This week's ALDP lesson was snowed out by the blizzard which rolled through campus and brought with it a 7-day weekend due to cancelled classes. Despite being inundated with snow, however, the learning must go on. As such, program participants were encouraged to take time away from building snowmen and making snow angels to reflect on questions that dealt with bringing change and constructing improvements to the University of Cincinnati. This theme is one which connects directly to last week's discussion of the "why" behind the things that are most important in our lives. What is the why of UC? How can we make this "why" more closely aligned with "what" our university is doing and "how" it is doing it? By answering these questions and reflecting on how to make our already amazing campus an even better home to Bearcats, we can understand what we can and should do as leaders to contribute to a better student experience. Incorporating this knowledge with our own personal value propositions will hopefully guide us toward the specific steps that we can take to leave a meaningful impact here in Cincinnati for generations of students to come.
What would you change about your UC experience?
My experience at UC has been one that has afforded me so many great opportunities and such a wonderful learning environment that it is hard to imagine that any changes would need to be made to my time at such a great institution. At the end of the day, though, nothing is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. In addition, improvement can and should come from multiple areas. Thus, I will be outlining below three facets of my UC experience that I would change.
The first change I would enact is one that deals with my outlook on my time in university and as an individual moving forward in life. If there is one thing that I have always struggled with, it is living in the moment. It has been especially hard for me to find myself enjoying each and every day for the blessing that it is in the hectic collegiate world, and this is something that I know I must change moving forward. While it is wonderful to have completed assignments, trips, and involvements, and to have checked off goals from a to-do list, these experiences do not reach their full potential if it is not possible to enjoy them while completing them. I have made it a personal goal moving forward to make each day meaningful--no matter how stressed, overtaxed, or busy I might be. I am excited about moving from a mechanistic approach of doing things for the sake of the doing things to an outlook that places greater emphasis on doing things because they are meaningful and contribute to something greater. To begin each day with an appreciation for the day and all the possibility that it holds will be a positive and impactful change to my life and will undoubtedly enhance my UC experience.
A more action-based change I hope to make to my UC experience is to spend more time getting to know the faculty who instruct me in my courses. Especially in the 300+ classes that keep Zimmer Hall a happening place for science majors, it is difficult--if not impossible--to develop meaningful relationships with professors. This is in sharp contrast to high school, where getting to know a teacher was as simple as maintaining an active interest in class, asking a lot of the right kind of questions, staying inquisitive, and popping in after the final bell of the day to chat. In retrospect, I have become very aware of the fact that one of the reasons my experience in high school was such a rewarding one is because of the many interactions that I had with the teachers who helped to guide me with their learning and insight. In subjects as disparate as English and Chemistry, Government and Biology, I found in my teachers genuine friends whose I advice I respected and by whose instruction I was made a better student and person. With this in mind, I wish that I had taken better advantage of opportunities to meet with the faculty that now instruct my classes here at UC. While I definitely stopped by office hours for many of my professors during this first year, I have not taken as many of the active steps which I now realize are greatly needed to cement the student-teacher relationships which have been so beneficial in the past. Going forward, I know that these steps will be some of the most important that I take, and I am excited to meet more often with faculty so as to reap the many benefits of doing so.
Finally, if I could change an additional thing about my UC experience, it would be how my university is perceived by some students outside of the campus community. For many high school students in cities and towns across Ohio, UC often plays second fiddle to other universities. With an antiquated perception of the university as it might have been thirty or forty years ago, student don't take the time to consider all the wonderful opportunities that UC has to offer. Even in my hometown, a top public research university like UC is seen as a "safety school"--one that you apply to in case you are not admitted to the other schools where you would really want to go. The fact that this reputation of UC still exists is irksome, not only because of the many improvements and incredible changes that have made our university the #hottestcollegeinamerica, but also because such a incorrectly-constructed mentality towards our campus has shut off students from some of the best students, faculty, facilities, and communities in the nation. As I always like to say at the conclusion of my tours, UC is one of the most well-rounded, comprehensive, and academically excellent universities in the world. Cincinnati serves as the home for one of the top colleges of music in the country, a nationally-ranked art, architecture, and design school, an academic medical center with the 3rd-highest ranked Children's Hospital in North America, a world-class Honors Program, and excellent business and engineering programs made better by a cooperative education program pioneered at UC that gives students real-world work experience. When this academic prowess is paired with the top-tier facilities like the Best Campus Recreation Center in the Country, Division I athletic excellence that sees the football team head to bowl games and the basketball team to the NCAA Tournament annually, and all the perks of being in the great urban environment of Cincinnati, UC is proven to be the amazing and enriching university that it is. As I move forward in my time as a Bearcat, I look forward to showcasing all these wonderful aspects of our college to potential students and hope to change the perception of our university.
My experience at UC has been one that has afforded me so many great opportunities and such a wonderful learning environment that it is hard to imagine that any changes would need to be made to my time at such a great institution. At the end of the day, though, nothing is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. In addition, improvement can and should come from multiple areas. Thus, I will be outlining below three facets of my UC experience that I would change.
The first change I would enact is one that deals with my outlook on my time in university and as an individual moving forward in life. If there is one thing that I have always struggled with, it is living in the moment. It has been especially hard for me to find myself enjoying each and every day for the blessing that it is in the hectic collegiate world, and this is something that I know I must change moving forward. While it is wonderful to have completed assignments, trips, and involvements, and to have checked off goals from a to-do list, these experiences do not reach their full potential if it is not possible to enjoy them while completing them. I have made it a personal goal moving forward to make each day meaningful--no matter how stressed, overtaxed, or busy I might be. I am excited about moving from a mechanistic approach of doing things for the sake of the doing things to an outlook that places greater emphasis on doing things because they are meaningful and contribute to something greater. To begin each day with an appreciation for the day and all the possibility that it holds will be a positive and impactful change to my life and will undoubtedly enhance my UC experience.
