’ve mentioned before, the two biggest passions in my life are animals and kids, so I just know that I want to work with them. The beach is also my favorite place in the entire world, so marine biologist/dolphin trainer seems like a pretty safe bet as of right now. I guess we’ll see if that changes…

Campus Safety

I found Wednesday’s Campus Safety Presentation to be very informative. Although our speaker was not the “Brotha Man,” as she was in fact a woman, she really seemed to know her stuff. Hearing about all of the safety precautions that the University of South Carolina has implemented definitely was reassuring. Although I have never really felt threatened or endangered, there have been some sketch nights, even when I’m walking in a group. One of the things I love the most about this campus is the number of trees but by nightfall it’s maybe not so great a thing. People just can’t always be predicted, and it’s their uncertainty that can evolve into danger. Although I already utilize most of the things that she told us, like locking your door at night, which I feel is very obvious anyway, I found the fact that she said it might be better not to talk on your phone when you’re walking somewhere by yourself as it distracts you from your surroundings. Last summer I always talked on the phone while I walked back to my car from my job at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre concert venue in Charlotte at one or two in the morning. I had always been taught that that was a safe move but she made me realize that it probably actually isn’t. Also, I didn’t know that you could get in so much trouble for walking the train tracks around here. And while I did know that it would be extremely dangerous, as trains can be extremely dangerous, I never really thought about the fact that the train could actually create a swell and pull you up under it. Interesting stuff. And I will be all the much safer because of it.

Student Organizations

I have attended a lot of student organizational meetings over the past couple of weeks. So far I have gone to meetings for the Flying Gamecocks Skydiving Club, Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences (SEAS), & the Scuba club. The first meeting I attended was for skydiving. I’m not sure what I was really looking for, probably just an interesting club with fun people to help assimilate me into college life. I certainly found that. I have always wanted to go skydiving and I had had plans to go this past summer with my cousin when I turned eighteen but things came up for both of us and we ended up not being able to make it work. I figured this club was the perfect opportunity to realize my dream. I am definitely planning to stay involved with the skydiving club; hopefully I will even have gone skydiving by the end of this year!

Hand Middle School Expectations

Personally, I am extremely excited to begin to work with kids at Hand Middle School. Helping kids is of the two biggest passions in my life and being able to get college credit for it is awesome. My AP Psychology teacher junior year of high school often told me that I would make a fantastic counselor, so I think it will be interesting to see if he was basing that off anything, as I always thought that he was crazy for thinking that. I have always considered myself a very good listener, so I hope I can be someone my mentee can confide in. My little brother, Connor, is also making the transition into middle school this year, so I think I should be able to find plenty to be able to talk to my kid with. I could maybe even bounce ideas off of my brother whenever I talk to him on the phone. I am also extremely nervous to think that I can affect how this kid grows up and develops just through mentoring him for a semester in one year of middle school. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but really, middle school is a crucial time for adolescents. Usually it’s hell. And to be able to alleviate some of their stress would yield the best feeling in the world, for all involved.

Academic Success-LASSI

I found my results on the LASSI to be fairly accurate in some sections. For example, my lowest scoring section was also probably the most accurate-Time Management. As I have already blogged, I am the worst procrastinator in the world and really need to do something about how I manage my time, or really, do not manage it. I scored the highest on motivation which I feel like is fairly accurate also. I have the drive to graduate with a great college education that will help me realize all of my career dreams for the future. Attitude was my second lowest, and according to LASSI, I care nothing about college and practically at risk of dropping out. Obviously I have to have the attitude to have the motivation to strive for success, so I feel like that does not make much sense. Overall, the LASSI evaluated me probably as well as any computer driven twenty minute test can.

Service-Learning Experience

I have a lot of past community service experience, volunteering through Hands On Charlotte, a local community service organization, my church as well as some of my friends’, through school clubs such as Interact and Girl Power, and other random local functions that I happened to hear about. This is my first time volunteering as part of a course though. I chose to volunteer because of the feeling you get after you do it. The actual service portion is generally hard work but then once you realize you’ve put all of that effort and time into helping maybe even just one other person out, the feeling is indescribable. I probably don’t even fully realize how truly lucky I am to lead the life I do but I can fathom it to some extent. The fact that my life is so fortunate motivates me to ease the hardships of others’ lives. The two biggest passions in my life are animals and little kids. I love everything about them and interacting with them is close to my favorite thing in the entire world. So naturally, anything I can do to ease their albatrosses, eases mine.

Academic Success

I plan to get organized at USC by keeping track of all of my assignments and books. I’ve never really been an organized person per se but I also never really lose anything and always know where everything is without having to look for it. To encourage myself to stay organized, I bought a Mortar Board planner and take it with me to every class. I also have a crate that I keep all of my books, notebooks, and folders and such in and organize them by when I have each class. Honestly, I’m not very good at managing my time. I always feel like I’ll have time to do whatever it is later. But I also feel like I work at my best under pressure. So it’s a vicious circle but a vicious circle that gets things done nonetheless. During college I feel like I do need to make adjustments regarding my responsibility as a student. You don’t have anyone to nag you, which I love because I tend to do things in a more lethargic manner if I am constantly being bugged about it, but I also tend to forget exactly what my homework assignments are and when they are due because I should have so much more free time. Only I feel like I don’t and I am trying to change that.

Involvement

I thought that overall, the Student Organization Fair was an overload of information but in the best possible way. The fact that it was horribly crowded made me realize just how vast the number of clubs and organizations is at USC. The organizations I am planning to join are the Flying Gamecocks Skydiving Club, the Mountaineering and Whitewater Rafting Club, Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences (SEAS), SCUBA, and possibly the Women’s Lacrosse Club team, Students Advocating for a Greener Environment (SAGE), and Student Advocates For Africa’s Regional Improvements (SAFARI), to sponsor for Invisible Children. My three main hobbies are probably music (playing and listening), lacrosse, and manual photography. The two biggest passions in my life are interacting with little kids and animals, hence my Marine Science major. I aspire to take the biological and psychological route that deals with the animal behavior and training. When I was little, I always wanted to be a dolphin trainer at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago…I even had a shirt that said, “When I grow up, I want to be a dolphin trainer at Brookfield Zoo!” verbatim. :)

Carolinian

Hey guys, I’m Kaitlin Little, hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina. I am originally from Chicago, Illinois. I am majoring in marine science with a possible minor in psychology. I expect the University of South Carolina to help me to grow both in my education and as a person. I love the atmosphere here at USC; I feel that this is exactly the environment I need to be in to be able to foster my own ideas and opinions. I also feel like everyone here is extremely friendly and everyone is in the same boat, leaving all of their friends and family behind wherever home happens to be, making it easier for everyone to make friends. The Carolinian Creed is relevant to my life as a student here at the University of South Carolina because it encourages me to become a better student as well as a better person through respect and responsibility.