Student Interview Journal

S is a 59 year old African-American female born and raised in Anson County who has attended several institutes of higher learning. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Secretarial Administration from Barber-Scotia College, she later received special education teaching licensure from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Because of her love for learning, S has also taken online classes through the University of Phoenix. She has been a secondary special education teacher for three years and currently works with 8th graders at Anson Middle School.

My body is shaking and my mind is in shambles. The person reaches out their hand and I shake it with a slightly timid grip. Despite it being a mock interview, sweat slowly seeps out of my skin and keeps me on edge. Incoherent words pour out when the interviewer asks the first question. With each successive question they ask, I gradually get more comfortable with the intimidating atmosphere. However, by the end I have the feeling of defeat. The interviewer pulls up the video of the session, and they point out the stiffness of my body and the shakiness of my voice. Although my body language seems quite timid and recessed, a strength they point out is my ability to keep strong eye contact. With these constructive critiques in mind, I know that I have a lot to practice.

I had to opportunity to shadow Dr. Brooke Winner on December 2, 2016, from the hours of ten o 'clock to two-thirty. She is an OBGYN with her speciality areas being in Minimally Invasive Gynecology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gynecologic Surgery, and Robotic Surgery. Upon entering her office at 1110 Highlands Plaza East, suite #220, I was directed to the second floor where one of the office managers placed me inside of her office, that she shared with another OBGYN, a male, named Dr. Biest. Upon her arrival to meet up with me, she smiled while holding one finger up, and speedily accounted one of her patient’s information into a tape recorder. It was a surreal event to watch.

Thus, the woman states that the professional who handles childbearing establishes a strong emotional connection with a patient in the initial stages of their acquaintance, which promotes a feeling of security and harmony. The character’s recollections account for a hearty atmosphere that encompassed the room when she was giving birth to her offspring.

The story describes a change in everyday life following motherhood, as well as the seductive pleasure found in providing for, caring for, and sacrificing for a little one-- all to see yourself: “in the dark pool / of your baby’s eyes” (Brandt, 13/14).

As I ponder the events of the last five months of my life, I realize the influence they will

She walks into the living room where all her family was sitting, and they all look at her and ask “what’s the news?”. She was very disappointed in herself she thought how could she let it happen? she was too young at 16, she didn’t have a job, and she didn’t even know if the father was going to be there for her. The family looked concerned as she was about to burst into tears, her eyes filled with sadness, and then she said “I'm pregnant”. They all looked at her in disappointment, they thought she was going to be the one to pursue her dreams of becoming a nurse, to actually have a degree, but even though they were disappointed in her they knew that they had to help her raise the baby. She felt upset she didn’t know how she was going to do it while still going to school, she still had two more years ahead, and she was due late May. Even though she had her family who was supporting her she still had to take responsibility for her actions, she had decided that she would have to drop out of school, and start working to take care of her upcoming baby.

As I met with Taylor Dohlman on September 4, 2015, in Larch room number 2321, I learned a great deal about the young Ag Business freshman. She is a recent Osage graduate with a passion for agriculture. Throughout the interview I learned about Taylor’s family, agricultural background, and hometown.

It seemed that she was excited about having a baby boy too. He knew that becoming a father was the best feeling in the world. He couldn’t wait to start a family. They would all be connected in a special way. The years would fly by, and like a young sapling, he would grow into a sturdy and strong young man. They would all reach hardships and conflicts, but that was all part of being a family. They would also grow closer as years passed, but when he grew up into a man they would fall apart again, and he would slowly slip away again. It was part of the human cycle, he thought. Soon, when he found a girl that was comely to him, he same thing would happen again. But, it was all worth it. The smiles, tears and love that everyone shared. It was all too bad that time couldn't wait for you. That was why you had to treasure, and savour while you can. He was sure that his life would take a turn when his son would finally be welcomed into the world by two loving and adoring parents.Sure, there would be stress, arguments and falling outs, but he was determined to smile throughout this rollercoaster time. He couldn't wait anymore, as he would be a father

Today I returned back to CDI South to shadow another Sonographer named Kari. Overall, this shadowing experience on November 24th has been my favorite yet. I watched Kari preform different ultrasounds, and I got to learn about diagnostic time, which was another one of my favorite parts about the day. Kari also answered all of my questions perfectly, and described the job in a way that made me almost completely confident that it is what I want to do in my future. Throughout my day with Kari, we saw a total of 4 patients. Our first patient was a 30-year-old woman who was there to get an OB ultrasound; she was about 20 weeks pregnant. This was my first patient I observed who needed a 20-week ultrasound. This time of the pregnancy usually marks on of their first ultrasounds for the pregnancy; they do a full scan of the baby, checking everything, and this is also the visit where the parents can find out the gender of the baby. One challenge for this visit was the parents brought their young toddler along, and she was distracting and wild in the room. But throughout this Kari was very professional, and says as the job goes on you learn to deal with these sorts of distractions. This experience was absolutely amazing; it was so powerful to see the baby on the screen and their parent’s reactions. I got to pick out certain parts of the baby, like the head, heart, bladder, and feet. The parents did not want to know the gender of this baby, but they got to leave the ultrasound knowing

An event in my life that has influenced me to go to school is my youngest son leaving home to go to college. I am very closed to my son so when he leave I am going to be so alone and heart broken. He is leaving to Cal State Northridge in July. I need something to do so I won’t feel so lonely. And I do have older son also at college couple years ago. Another reason I am going to college now so I have something in common with my youngest son. What we have in common is we both are going to college to take business class. I am a business owner at El Monte California doing Marble Tiles that is another reason I go back to school. I hope to learn something new to help improve my business. My husband also encourage me to go

I conducted 5 one-on-one interviews with students who have completed their first year in college. The idea was to find out how well they were prepared for the financial decisions that would be put before them. Unlike the general survey, the interview allowed me to ask for individual input.

“Carly, get down here. You can’t miss the bus again!” my mother called, obviously annoyed. Her voice took me out of the trance I was apart of, and back into the reality that a decision had to be made. Tell her. Tell her about the baby! She might know what to do. I don’t want her leaving, but she’s my mother. All I can do is pray that she won’t leave me.

It was an unpleasantly early morning in the hospital waiting room. Nurses buzzed around, busy attending to their patients while a faint beeping sound could be heard in the background. I was starting my second shift of the day at the hospital, just finishing working a shift in the dark, grimy morgue. Groggy, I sat down at my desk to begin another four hours of labor. My position was to assure that the paper work was properly completed and that all patients were attended too. While being a supervising nurse was a great responsibility, it left time to day dream.

A student with a strong sense of who she is and where she wants to go in life, Carli has been making the most of her high school career. Carli is well above her age in maturity and has all intentions of putting the most into and getting the most out of life. She has taken opportunities to expand her talents and explore other areas of interest. Talented in the areas of the arts and French language, Carli hopes to use these talents in her future. Carli is not one to turn away or back down from challenges that lie ahead. She is living life to the fullest and has no intention of stopping.