A more action-based change I hope to make to my UC experience is to spend more time getting to know the faculty who instruct me in my courses. Especially in the 300+ classes that keep Zimmer Hall a happening place for science majors, it is difficult--if not impossible--to develop meaningful relationships with professors. This is in sharp contrast to high school, where getting to know a teacher was as simple as maintaining an active interest in class, asking a lot of the right kind of questions, staying inquisitive, and popping in after the final bell of the day to chat. In retrospect, I have become very aware of the fact that one of the reasons my experience in high school was such a rewarding one is because of the many interactions that I had with the teachers who helped to guide me with their learning and insight. In subjects as disparate as English and Chemistry, Government and Biology, I found in my teachers genuine friends whose I advice I respected and by whose instruction I was made a better student and person. With this in mind, I wish that I had taken better advantage of opportunities to meet with the faculty that now instruct my classes here at UC. While I definitely stopped by office hours for many of my professors during this first year, I have not taken as many of the active steps which I now realize are greatly needed to cement the student-teacher relationships which have been so beneficial in the past. Going forward, I know that these steps will be some of the most important that I take, and I am excited to meet more often with faculty so as to reap the many benefits of doing so.
Finally, if I could change an additional thing about my UC experience, it would be how my university is perceived by some students outside of the campus community. For many high school students in cities and towns across Ohio, UC often plays second fiddle to other universities. With an antiquated perception of the university as it might have been thirty or forty years ago, student don't take the time to consider all the wonderful opportunities that UC has to offer. Even in my hometown, a top public research university like UC is seen as a "safety school"--one that you apply to in case you are not admitted to the other schools where you would really want to go. The fact that this reputation of UC still exists is irksome, not only because of the many improvements and incredible changes that have made our university the #hottestcollegeinamerica, but also because such a incorrectly-constructed mentality towards our campus has shut off students from some of the best students, faculty, facilities, and communities in the nation. As I always like to say at the conclusion of my tours, UC is one of the most well-rounded, comprehensive, and academically excellent universities in the world. Cincinnati serves as the home for one of the top colleges of music in the country, a nationally-ranked art, architecture, and design school, an academic medical center with the 3rd-highest ranked Children's Hospital in North America, a world-class Honors Program, and excellent business and engineering programs made better by a cooperative education program pioneered at UC that gives students real-world work experience. When this academic prowess is paired with the top-tier facilities like the Best Campus Recreation Center in the Country, Division I athletic excellence that sees the football team head to bowl games and the basketball team to the NCAA Tournament annually, and all the perks of being in the great urban environment of Cincinnati, UC is proven to be the amazing and enriching university that it is. As I move forward in my time as a Bearcat, I look forward to showcasing all these wonderful aspects of our college to potential students and hope to change the perception of our university.
What wouldn't you trade for anything? The friends that I have made here at the University of Cincinnati mean the world to me. Whether it is the new friends that I have met or the old ones with which I have formed more tightly-knit bonds, the people are what make this campus home. I am extremely lucky and grateful to be surrounded by so many wonderful individuals who are exceptional leaders, dedicated community servants, and stellar students. Playing in the snow or studying for a test, I know that my friends will be as supportive, kind, and genuine as they always are. In a way, I think that this is a testament to the kind of students that the University of Cincinnati attracts. These students, more generally, are another aspect of the University that I would not trade for anything. Here at UC, we have so many amazing young people who excel at so many different fields, and this really creates a culture of creation, of inspiration, and of ingenuity here on campus. I always end my tours by telling prospective students that the reason I chose UC is because we have world-class students in DAAP, CCM, and anthropology, alongside Division I varsity athletes from across the nation and a superb medical center. Our campus has some of the best of the best from every discipline or major, meaning that there is such a rich diversity in thought on campus and such a multitude of new friends to be made. With the kind of friendships that I have already developed so far, I have no doubt that the new people I meet in the next few years will only reaffirm my perception of the University of Cincinnati as the #hottestcollegeinamerica. | What is your favorite story to tell on a tour which always seems to get a good reaction from guests? I love pointing out to prospective students and their families the window of my dad's office in Baldwin Hall. My dad is a professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, so I frequently visit him when I am near his office or if we are both free for lunch. By pointing out his window, I can then move on to tell students how valuable it has been to have him as a guide and confidant during my first year as an undergraduate student. This always draws out a smile or two from the parents in every group, and I make sure to tell all the students that they may be waiting anxiously to head off to college and leave their parents behind now, but that soon they will be missing the delicious meals and happy, friendly, unconditionally-loving faces that make visiting home (or visiting your dad's office) so great. While on tours, I also love telling the story of all of the great adventures that can be had on campus, whether it is walking home from Center Court and detouring to climb to the top of the hill that sits next to the campus recreation center, or sitting on top of French Hall and sharing stories with friends, or even exploring the College Conservatory of Music and Classics libraries. There are so many hidden parts of campus that I have not even found yet, and the ability to take a walk through campus on a chilly autumn afternoon and still discover a new favorite place is a blessing. I think this resonates with students, who I feel enjoy knowing that as students they too can take pleasure in all of the small things about UC. |