Challenges

Last semester I had a biology lecture class and a lab as well. My worst subject is science so you can guess that I had a terrible time in it. I was also taking Developmental Psychology and Precalculus, which weren't that bad but still sort of difficult. After midterms, my lowest grade was in my Biology courses, in the lecture I had a D and in my lab I had a low C. My other classes were fine, I had an A in Precalc and a B in Psychology. I knew I had to start acting upon my grades so I began going to all of the SI sessions after every class, I began watching videos to understand it more in order to do my homework, and I also began making flash cards with the terms. I started to get the hang of it when I noticed I slowly began to get more and more confused in my Precalc class. I realized that I hadn't been doing the homework for it since I was studying for biology. I also wasn't doing that well in my psychology class; I kept getting C's on my tests. Thus, I decided that I needed to balance my studying. I began doing all my precalc homework again, going to mathlab, and taking advantage of the resources that the class offered. For psychology, I began typing up outlines for the study guides the instructor provided. In my biology class I just kept going to all the SI sessions and if I forgot to do flash cards I would at least go over the notes. At the end of the semester, I passed all my classes with A's and B's and in my biology courses, I earned C's. This experience was a positive one because I learned to take advantage of resources around me, I learned how to manage my time well, and I ended the semester with a 3.0 GPA.

I will use this challenge to talk to my mentee about difficult situations whenever they feel overwhelmed, lost, or stressed out. I'll show them what they can do to better their grades by going to SI sessions, office hours, and all the other resources that are offered by their instructors and NAU. I will make sure it's a positive challenge by telling them about my own personal outcomes when I did that. I will also tell them that passing even their worst subject is possible so that they gain confidence and believe in themselves.