My name is Grant Middler. I’m a first year student at Michigan State University, although technically speaking I’m not a freshman. I was apart of the Early College of Macomb in high school, so I already have over sixty college credits under my belt coming into my first year at MSU. I went to Fraser High School, and was captain of the boy’s swim team. I really enjoy swimming, and I wish I would have started the sport earlier than just freshman year of high school. Nonetheless, I couldn’t be more satisfied with how my swimming career ended. I made it to states in my senior year on a relay, and that relay went on to break our school’s record. I currently work at Buddy’s Pizza doing prep work and making pizzas at around 20-25 hours a week. I have been working there since January, and I enjoy it a great deal. In my free time I like to hang out with friends, play video games, watch movies, and do any physical activity. Looking through the course schedule, I was particularly excited about the topic on Podcasting and Communication as Public History as I do enjoy listening to podcasts in my down time. The topic I am most nervous about would have to be Geospatial Analysis and Mapping as I’ve never been good at mapping things out. I do indeed find it quite ironic how I have ended up in a digital history class during a global pandemic where almost all schooling has resorted to being taught online. The change to online learning has made me understand that I will never want more than one online class per semester. I like online classes, but I like taking them in subjects that are fairly straightforward. I am really struggling in my math and physics courses, and I partly blame the online format. I’ve already had to drop my coding class because I just wasn’t fully taking in the material as I possibly would in an in person format. I just feel that the in person, classroom environment makes it easier for most students to take in and understand the material taught, and I am excited to get back into that classroom setting.
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Hi Grant! Thank you for this thoughtful and reflective post. That’s quite a swimming career you’ve had! I can relate in that I played varsity golf in high school and went to the state tournament once. It was an experience I will never forget!
I am glad to hear that you are looking forward to podcasting week– it will be fun to learn the process of producing and editing a podcast and also getting the chance to create your own mini episode! The mapping week looks intimidating, but we will work through it step by step to uncover some really interesting things about the relationship between geography and information.
I completely understand the difficulty in managing multiple online classes. That is a lot to keep straight, but one of the lessons of this pandemic is to figure out what works and what doesn’t– And that’s okay! I hope that this class will not add any stress to students’ already stressful lives; I look forward to having some thoughtful conversations and taking it one day at a time! I look forward to hearing more from you!