University of Hawaii at Manoa Top Questions

What have I gotten out of my college experience and why has it valuable to attend? Honestly, it has been valuable to attend for the reason of meeting new and interesting people who are also working towards the same goal that I am, which is to further their education. I have so far seen people who are younger than I am, as well as those who are much older going for the same goal with different backgrounds supporting each other to help each other reach their goals. Which is also part of what I have gotten out of this college experience. I have learned that its also never too late to go back and fulfill your dreams and your goals to have a better life for yourself, or your children.

I am just starting my sophomore year in Hawaii and can't wait to get back on the island. I had a wonderful experience my freshman year with teachers, students and advisors. I have never been a very independent person, so being away from home was a bit challenging at first. After 2 weeks, I was already adapting to my new life away from home with a job at an elementary school and friends in my dorm. I started out as a Sociology major and after working with kids I realized that I had found my calling and changed my major to Education my second semester. When I come home for breaks and hang out with my high school friends, I realize what an incredible opportunity that I have been given to be able to go away to school. I think that it is something that I would suggest to anyone asking my opinion about going away to college, it is the greatest experience ever. I have learned to do things on my own and be much more dependent on myself. I consider this one of the best gifts my parents could ever have given me.

College enlightened me to the power of persistance. If you keep at something tirelessly, it will crumble in defeat, leaving only you to claim the remnants like so many treasure hunters in Berlin, 1989. If you obsess enough over the research paper with the due date looming under the toilet seat just waiting for a moment of vulnerability so it can nibble rabidly at your ankles, you chip away at it. You begin to ponder the ethics of black market organ trafficking to a depth reserved only theologic debates and NFL draft pick predictions. You become interested. You walk to the library and pick out two numbers, three paragraphs and a bibliography, and suddenly you have to write two less pages. Rinse and repeat. If you chase the strawberry blonde between Calculus and American History long enough, she'll get hungry. If you stomp into an office, any office, the Student Health Services office, for that matter, demanding "more" and "now," you'll get it. If you pick up that football and run forward, you won't make a lot of yardage in one go, but overtime, you'd accumulate at least one first down. At least, I think so.

I have enjoyed my college experience thus far as I like to feel accomplished, as though I am doing something to advance in life. College has taught me to be more self-sufficient, relying less on my family and more on myself to make things happen. The endless amount of resources availbe to college students is phenomenal. I find it very comforting that I am not alone in this big world, trying to get ahead. I attend school alongside my peers with the same or similar goals, which creates a support system that wasn't available to me prior to attending college.

Attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa has been a very good learning experience because this school has developed a spirit of independance in me. At my old school I was more reliant on other people for things that I needed and did things the way other people wanted me to do them. While I am not completely independant yet I now have the drive to do things independantly and to seek out opportunities if I really want them. This is important because the world will not hand you things on a silver platter and if you really want something in life you need to take initiative and go get it. The University of Hawaii at Manoa has also been a good place for me because the College of education's teacher education program is set up in a cohort model so all your methods courses are with the same people and you are placed in schools with those same people so that you get a tight knit sense of community. The college offers a lot of support and c feedback on lesson plans and assesment tools you use in K-12 classrooms through your mentor teachers and cohort coordinators.

I've made numerous professional contacts that arel helping me better my educational experience. I've learned to take advantage of faculty who enjoy passing along more than just what in a course's study materials. I actively seek guidance and mentoring from faculty who I've identified as willing to shape learning skills for students that show their commitment to and enthusiasm for the holistic learning experience. I've also learned to develop better self-initiative skills, focusing on work that goes beyond the basic required course requirements. I've honed my study habits and proactively pursue what I wish to gain from each course. I don't ler the professor determine how much I get from a course but rely on active engagement with other students and professors to achieve my goal of getting the most bang for my dollar. I've acquired greater patience and awareness, understanding that there is diversity, students coming from different backgrounds, culturally and educationally. It's become important to me to be of service, supporting and helping other students whenever possible.

I came to this college to get an education that will not only increase my knowledge but help me get a better job in the future to come. So fr I am pursuing this goal but during my journey I have attained things that at the end mean somuch more. I have great friends that I shared many memories with that I will never forget. I seen places that before I came here I would not even have dreamt of dreaming and nowi am living it. I am taking the initiative and making my own destiny and one I can mold as I please and having a great time on-campus, off-campus, in class, and everywhere in between while getting an education which no matter what happens can never be taken away from me. I believe I am and will be achieving more than enough valuable things out of my college education tohonestly say this was the best decision I have ever made in my entire life and I will learn from it and enjoy it as much as I can while I can.

Well, beyond the obvious furthering of my career prospects, I have learned that I love things that I did not know existed, and opened my mind to so much more than I knew was out there. Although I am an art major, all of the other subject areas I have taken courses in have influenced my work. Women's studies, mythology, and art history are some areas that I previously knew nothing about, but now they are an integral part of my work. College has changed who I am and what I have to say, and given me the means to say it.

By going to a community college right out of high school I gained confidence in myself. I found that to be the best thing I could ever ask for. And because of the pleasant experience and education I receieve I'm going to transfer and be ready and sure of myself. And the feeling I have when I can express myself properly is so valuable that I wouldn't change a thing if I had the chance.

My college helped me to have a better understanding of the cultural diversity unique to Hawaii. This is valuable to me because I intend to become a physician who serves population of Hawaii. I need to be sensitive to various cultures Hawaii?s population has to offer in order to promote effective and honest interaction with the patients. This in turn, will aid the patient to have more respect for the treatment plan I will be giving them and will promote the compliance that will result in their well-being.