How I’ve Changed & Goal-Setting Post

When it comes to attitude and personality, I figured college would change me significantly and I would never be the same again. After spending 4 months at Georgia Tech, I cannot see any change in character. Yes I have become more responsible in a sense that I am not living with my parents and mooching off of them, but I still laugh at the stupidest of things and when I’m not in class nor a professional environment, I am always trying to be a class clown. One key thing that I realized and still haven’t fixed yet is the fact that I do not know how to study. Throughout high school I never had to study for almost anything, but here I need to study for almost everything. The development of my study habits will be the final decider of whether or not I am good enough to attend Tech.  A main alteration to my study habits I believe when come when I move into my apartment. At the dormitory there are way too many distractions and I have a hard time studying with my Roommate in the room even if he is completely quiet. I know going to the library is an option in order to get a nice quiet place to study, but I think I’m too lazy to go up freshman hill especially when it’s cold outside. This GT 1000 class really cleared up the question I had of whether I wanted to intern, co-op, or study abroad. I have decided that Interning during my sophomore or later summer would be the most beneficial thing for me to do. In between these internships I would also like to partake in undergraduate research projects involving my major. Hopefully these things will allow me to end with a career in something I not only enjoy, but will be good at. 

Hows it going

So much has happened in these past few months that it seems I have been in college for years already. From failing my first exam in college to acing my first exam in college. Many times I have been home sick and wished I was with my family, while other times I’m at parties living it up. My advice to incoming freshmen would be to make sure you focus on your school work and make appropriate friends before bad habits are developed in this new atmosphere. Using teachers’ office hours and actually going to none mandatory recitations does help refresh your memory for things that you already know and improves your understanding for things you may not know, so going to them is beneficial. I really wish someone would have told me how hard it would be to wake up and go to classes even after you have received 10+ hrs of sleep. I guess college really makes you lazy because I never missed a day of High School, well until my senior year at least. Everyone knows you don’t have to go to class senior year. Currently I am assisting roughly 5 or 6 people, who really wish to get into Georgia Tech from my high school, with their application process. I am also helping them improve the aspects of their transcripts and credentials that I have been told Georgia Tech really looks at on the application.  I wouldn’t do anything different if I could start college over, but if I could start High School over, I would have definitely went to a High school that offered more AP credit, that way I wouldn’t be way behind in classes like I am now. Also those extra credit hours come in handy when you are fighting against other Tech students to get registered for the classes you need. I missed the good Calc  and Chemistry class by like 30 minutes, which if I would have had more credit hours, would not have been the case. 

Choosing a Major

Many wonder why I am choosing to receive a biomedical engineering degree before I become an MD. The answer to this is easy; 1. An engineering degree is the most respected type of degree of any, especially from a school such as Georgia Tech and 2. If I am not able to get into medical school then a BME degree will be nice to fall back on and pursuit a career in this field. So far this field has really interested me and If I do happen to become a BME I would be very happy with this. Over the last couple of years I have done a few interns with companies that made prosthetics such as Midland Prosthetics and I enjoyed them greatly. Outside factors such as the opinion of friends and family also led me to the field of BME. My family is full of both doctors and engineers and both sides wanted me to pursuit a career that correlates with their profession. In order to please both sides, BME which can be seen as a mix between the medical and engineering fields, was chosen. A Biomedical Engineering degree is also desired because it requires and majority of biology and chemistry classes, which are my two favorite subjects when it comes to academics. On this basis, if I were to have to choose another major, it would definitely be either Chemical Engineering or just regular biology. Memorization is also one of my strongest skills and although engineering fields require the application skill also, a lot of memorization is required for the medical side of the degree, or if a medical degree is required later on in life.  

Clubs and Activities

Although sadly I have not been able to join any clubs yet, there are many opportunities out there for me to get involved that I am interested in. Such clubs as the Marksman Club or Archery Club really interests me because I love weapons of all kinds. It seems like it would be very fun and a good stress reliever to be able to practice on my aim with a rifle or a bow. On a more serious note, I am also interested in the BMES or Biomedical Engineering Society. For what many have told me, this club has very good connections in the Biomedical Engineering field and has a whole united dedicated to students who want to become doctors and go to Med School such as myself. This club seems like it would be very beneficial to me. Another club I really need to join is GTSBE, or Georgia Tech Society of Black Engineers, because not only did they give me a nice scholarship, but as a member I get a lot of software benefits also. There are also tons more scholarships available with this organization if I become a collegiate member. So why have I not joined any of these organizations yet, I really cannot answer that. The main reason would probably be because I am lazy and don’t like getting up on Thursday morning to get to the meetings. I have been telling myself that I was going to go to both clubs meetings for the last 3 weeks but when the time comes I go straight for the snooze button. Sometimes I just wonder WHAT am I doing with my life. I really need to get my stuff together if I am going to be successful here at Tech. 

The Transition

For the most part, College in my experience is way different than highschool. I dont mean to sound generic but now that I am in college there is way more freedom than I have ever had. Never before did I have the option of NOT going to class, even though I would never do this. So far my professors are actually very alike to my teachers in highschool. For the most part it seems as if they don't care about the students except for a select few, although the Georgia Tech professors do offer office hours where they would further explain things to students which is nice. When I first got here, I was afraid that I would gain a whole bunch of weight and walk around like a big slob, but thanks to the CRC I should be able to work out on a regular basis and stay in pretty good shape. I am also excited about going to parties and meeting so many new people. I just hope my grades don't show that I have been having too much fun. Speaking of grades, I experienced my first couple of exams last week. With this I can tell a very big difference between high school and college. It seemed like there was a lot more pressure to do good on these exams than I had in high school. I had a total of three exams in the subjects of chem., history, and calc. The Chemistry Exam I studied for and got an 85 which I am happy with, but the History I forgot to study for and got a 95. So I guess the morale is to try and forget about exams and not study for a higher grade J.

Biographical Post

Just a city boy, born and raised in south Baltimore, I took the midnight train and I guess it led me to GaTech? My name is Stephen Brown, as I said I was born in Baltimore but I have spent majority of my life in Augusta, Ga which is about an hour east of Atlanta. I am a real big family man and I definitely enjoy hanging with my folks, especially my brother who I just love to aggravate mainly because I'm way bigger than him. I used to love playing football, doing math, and playing video games but.... All my friends got way bigger than me so football is no fun, GaTech totally narfed up my love for math already, and my subscription to Xbox Live ran out so I guess I need to find new hobbies. I chose GaTech because I wanted the challenge and it looks good on my transcript when I am trying to get into Med school which keeps me motivated. Hmmm.... so far I am feeling sad for the most part because I kinda miss my family and I cant watch True Blood here because my roommate has the TV and sometimes he can be a super D-bag so we will have to see how that goes. Oh, By the way, I can be one of the most random people you ever meet :-).