Capstone Cinema

I went to see the capstone cinema today. I didn't expect it to be that good because it was just a documentary done by a sophomore, but i was pleasantly surprised. It kept me engaged and wanting to learn more. It was all about the Burma soldiers terrorizing the natives, shooting them without listening and raping the women. It showed different stories from the three groups of natives and the things they had to personally go through. The only bad part was I was in the back and so I couldn't see the subtitles and only knew what was going on when they were speaking English. Unfortunately I had a required sorority event so I had to leave 45 minutes in because I would have really liked to hear the discussion that went with the documentary.

First Experience Mentoring

My first experience was a lot better than I thought it would be and ended up being a lot of fun. The 6th grader I'm mentoring is a really cool girl. She is involved in mock trial and plays baseball for a team. She seems to work really hard in school and her favorite subject is math like myself. I'm not sure what her needs are. She seems to have some good friends who she talked about a lot, and feel comfortable at the school. I'm just going to try to be there for her to talk to and listen to her rants when she feels like it. At this point I don't need any resources because we're just getting to know each other and building trust before going into any deeper conversations about academics and involvement.

Wellness

I spend a lot of my time doing school work. I have learned to balance out my schedule a lot more, and it is getting easier for me than it was at the beginning of the semester. I wish I had more time to work out and join other clubs. I hear the kids on my hall talking about their clubs all the time and they sound like a lot of fun. I don't think there is much I can do this semester but next semester when I have an easier academic schedule, I will have a more balanced overall. Discussing wellness, I wish I ate healthier. I ate very healthy back home, but got here and have not kept the nutritional diet in my life.

ACE appointment

My ACE appointment went really well. I really liked the girl I met with Katie, and she was helpful. I didn't have a lot or questions to ask her so I kind of felt bad and it only lasted about 20 minutes. We discussed the transition to college and what classes to take next semester. I liked hearing about how she has the same kind of procrastination as I do, where I'm always doing something, just not the things that are most important. I have no idea what we would talk about if I met with her again. I was hoping to discuss my courses next semester and what I should do about one of them and she really helped me out.

Diversity

Diversity means a difference in backgrounds, beliefs, values, and cultures. Coming from a catholic school makes it so I have little experience with diversity at home. At my high school we are all girls, mostly coming from the same middle class white suburban families who go to church on Sunday. Even when I admitted to some that I was not raised in any faith and that I had never been baptized, it was not taken well and I got a lot of puzzled looks. At a college campus, especially a huge public university, there are people from all backgrounds and different takes on life. It is part of the reason I chose South Carolina. I believe it is a great way to learn about my own beliefs and values by listening to the ideas of others and formulating my own opinion. Sure there are going to be the kids who don't take the idea of diversity as a good thing, but what they don't realize is there actually adding to the diversity of college. I like the idea of all the different, diverse students at USC co existing in a some what structured environment.

Resume

Christen Taylor Armstrong
4110 Lime Kiln Lane
Louisville, KY 40222
(502) 394-0228 (h)
(502) 418-7358 (c)
armstrct@mailbox.sc.edu
Education
2009 – Present University of South Carolina Columbia, SC
Major: Marine Science
Honors: McKissick Scholars Award, Capstone Scholar
2005 – 2009 Assumption High School Louisville, KY
GPA: 3.95 Class Rank: Top 20%/240 students SAT Score: 1360/1600
Athletic Teams: Track & Field (9, 10, 11, 12); Cross Country (9, 10, 11, 12)
Academic Teams: Math League (10, 11, 12); French Scrabble (9, 10, 11, 12); Governor’s Cup (12); Science Olympiad (9)
Academic Organizations: National Honor Society (11, 12); Beta Club (11, 12); Mu Alpha Theta (11, 12); Art Honor Society (11, 12); French Honor Society (12)
Awards: Track Varsity Letter (11, 12); Cross Country Varsity Letter (12); Commonwealth Honors Academy (12); Congressional Art Award (12); Assumption Outstanding 2-D Art Student (12); Principal’s List/First Honors (9, 10, 11, 12); French Scrabble League Champions (11, 12)
Scholarships Awarded: Miami of Ohio General Scholarship; St. Louis University Dean’s Scholarship; Tulane University Merit Scholarship; University of Kentucky Provost Scholarship; University of South Carolina McKissick Scholars Award
Leadership: French Scrabble Team Captain (12); Summer Seminar Leader (10)
Community Service
2007 – 2009 Kid’s Café (Dare-to-Care Organization) Louisville, KY
2006 – 2007 Shively Baptist Daycare Shively, KY
Employment
2007 – Present StarLight Custard Louisville, KY

I made a resume for college and added some to it. It really needs to fill up with more internships related to my major and something other than my high school activities. Also studying abroad would look great on my resume. I feel like if I turned in my resume for an internship right now though, they'd laugh in my face. It is not very good and isn't filled with substantial information and activities that would benefit the job. I'm hoping that everyone elses resume as of right now is like mine and I'm not already behind on getting more job experience and internships that matter to my major.

My major

My major is marine science. If money and education were not factors, I would want to be a dolphin trainer at sea world. Ever since I was little I have wanted to do this, However as I got older I am becoming more realistic about this. This is what everyone wants to do from a marine science major and therefore, the sea world people don't pay hardly anything for this job to be done. On top of this, it is a very competitive job. It would be a very fun job that definitely ties in with my major. I don't exactly know what I want to do in the future yet, however I find marine science interesting so I figure I'll remain in that major.