First Semester

Now that I've practically completed my first semester I think about the goals I originally set, and my expectations of myself and school. Overall I can say that I did well with both my course load and my social life. In high school I had a hard time managing the two simultaneously. So its good to see I've grown in the sense of being able to balance the two. When I first got here I was nervous and insecure about myself, my work ability and social skills. I can confidently say that after the last ten weeks I've become a better person. Not in a serious life changing way, but i can tell that I've grown up some since leaving home. When you think about it that's apart of the college experience. Not just getting a degree and making connects, but growing as an individual in a different environment.

When I ran into my first bump in the road at Howard I briefly reconsidered if this was really the school for me. Now that I've become acclimated to school and slightly acclimated to D.C as a whole I'm pretty sure that I made a good decision. Yes there are some days where I wish I would have attended a state university, but then I think about how many more opportunities I will have because I chose Howard over Georgia State.

Warmth of Other Suns

   Isabel Wilkins made an appearance at Howard a few weeks back to discuss her book, Warmth of Other Suns. Three points she made during the discussion included: many of us would not be where we were had the great migration never happened, the great migration was the first time that African Americans decided that they had other options and that they would persue them, and in the making of this book Wilkins interviewed over 1200 people.
  Two things that Ms. Wilkins said that peaked my interest was that 6 million African Americans fled the south during the Great Migration and African Americans would be arrested if they were caught leaving. This was astonishing to see how a society that degraded African Americans so much actually needed them to keep society afloat.
   Her talk made the Great Migration more tangible to me. Normally we learn about these things through text books; however, she presented this topic through real experiences. It proves that the Great Migration isn't just a part of history but it lives it's legacy through African American's daily.

Kristen Bailey

Fall 2011

   My first semester of Howard University was filled with success both academically and socially. I feel like I adjusted very well to college life and I have become very well rounded. Many people talk about coming to DC and getting lost in the "Howard Bubble". I would say that this is very true and I have seen it happen; however, I feel like I've remained true to myself over the past few months. I would say that the most necessary part to overcoming this is knowing who you are. Although many people come to college to find themselves, one must have already discovered the foundation of who they are or else college will mold you into something completely different. Every experience should have an impact but should never fully change you as a person.
   Academically my first semester has been very successful. It has been a struggle with some classes, especially calculus, but I have overcome these obstacles. Starting classes right after the craze of freshman week did require an adjustment period; however, I learned to manage my time very wisely.
   Overall my first semester has been one of the most memorable four months of my life. I cannot wait to see what the rest of my college career will bring.

Kristen Bailey

Group Presentations

The group presentation project started off slowly. I was nervous about doing a group project, because I was unfamiliar with all of my group members, and I had no knowledge of their work ethic. My goal is to pass this class and get credit for it, and I was unsure of how focused and determined my other group members were. I also didn't know if we would work well together as a team, because no chemistry had been established.

The first day the group was scheduled to meet, I could only locate one of my fellow members. I was originally convinced that the other members just didn't come to class. Eventually I learned that they had been coming to class the entire time, but because neither me nor my other group member knew who they were, we couldn' identify them. Once we did, we all came together and began to work on the project. Once we got the ball rolling and became familiar with one another, the project began to come together. We decided to focus our presentation on George Washington Carver and Charles Drew.

We met up several times, and got the project completed in well enough time to be prepared for our presentation. On presentation day, everyone showed up and participated in the presentation. There wasn't much of an audience, but that was perfect for me. At the conclusion, we were told that we did well. After presenting we sat back down to watch the only remaining group present, but they didn't want an audience, so we left and went our separate ways. Overall, I feel that our group presentation was a success.

