Madeline's College Journey

• Hello everyone!

  Month 2 of my second semester has been eventful, to say the least. The snowstorm last week cancelled all classes and shut down pretty much the whole campus for a few days. On top of that, I had my car break down, my debit card information stolen, and my phone stolen in the past week. Safe to say spring break could NOT come fast enough!

  As far as classes go, things are going pretty well. My geography course is definitely the hardest- my professor routinely assigns 4-5 hours worth of video and lecture to watch every week and 100+ pages of readings. The weird thing is that none of his quizzes cover any of the reading material, so I’ve just been skimming for important topics. I’m not usually the person to take shortcuts in school, but let’s be honest- an alcohol/drug studies major doesn’t really need to have knowledge of igneous rocks. I feel like as long as I maintain academic honesty and try my very hardest to understand the topics, I can get away with cutting corners here and there when I need. If I actually sat down and read all of the reading material it would easily take 3-4 hours on top of the lectures, and I just cannot afford to spend that much time on a single class that has no practical use for me.

  I just joined a club called Students for Alcohol and Drug Education, and I’ve had a ton of fun so far. We just got together at a local recovery house to package Narcan kits and tour the facility. In a few weeks, there’s going to be a career fair specifically for ADS majors, and I’m super excited for that. I was planning on working full time in food service or retail this summer, but it would be amazing if I could actually get a job in the recovery community!

  Till next month,

  Madeline

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• Hi all! Happy new year!

  I have had a great start to my semester so far. I am currently taking Intro to Physical Geography, Intro to Alcohol and Drug Studies, Public Speaking and Intermediate Spanish 3. My workload is slightly easier than last semester so that’s really nice.

  Intro to Alcohol and Drug Studies is my first class for my new major. The first class was admittedly very boring because we spent the whole class going over the syllabus, but as soon as we actually got into the content, I became super fascinated. We covered so many different topics and had spirited yet respectful discussions. During our discussion last week, one student from the Netherlands legitimately asked the question “Is heroin legal in the US?”. At first I thought she was absurd for even asking, but I realized how different the cultures surrounding drugs in our respective countries were worlds apart. I really enjoyed hearing her perspective on the topic, and I’m hopeful that I will stick with this major because it feels perfectly right for me.

  My other classes are going well so far but they’re pretty unremarkable. Public Speaking and Intro to Geography are online classes, so I only have to go to 5 class periods per week. I’ve also continued to do my work-study in the performing arts department, which I really enjoy. I can’t really ask for more than getting paid to sit at a desk and do my homework. I’ve met some really great people working here and I hope to continue making connections.

  Until next month!

  -Madeline

• Hi all!

  Month 4 at MNSU and the first semester is currently coming to a close. I take my last final December 6th and then I’ll be done! This semester has really flown by!

  My most daunting exam is definitely my Astronomy final. It’s my hardest class and there are just SO MANY different terms and concepts that it seems impossible to be able to keep track of them all. I’m hoping to end the class with a B, but I’ll take a C- I’m doing well enough in the rest of my classes that I don’t think it’ll hurt my GPA too bad.

  Besides that, the only thing I really have left is to take a Spanish oral exam. I’m not feeling too stressed about that since I’ve been doing pretty well in Spanish and I got an A on the last one. Next semester I’m taking the next level higher but it has the same teacher, which I like because she’s very nice.

  I just finished my final paper for Animals and Society a few days ago. It only had to be five paragraphs long so it wasn’t too hard. The prompt was really broad; it just asked us to reflect on a topic we’ve learned about during the semester. I decided to write it about animal testing. I think I did pretty well on it.

  Till next semester!

  -Madeline

• Hi all!

  It’s my third month here at MNSU and things are going pretty well! I ended up changing my major from sociology to drug and alcohol studies. I’m hoping to become a counselor who works with people in rehabilitation centers. I’m keeping my Spanish minor, just because it’s such a useful language in the United States.

  My classes are going pretty well. I’m still struggling a bit with astronomy- right now we’re learning about the foundation and lifetime of stars, which includes a lot of really confusing physics. Science has never really been my strong suit. I still need one more science course with a lab to fulfill my general education requirements, so next semester I’m planning on taking Introduction to Physical Geography. After that, no more science- woohoo!

  I’m still enjoying my sociology classes. In Introduction to Sociology, our next unit is about the environment and our ecological footprints. This connects to my Animals and Society class where we’re learning about plastic pollution and the impact it has on other animals. It’s always saddening to learn about the environment and the adverse effects humans have had on it, but one of our projects for Animals and Society is to clean up trash from a public place, so I’m glad to be doing at least some good for the environment.

  Bye for now!

  -Madeline

• Hello everyone!

  My second month at MNSU has been busy but super fulfilling. I joined Campus Democrats which helps mobilize students to vote, and we even got to meet with our district’s senator! It feels really good to get involved around campus. I’m hoping to join the pre-law club, but that one hasn’t started yet.

  My most challenging class is by far Astronomy. It’s especially difficult because I don’t have any real basis of knowledge for the concepts- everything is entirely new to me! What’s more is that the class doesn’t actually have any assignments- it’s strictly doing readings from the textbook, which makes it difficult for me to learn. I’ve been going to my professor’s office hours which definitely helps.

  My Spanish class has been going well- right now, we’re learning how to speak in the past tense and how to talk about health and wellness. One of the things that I’m most excited about is that we get to participate in a dual immersion program where we get to speak to students from Mexico. I’m a little nervous because my speaking skills are not the greatest, but I think it will be a fun experience!

  Both of my sociology classes are going well. In Introduction to Sociology, we’re learning about racism and the legacy of colonialism. In Animals and Society, we just read a chapter about cockfighting. I really enjoy these classes because they always facilitate thought-provoking discussions about how we view the world around us.

  Till next time!

  -Madeline

• Hello all! The first week of my freshman year is almost done and it’s been quite the adjustment for me. I’m a sociology major and Spanish minor with the hopes of becoming a lawyer, and so far my classes have been challenging but very interesting. I’m taking Spanish, Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to Astronomy and Animals and Society. I took French in high school, but I decided to switch to Spanish because I thought it would be more practical for my career. The similarities between the two languages make it pretty easy to follow along. Astronomy is definitely the most challenging, since I don’t really have a basis of knowledge for the concepts introduced, but I find space super fascinating. My favorite course is Animals and Society, which explores our sociological perspectives on how we view and treat animals. So far it’s been very interesting.

  Until next month!

  -Madeline

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