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For your first paragraph assignment, you will be interviewing (and be interviewed by) another student in the class.
Please write a paragraph about that student. Make sure that you capture something -- not everything -- important about your colleague. Don't try to say everything. Narrow the focus to one critical quality.
That focus will allow you to provide the kind of evidence and detail that makes the paragraph real and engaging.
For example, let's say the student is on the golf team. Surely, the student experienced one moment that ensured that he or she would be a golfer forever. Describe the student's interest, but make it real to the reader. Capture that moment.
Post the paragraph here as a comment to this assignment by Th/9/1 at 5 PM. Bring a hard copy to class on F/9/2.
Emily Dean
ReplyDeleteENG 105
Burns
1 September, 2016
Paragraph #1
Professor Tom Burns is known around his beloved campus of Ohio Wesleyan University as a larger-than life character with an unsurpassed love of writing and discussion. What many students may not know is that Professor Burns teaches astronomy classes at Perkins Observatory in Delaware, OH, and considers astronomy to be his greatest passion in life, equal only to his love of teaching. When asked what moment he truly and completely understood his passion for astronomy, he recounts a story from his college days that changed his life forever. He and his future wife had driven up to a secluded hilltop near the College of Wooster, with far more intimate intentions than stargazing, but when Burns looked up at the sky above him, he saw the entirety of the Milky Way piercing the sky above him, like, in his words, a “streak of silver light spread across the infinity of the cosmos.” Having grown up in Youngstown, OH, Burns recounts that he had never seen such majesty and beauty in his entire life, and it was in that moment that he realized astronomy was more than just some hobby, but a lifetime passion for the mysterious infinity of the cosmos.
Cadence Semple
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Professor Burns
1 September, 2016
Curtis, known to his peers as Scooter, possesses and shows the redeeming quality of being passionate. Not only is he passionate about his knack for football, but also for the all of the people in his life. Besides the football games he takes part in, his favorite thing to do is make people smile and genuinely feel good. This quality of his became clear to me after hearing multiple stories about his encounters with his friends and family. Whenever someone was in trouble or feeling down, Scooter would find any possible way to make that person smile and laugh. The passion he shows towards the ones he cares about is truly spectacular.
Kendall Kaiser
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Professor Burns
1 September, 2016
Michael is a very passionate person about literature, philosophy, and theatre. He’s really been into it since his freshman year of high school; he’s always known that he’s been into it, Michael just hadn’t quite been able to place his finger on it. He likes to read books about different cultures and he also likes to read plays, his favorite play is Malcolm by Edward Albee. Due to Michael’s passion, he is going to double major in philosophy and comparative literature.
Michael Heeschen
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Professor Burns
1 September, 2016
Madison's defining characteristic is without a doubt caring. She has a little brother who has special needs and she was practically another parent to him. She did things like taught him how to walk and taught him some of his first words. She loved her younger brother and it pained her to see people treating people with special needs poorly, because it was as though they were mistreating him. She wanted to make a difference, so she put on a play to raise awareness of people with special needs and to try and humanize what people tend to alienate. At the end of the play Madison and her little brother got up on stage and answered questions people had about special needs children. She ended her Q&A with the quote “everyone needs to realize that people with special needs are people too.”
Ryan Roberts
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Professor Burns
1 September 2016
Tyler Kanoth undoubtedly possesses the quality of living life to the fullest. Living most of his life in Springboro, Ohio, it didn’t take long for creativity to kick in. So whether it’s hiking during the summer and fall or trying activities that are difficult to many such as pottery or playing the trumpet, there’s no doubt that Tyler isn’t afraid to try something new. He is an extremely optimistic person who loves to enjoy nature with his friends and dog Beagle. His next adventure consists of traveling to Ireland to learn more about his dissent. After meeting Tyler you’ll soon learn that he has a multitude of stories about fun and interesting adventures.
Curtis Duren
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Professor Burns
1 September, 2016
Meet Cadence, a member of my English 105 class. Talking with Cadence was very easy because I could feel her warm, caring personality when she said “Hello.” In our talk she told me that one thing she really liked to do was to dance and I could relate to that because I enjoy music. The defining characteristic about Cadence is that she is a caring person. I could tell that by how she talked about her friends and family. I can tell she really cares when she shared how her friends really trusted her or came to her for advice or encouragement. In our conversation Cadence was a good listener and she was interested in our conversation as we shared information to get to know each other. This really showed me that Cadence was caring because we didn’t know each other but she was really interested during our talk. I can tell by talking with Cadence that she can be a good friend with a caring and great personality.
