How I've grown and what I've learned

After being at Iowa State for nearly a semester I have learned a lot about myself and I think some of the lectures have stuck with me too. Before school started the thought of large lectures were scary but I quickly started to like them. In high school I spent a lot of time at home, so it was a big change to come to Iowa State and call it home. I have learned to be independent and make my own decisions.

The Hixson seminar has taught me about many campus resources that can help me succeed in college. One thing we learned about was budgeting. Since money doesn't grow on trees, I need to carefully spend my money. One way I have done this is to only have a certain amount of cash at the beginning of the week and try to make it last all week.

I think time management is the most important thing to be a successful college student. I have learned a lot about managing my time but I know I still need to learn more. Some days I have a lot of time but I seem to waste it away and I don't get anything done. College life is a balance between classes, study time, fun time and sleeping. Overall I think if I improve my time management skills and keep working hard in my classes I will be successful at Iowa State.

Hixson Award

With out the Hixson Award I wasn't sure I was going to attend Iowa State. After I got the letter I knew I was going to attend Iowa State. Christina Hixson is giving me such a huge opportunity to be a successful student at Iowa State. The money is a big part of the scholarship, reducing my debt now and in the future. The rest of the award is what makes it a truly outstanding opportunity. The rest of the award includes a free tutor, computer lab, free printing, first class registration and being a part of the Hixson group.

Christina didn't have the opportunity to go to college but she realized how important a good education is.I feel very privileged that I was chosen to receive the Hixson Award. She has given me all the tools I need to be a great student. The least I can do to repay Christina is study hard, get good grades, walk across the stage in four years and become a successful person in society.

Social Media Week

My social media week/ project was to join linkedin and follow ten people. Linkedin is a professional network where people and companies have online profiles. A personal profile is mostly a resume that you can update very easily and potential employers can see. Linkedin is also a big networking tool. You can connect with people that are in the same occupation as you. A few things I thought were interesting were the connections you have. When you look somebody up it might say they are a second or third degree connection. It really makes it seem like a small world. When you follow a company on linkedin they will have a list of any alumni from your college.
Linkedin is a very useful tool for the professional world. Employers have job listings posted and they can access your profile to see your resume. Networking is done on a professional level instead of a personal level like facebook. After reading the articles about facebook and twitter I think these can be very useful and fun if used in the right way. In Mexico it is used to alert people of dangerous situations, but it can also help cause dangerous situations if everyone goes into panic. Posting or tweeting all the time can annoy others or lead to jealousy. Overall I think all types of social media will continue to grow an be more involved in our lives.

Diversity event Norman Borlaug Lecture

The 2011 Norman Borlaug Lecture dedicates the life long efforts of Norman Borlaug. Dr. Pedro Sanchez presented the lecture to a large group of students and faculty members who were interested in world food problems. Dr. Sanchez discussed the major food related problems that are currently taking place in Africa. Approximately 90 percent of Africa’s population is suffering from malnutrition. Advances have been made in areas of Africa were the problems were the worst. Governments have begun to offer subsidies to farmers so they can afford fertilizer and better seed. With those improvements, yields have doubled or tripled in certain areas. Local farmers now have up to a 50 percent surplus of grain compared to a few years ago when they were 25 percent less then what was needed for proper nutrition. 

                 As an agronomy major I was pleased to see that very simple agronomic practices were making such big difference. This is a huge step in the right direction for the people of Africa and the people of the world. Growing good food will help raise people out of poverty and develop the less developed villages.

                 During my life time most areas of Africa have been in poverty. Much of the country still is in severe poverty but I was unaware of the practices that were being implemented to grow more food and lower the poverty. Applying simple agronomy to areas of Africa is a new idea for me. Africa isn’t all desert and there is good soil if it is fertilized properly.

What I learned about myself MBTI

After taking the assessment and going over it in class I learned alot about myself. My personality type is ISTJ. After reading some of the characteristics about my type I felt the the test was very accurate because it described me. Understanding the test makes me realize why and how I do things. A few of the characteristics of introversion are understanding then doing, concentration, and my focus on thoughts. The most important thing for me is to understand then do. I like to fully understand what I am going to do before I do it. This can help me at school and at home on the farm. If I know I need more information on a project, I will get help before I jump in.
  The next trait is sensing and this one also described me very well. I like to have facts and data to analysis rather then a theroy. I make decsions based on reality not possibilities. That leads into how I think. I like to analysis things and make decsions after a long time of thinking. Once again this leads into judging. I want to have a planned approach to life. I can still take a few unexpected things but I like when things go according to my plan.
  While writing this I realized that these are all connected to one another. How I like to take information leads into how I think about it and make decisions. I have a better understanding of how I function to get things done.

Bucket list

Most of my goals are simple. Some of them I know what I have to do to achieve them and others are still on the drawing board.  A few of my goals for this semester include my GPA goal of 3.5. That will be a challenge but what isn't in college? I want to join at least two clubs in the first semster. I already joined one club, the agronomy club and I have a few others in mind. I want to keep up with homework, I would like to have all of my assigned homework for the next week done before the weekend.
Over the next four years I want to go on at least 1 study abroad trip to somewhere in the world. I would like to have a good internship every summer. I want to keep my 3.5 GPA over my college career. I want to be president of a club. I want to take advantage of any opporunity that arises.
In the big picture I want to have a good job. Maybe have a business of my own. I would like to own a large peice of land a put a big log house up in the middle of it. I want to go to New Zealand in July when it is winter there and go snowmobiling. I would like to travel the world. My must see's would be Italy, Austrailia, and Iceland. It would be fun to sit down and talk to some of the most famous people in the world. Enjoy life and take time to smell the roses every once in while.    

Best moment section 5

          The end of a semester isn't always a fun enjoyable time. It was the end of the first semster of my senior year of high school. I had alot of projects to get finished, homework and study for upcoming semester tests. At this time I still wasn't accepted to any colleges so and I really needed to get good grades to finish out the semester and my high school career.
        It seemed like a big challenge to get good grades on all of my assignments plus get everything done on time. I worked many hours on finishing a portfolio for my journalism class. Even when some of my friends were going out snowmobiling I stayed at home and worked on homework. I knew I had to change my grades to be attractive to Iowa State and to scholarships.
        After I had worked many hours to finish projects I knew I had done a good job on them and I should recieve a good grade. The best moment was turning the last assignment in a walking out the door for Christmas break. It was a good feeling that I had completed everything and did a good job. I didn't have the guilt of leaving without finishing something.
        I know this experience will help motivate me in my first semester of college. I don't want to wait until the last week of the semster to finish all of the projects.If I do as much as I can a head of time it will be a great feeling to turn everything in with a feeling of pride in my work.