GROUP PRESENTATIONS

When I first heard about doing a group presentation I really didn’t want to do it. The reason why I felt this way was because of experiences that I had during my years in high school. I thought that getting together was going to be hard because everyone had different schedule. What I can say is that we made it happen. Although we did it very fast I think we still did a great job on answering the overall freshmen seminar question. I actually enjoyed my group members and the little time that we got to know each other. On the actual day of the presentation my group was the only ones prepared other than the group that didn’t want anyone in there. We felt that the project would be hard but once we all got together and started talking about what we knew then it was easier. I think I couldn’t of had any better group members than GROUP 16!!!

First Semester Experience

Wow! I can’t believe that my first semester is all most over. Overall Freshmen Seminar is my favorite class of the semester. The class gave me new insight on my heritage and culture. Several things that I didn’t know I learned during this class. Although it was hard for me to get use to the college life Freshmen Seminar made things easier because I was surrounded by other students that were going through the same thing that I was. The opportunities that I have at Howard I don’t think I could have got it from another historical black university. From the very beginning of class all the way to the end I was learning something new. What I enjoyed most from the class was actual learning how each lecture had something to do with the previous lecture and then how they all tied together at the end. At first I was wondering why I had to take this class although I didn’t get the answer directly I ended up finding out by myself. Also this semester I really realized that you really have to study because test are challenging. From now on I will study weeks ahead.

Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson, the author if this year's common text The Warmth of Other Suns visited Howard University on November 14, 2011. She discussed her book in detail and talked about how people of the south fled the Jim Crow laws and moved to the north,west and mid-west. She told of the petty crimes that whites would charge blacks with simply to keep them in submission to the whites. I appreciated Mrs. Wilkerson's visit to Howard, which is her alma mater. I enjoyed reading her book also. I was quite disappointed in my classmates and their conduct during her visit. Many students were talking and not taking the advantage of hearing a wonderful writer take the time out of her schedule to visit us. I feel embarrassed because although I was not engaged in this conduct, it was my class so inevitably it also includes me. I really hope that Mrs. Wilkerson did not feel insulted by the way we behaved. I feel as though we acted in an immature way, as high schoolers instead of the college students which we are. I hope in the future when we are privileged to have a speaker come to Howard we act in a more respectful manner.

First Semester at Howard University

What to say about my first semester at Howard University? It has indeed been an experience. This is the first time I have ever lived on my own and also outside of the state of Tennessee, so personally it has been a change in scenery. In Tennessee I live in the suburbs of majorly white people so being at Howard in D.C. has also been a culture shock , but I am glad that Howard is teaching me more about my culture. Academic wise, I feel that I am doing pretty well. For the most part I enjoy my professors, some aren't perfect, but they do their best. Some students complain about Howard and I ask them " do you know where you are?"I appreciate being at this historical landmark. I agree that Howard truly is "the Mecca". Before coming to Howard I didn't know all the historical events that took place on its campus. I honestly didn't know a thing about Howard. I'm glad that I chose to come Howard. Don't get me wrong, Howard is not perfect, but what school is? I feel Howard does what it was meant for; it empowers blacks to accomplish their goals while also becoming enriched in their culture which a lot of us seem to lose sight of, living in a world that is not focused on African-Americans. I would definitely recommend high school seniors to apply to Howard and experience "the Mecca".

Group Presentations

To be honest, the groups in our cohorts were really unorganized. Not saying the individual groups were unorganized, but there were groups in our cohort who were not supposed to be in our cohort so I did not get to see them present. On the day of my group presentation, my group presented and the only group there to present after us asked that we not stay and watch their presentation so I did not get to view any presentations in my cohort. In the beginning, I actually did not appreciate this project. I didn't want to work with a group or have to do extra work. I was just being lazy, but after actually meeting with my group and getting to know each of my group members, each of them I had never met before, I became engaged in the project. I don't think the point of the project was to simply present information,but in reality we acted out what we were trying to present. The members of my group and I took on a communal responsibility and took knowledge we already knew and transformed into information that those who saw our presentation might not have known. Overall, I appreciate Freshman Seminar as a whole. Although some Tuesday mornings I didn't want to come to class, every week I was, as Dr. Gbadagesin says," In for a treat".