Marlene Savage
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Professor Burns
1 September, 2016
Arianna Carmoega is an eighteen year old from Lincoln, Massachusetts. Even though she does not have any siblings, she was born into a large family and experiences their competitive spirits. Due to this one may infer that she is determined and has a mental toughness. When I asked her “What is your best defining quality?”, she answer “hard-working”. I was not surprised by her answer because of her family dynamic. Even though family is a large aspect of what makes a person, I knew there had to be other factors that play into her hard-working mentality. Therefore, I asked her to backup her claim with examples. The first example occurred during her sophomore to senior years of high school. She had a job at a grocery store and had to be self-motivated to fulfill her duties when on the job. She was able to clean and do other unpleasing tasks because of her hard-working quality. Not only did she have difficulties with tasks at work she also struggled with school. In her sophomore year of high school she was not doing well in a history class. Once she acknowledged this, she sought for assistance amongst teachers and worked had to improve in the class. As a result, she was able to increase her letter grade from a D to a B. Her hard-working quality has allowed her to see her own potential and assure herself that she will be able to overcome any obstacle.
Tom Jacobson
ReplyDeleteEng 105
Prof. Burns
September 1st, 2016
Stephen never thought that his 6th grade self would be the one to chose his career path until he was given his chance to take music in school. He seized the opportunity to learn to play an instrument, choosing the flute. This decision has proven to have a much greater impact on his life than he could have anticipated. Each song that Stephen learns gives him a great sense of fulfillment and pride, a feeling that he yearned to share from the very first time he played Mary Has a Little Lamb. Stephen looks forward to the day that he can pass this experience on to students of his own as he plans to pursue music education. Uprooting him from Macon, Georgia, his commitment to Music Education has brought him here to Ohio Wesleyan in the Great Lakes Region, an area known for Music Education. Stephen has his sights set and dreams of becoming a high school instructor and concert conductor and plans on getting there through hard work and pride in what he does.
Michael Sutton
ReplyDelete9/1/16
Professor Burns
Kendall’s caring nature is represented by her dedication to creating positive environments for children to play and learn in. Before coming to college Kendall tried to have a positive impact on the children in her community by babysitting and volunteering in youth basketball camps. The camps in particular provided a low stress environment where she could show children how to cooperate with each other and work towards a common goal. Now that she is a student at Ohio Wesleyan, Kendall will learn new ways to create positive environments for kids and become a better teacher and role model by studying early childhood education.
Tyler Knoth
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
PA #1
Since he was 5, Ryan Roberts has been playing soccer which gave him his competitive edge. His ambition has gotten him as far as the Czech Republic. With the hate to lose,he will thrive as he double majors in business and marketing. I am positive his internal competition will get him far.
Annie Vitti
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Professor Burns
September 1, 2016
PA #1
In a world like today, it is easy to forget some of the most important things in life. But, Justin Smith seems to have it all figured out. He learned from a young age to be thankful for what he has. Because of this, Justin’s dominating characteristic is gratitude. Due to his father’s involvement in the Navy, Justin moved around a lot. He has lived in four states and in just six years, he lived in seven different houses. He learned quickly to not get super attached to materialistic possessions and instead, focused on making close connections with his family. To Justin, family is above everything else. He is the type of person that if someone needs his assistance, he would drop what ever he was doing at the time to help him or her. This mentality of giving back to those who are in his life also applies to the many friendships that he has made through out the years. Justin has friends scattered all over the country and has kept in touch with most of them. Social media has helped with maintaining his friendships, but it can still be difficult. To this, Justin says that “friends last as long as you try”. Justin is grateful and will do anything for anyone who has made a difference in his life.
Avianna Carmoega
ReplyDeleteENG 105
Burns
1 September, 2016
While having a conversation with Marlene Savage, a reoccurring sense of determination was very noticable. Marlene comes from Pennsylvania, and has decided to major in Chemistry while she attends Ohio Wesleyan University. Growing up as an only child, there was a lot of pressure put on Marlene to do well, which created her need to be focused on everything she does. Marlene does not like to make mistakes, and her determination drives her to preserver through any situation. She joined the golf team in high school and her dedication led her to watch golf videos online in order to be the best that she could be. She would ask for help from her coach, or her dad whenever she was having trouble with the sport. Her determination led her to go out of her way and exceed the expectations from others.
