My name is Paige Yates and am a student at UNC Charlotte.

As a freshman, I am learning
how to be a student of higher education. Yes, I took Advanced Placement courses in high school,
but taking college courses on a university campus is very different. I plan to major in Biology
and minor in Chemistry with hopes of attending PA school in the future. Currently, I am enrolled
in Chemistry 1200, Biology 1110, UWRT 1103, Statistics 1221, and LBST 2213. It is a rigorous
schedule, but next semester will be even more difficult. Next semester I will be taking on a full
17 credit hour schedule of General Chemistry and lab, General Biology, Introduction to Physics
and lab, an online Liberal Studies course, and Sociology. I am going to need to prepare for these
courses over holiday break by reviewing any previous notes. I come from a large family. I have
four sisters, one of which is a sophomore here at UNCC. I like coming from a large family
because I get to see how every individual in my family changes as time goes by. As a person, I
am a student, a worker, a volunteer, a sister, a daughter, and a girlfriend. Sometimes juggling
these tasks is difficult, but I have found a way to make it work. Throughout this term, I have
learned more about who I am. I have realized that what I had always planned to do in high
school, is not actually what I plan to do now. During high school, I imagined myself as a doctor
in the emergency room. Now, I see myself as a Physician Assistant. I have realized that
sometimes things change, and that I must be okay with that.
Overall, I think this has been a successful semester. Coming into my freshman year,
students were told that UWRT 1103 was for more gifted writers and readers. I assumed that this
would mean hours of reading long books and writing essays on them. After taking this course, I
realized that is not the case. As a student of higher education, I have learned more about myself.
Doing reflective assignments and answering personal questions during class has forced me to dig
a little deeper into my individuality. I have learned that being in a higher level English based
course does not mean that I must only focus on academic work. I appreciated being able to take a
break from school, and focus more on myself. As a student on the verge of completing my first
semester, I have learned that no professor is the same. My liberal studies course has two
professors who grade on a point based scale, instead of a percentage based scale. That took some
time to get used to. I have also learned that college courses are not like high school courses. I can
no longer get away with doing assignments a few hours before they are due. I have learned to be
more proactive and less of a procrastinator. Although I thought that this was a successful
semester, I must say that I am glad it is almost over. During UWRT 1103, I learned a lot about
society. I learned about tolerance through the videos we watched inside and outside of class, like
the TedTalk by Panti Bliss. I learned about humanism through two of our major assignments: our
personal literacy assignment and our practicum literacy assignment. I learned about family
values through reading and reflecting on Anansi Boys. Most importantly, I learned more about
myself by doing personal reflective assignments. I think my favorite piece during the class was
watching the Pivot video with Robin Williams. He is so funny to watch, but he is also an
inspiration to hear from. I think I have mastered two Student Learning Outcomes best: Critical
Reflection and Critical Reading. I had some trouble with Critical Reading in the past, but I think
Anansi Boys but my reading skills to the test. This novel challenged me because it was lengthy,
included a lot of characters, and included a lot of important details. I think I have mastered
Critical Reflection because I am now capable of reflecting on topics I may not agree with. I also
learned how to do reflections that are more than just essays. Although our class and professor

faced challenges, I think that this term created positive aspects in my education. I had positive
experiences with time management and communication. Overall, I would say that this term has
been a good one. When readers view my E-Portfolio, I hope that they learn that I am a hard
worker. I also hope they see that I am a writer who likes to think in abstract ways. In the future, I
hope to continue having successful semesters but I also hope to learn exactly what I want to do
with my life after my education. I hope to find a plan. After the end of this semester, I will
continue my progress as a human being by continuing to do the things I love, like volunteer by
donating my time and energy. I am glad that I enrolled in this course. It has taught me how to be
independent in a classroom environment. I am sure I will use these skills later in my educational
career.