English 485: Expedition Adolescence

Hello everyone! My name is Mihali (mee-ha-lee) Tsabunieris but its probably better if you just call me Mike, for simplicity's sake. I'm currently 22 and in my junior year here at USC. I was born in Brooklyn, NY but moved to Spartanburg when I was two. Originally, I was a business major but decided to switch to English a little before I completed my associate's. I'm also aiming for a minor in pre-law so that I can be a little more prepared for law school. I enjoy many things but my main hobbies would be soccer, working on my car, and skeet shooting. When I'm not doing any of those, im usually either doing an assignment or working. I'm a manager at the Clock of Spartanburg on the mostly on the weekends but sometimes during the week as well so I'd say 15-25 hours a week. If i had to pick a type of learning style, id probably chose visual learning. Something about looking at a simple picture or graph can go along way when explaining something to me. Thanks for y...

Hey y'all! My name is Joana Nicole Jackson, but I prefer to go by Nicole. I am 22 years old and I am studying Middle Level education with my concentration areas being English and Social Studies. When I'm not at school, I'm spending my time watching college football, hanging out with my roommate/best friend/partner in crime, and exploring nearby nightlife. I work at a deli in Greenville, South Carolina and I work around 35 hours a week, depending on the week. I love to read, so I don't necessarily think that this course will be too difficult, but the workload along with my other classes and work schedule will probably overwhelm me to no end. A book series that stood out to me in middle and high school is the Bluford series. Each book contained a different story that pertained to adolescents in an inner-city school and their real-life situations that molded them into who they were. I was a fan of these books particularly because they were easy to read, short, and were qui...

My name is SavannahGrace Young and I am a 20yr old junior in the Education program. I grew up home schooled in Easton, Pennsylvania but my family moved to Fort Mill in 2015. My major is Secondary, English Education and some of my hobbies include singing, club volleyball, and music. I work 20 hours a week between the gym on campus and the Upstate housing office so my schedule is constantly jam-packed busy. As a learner I like to be very organized and have the expectations of the assignment(s) very clearly stated. The one thing that stresses me out more than anything is when I have no idea where to even begin an assignment or what the expectations of the assignment are.          When I look back over my childhood and adolescence a character that strongly stood out to me was Princess Anna from the Disney movie Frozen. I think I bonded so closely to this character because I felt that related to her situation on a deep level. Like Anna, I was extremely sheltered and...

My name is Jake Edmonds. I am 21 years old and I'm a senior in the education program. I was born in Taylors, South Carolina and I'm and English Education major with a minor in Film Studies. I enjoy reading, though I don't have much of an option in what I read right now. My other hobbies include playing video games, cooking and eating, and playing music. I also have a deep love of marine life and have had some kind of fish tank in my house for as long as I can remember. I am currently employed at an Ingles grocery store and typically work 20 hours a week during school and almost 40 hours over the summer. I think that my biggest problem as a student is that I can become disorganized and even though I have gotten better about keeping up with my work with everything becoming digital, I will often forget things. I think the series I was most obsessed with as a child was Harry Potter  and like many other adolescents my own age, I heavily identified with Harry. I made the connecti...

     Hi everyone, my name is Colin Burkett.  I'm a senior here at Upstate, and I'm turning 21 on September 19th.  I was born in Akron, New York, before moving to Boiling Springs, North Carolina and then to Lyman, South Carolina in 2006.  I study Secondary English Education, with no minor because that's just how the education program is.  Like any English Ed major, my hobbies include reading and writing, both of which I do as much as I can with what little free time I have, but I also enjoy watching movies and listening to as much different music as I can.  Teaching is a big passion of mine, but I also really like writing, and I hope that eventually my writing can take off enough that I can do that full-time.  I don't work during the school year, but I do pick up shifts around town during both winter and summer breaks.  As a learner, I tend to do the best with fairly strict guidelines just so I know what I'm doing, but I like to take assi...

My name is Kristen Adolf, and I’m a seventeen-year-old senior in high school.  I take all of my classes at Upstate through the Scholars Academy, so I actually haven’t taken a normal high school class since freshman year.  Because I’m a student through the Scholars Academy, I’m categorized as a non-degree seeking student, thus I haven’t yet committed to a major or minor, but I will have 92 hours of college credit once I graduate this May.  Once I have my high school degree, I will be finishing my undergraduate degree at a different college, most likely out of state.  Right now, my top schools are Cornell University, Mount Holyoke College, and the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky.  I am planning on majoring in pre-veterinary medicine and equine science at these schools, and I will most likely minor in German, French, or Spanish as I’m taking all three languages currently.  I was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but I have dual...

My name is Zachary Gilliland, but I go by Zach for short. I am a 24 year old senior from Inman, South Carolina. I switched my major from secondary education/history to middle level education, so I added English as well. I actually switched my major sophomore year from Secondary education/English to history, so I have some experience in college-level English classes from before. I am excited to teach middle school so that I can be certified in both history and English. I do not play any sports at Upstate, but I played baseball and tennis in high school. I really enjoy watching sports now, with college football being my favorite. I am a huge Clemson fan and go to most home games with my family. I work full-time during the summers, but during the school year I will probably only work 10-15 hours a week. I work for a landscaping company, so my boss is really good about working with my hours. I am sort of a shy person, and more of an introvert. I don’t really enjoy public speaking, s...

My name is Kimberly Wilson. Most of the people in my life call me Kim except for my family members. I prefer to be called Kimberly but, everyone feels the need to shorten my name. I am beginning to accept that people will call you what is convenient for them. I am from Greenwood, South Carolina. Specifically Hodges, South Carolina. Greenwood is a typical small town that has been growing rapidly in the past couple of years. I do not know if people believe it will become the next Greenville but, there is still way too many restaurants and not enough activities for anyone under 60 years old. The very small town that my house is located in is the most country and peaceful place to grow up in. Sunny days in Hodges are a blessing. Currently, I am a senior English major with a history minor. I just turned 21 a few weeks ago and it was one of the most heartfelt birthdays I have had thus far. My full time job is being a Resident Advisor in Magnolia House. The hours are random and scattered. Fr...