Annie Vitti
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Professor Burns
September 1, 2016
PA #1
In a world like today, it is easy to forget some of the most important things in life. But, Justin Smith seems to have it all figured out. He learned from a young age to be thankful for what he has. Because of this, Justin’s dominating characteristic is gratitude. Due to his father’s involvement in the Navy, Justin moved around a lot. He has lived in four states and in just six years, he lived in seven different houses. He learned quickly to not get super attached to materialistic possessions and instead, focused on making close connections with his family. To Justin, family is above everything else. He is the type of person that if someone needs his assistance, he would drop what ever he was doing at the time to help him or her. This mentality of giving back to those who are in his life also applies to the many friendships that he has made through out the years. Justin has friends scattered all over the country and has kept in touch with most of them. Social media has helped with maintaining his friendships, but it can still be difficult. To this, Justin says that “friends last as long as you try”. Justin is grateful and will do anything for anyone who has made a difference in his life.
When thinking about the of the word “driven” and who it could describe, I think of people in history who have carried out massive events due to their drive, to their need to make something happen. I think of Martin Luther King and his drive to create a more just and peaceful world. I think of Amelia Earhart and her drive to prove that women can do anything. However, after class on Tuesday, a new person comes to mind: Michael Heeschen. Last Fall Michael couldn’t afford to go to college. He has always loved learning and bettering himself and as he said, “I worked with idiots and I didn’t want to be an idiot.” This would as he describes it, be a defining moment in his emergence as a driven person. Since his realization that he would not attend college if he did not pay for it himself, Michael worked nearly 74 hours a week until he could afford to pay for his higher education. Michael saw what he was capable of and used his drive, his need to better himself, to create his own future; A lesson we all could learn from.
ReplyDeleteJustin Smith
ReplyDeleteEnglish 105
Burns
September 1, 2016
PA #1
“What do you want to do with your life, where are you going to go, how are you going to decide”? These are just some of the great mysteries that people are forced to solve for themselves around early adulthood. When confronted by these questions some people decide to take the road freshly paved by kin, while others choose the rough road less traveled. Annie Vitti, a freshman from Chicago Illinois, is one of the few that take the rough and rugged road. Ever since she was a child she has always had a unique fascination with animals, in fact, when she was two years old her mother found her classifying her animal toys by genus and species. With no prior connections through either friends or family, she turned to her teacher in middle school in order to pursue her dreams of studying animal behavior and to help educate the public. Although now certified by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), she first volunteered to go to South Carolina to help take care of the Loggerhead turtles and has been going every year since. Even though a lot of her experience has been with turtles, she has a deep love for all animals and does not have a favorite. Throughout her entire life she has been taking care of animals and as a result of having cats, dogs, and fish all as parts of her family, she has dedicated her life for the betterment of those animals that have for so long influenced her. As a future animal behaviorist, Annie Vitti, will be one of the few that truly reconnects the human race with its long separated family of the animal kingdom.
Emily Dean, who is currently a senior at Hayes High School, is attending Ohio Wesleyan under the auspices the College Credit Plus Program. Thus far, her life has been ruled by dedication for music and her particular fondness for the clarinet. That dedication has led her to be in various bands since she was in the fifth grade. Sometimes, she is in several bands simultaneously. Right now, her commitments include the concert, marching, and small-ensemble groups at Hayes. That lifestyle has led to an unbroken round of lessons, conferences, and practice sessions. However, she realizes that she needs to make a change because, as she puts it, "I don't like the lifestyle." She came to that realization when she was 14 on the way home from a music conference where she had the opportunity to play with "the second-best clarinetist in the world." She spent “20 hours per week . . . in front of a music stand" preparing the music for a solid month. When she finally performed, her friends and family were there. Afterward, she concluded that all of the effort and stress "just wasn't worth it.”
ReplyDelete(starting a draft of the next paragraph) She is now looking for an activity that takes advantage of her ability for remembering a lot of facts and details and her concern for humanity. She wants most of all to understand "what people do and why." When she finally enters college, perhaps a history or psychology major is in the offing.
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