English 485: Expedition Adolescence

 Hi everyone! My name is Mikah Foggie. I believe I am a sophomore/ junior at USC Upstate. I am majoring in psychology and minoring in English. A hobby and passion that I have is music. I play 3 instruments with them being a violin, ukulele, and a little piano. I work 2 jobs with one being at a horse farm that I have been working at since I was a freshman in high school and my other job is at a dry cleaner. Sadly, I get no days off at the horse farm, which is extremely stressful, but I have at least two days off at my second job. I am very excited to read for this class because with just reading the overall summaries of the books that have been assigned to us, I strongly believe that I will feel a connection with the books and I am ready to actually learn things about adolescent literature. After all, I actually don't know what it even is. 

 Hi everyone! My name is Wilson. I'm a senior right now and i'll be graduating this spring. I'm majoring in English, with a focus of Writing and Rhetoric. I have not taken a minor. My career goal is to be a Multiline Independent Insurance Claims Adjuster, dealing with things like damage from the friendly neighborhood hurricane bands that make their way up here whenever the storms hit land. This requires a high level of reading and writing skill, as adjusters have to be able to grasp policy language (among other claims-related terminology) and write reports on the status of the claim. While I have the necessary license and some experience as an adjuster, I am likely going to be getting training and experience from other adjusters before i go to work proper in my father's company, Superior Insurance Services. I'm a very good learner with literature, but i've never explored adolescent literature, especially not from the angles and theories that we have used so far.

  Hey ya’ll, my name is Samantha or you guys can call me Sam! I am a senior this year and will be graduating in the spring. I am majoring in Communications and minoring in English, and I hope to work somewhere in the PR field or be a journalist. I currently don’t have any hobbies other than watching TikToks and trying new things off of them. For example, I made a handmade blanket, cooked recipes, etc, so TikTok can teach you a lot. I currently work as a server at Willy Taco in Boiling Springs, and I am training to be a bartender. I usually work around 20-25 hours a week and close most nights, but it is a really fun job and a great place to work.  Although I am a pretty good learner when it comes to literature, I could use some help when starting topics and getting a good starting point. I usually have too much on my mind and I tend to jump from topic to topic and cram it all together. Altogether, I love literature and I’m really excited about this course.  When thinking about the books

Hello everyone, my name is Jalean Davis. I am a senior here at Usc Upstate. I am majoring in English with a minor in Nonprofit business admin. A hobby or passion of mine I’d say is writing poetry. I love writing poetry & dissecting poems. After graduating I plan on publishing a book of poems. I currently have two jobs which is kind of exhausting already. I previously had three. I currently work at FedEx and the boys and girls club. I’d say I work nearly 40 hours a week. Since we are going to be reading a lot in this course I think you should know that it may take some time for me to get through the course reading but I will try my best to stay on track. 

 Hey everyone! My name is Bailey Duncan, and I go by Bailey. I am currently in my junior here at Upstate with a major of Secondary Education and a concentration in English. I played Volleyball for six years but decided not to continue playing in college, even though I still love it. I am in a sorority here at Upstate called Zeta Tau Alpha where I have met my best friends in the entire world, who also just happen to be my roommates now. I spend about 95% of my with the girls in my sorority, including at work, and they have really become a second family. I have a major addiction to energy drinks, so I will probably have one in hand every class. I currently work at a daycare here in Spartanburg where I get to spend most afternoons playing with and looking after some pretty adorable 2 year old children.  Something you might want to know about me as a learner is that I struggle a bit with keeping focus. When I read books or do assignments, I constantly find myself having to take many breaks

       Hey y'all, my name is Abigail Mardis but I go by Abby. I am a Junior here at Upstate and I am majoring in Middle Level Education with a concentration in English and a cognate in History. When it comes to hobbies, I really enjoy hanging out with my friends, watching TV, and driving around while listening to music. I am also very involved in my church and enjoy helping out there in anyway I can. I currently work at Gaffney Nutrition where I make things like energy teas and meal replacement shakes and I usually work around 20 hours a week.      I tend to be more of a hands-on learner, I like to do activities that will help me process what I am learning because I feel like it gives me a better understanding of the lesson. I do not always do the best with just taking notes because I normally just rush to get everything down and don't actually retain the information. Like I stated in my previous introduction, the book "Are you There, God? It's me, Margaret" stood

   Hi everyone! My name is Rebekah Long, but I prefer to be called Bekah. This is my junior year at Upstate and I am studying Middle Level Education with an emphasis in English. My cognate will be in History and after a few years of teaching, I would like to get my masters in Curriculum  Development. Most of my hobbies include exercising of some sort, but most times I am running around so much anyway, so you can find me laying in bed. A lot of the time, I am spending my free time with my friends and FaceTiming my family and cats. I currently work two jobs, they kind of alternate each other, but I am looking for something more consistent. When I do work, it's probably 20-30 hours a week.  Something you may want to know about me as a learner is that reading is one of the harder elements of education for me. Writing and grammar editing comes second nature, but reading is forced. To supplement this struggle, I read the book while listening to an audiobook. Thinking back to my childhood

 Hello! My name is Erin Rutherford.  I am a second degree seeking student.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Limestone College.  I have returned to school to get my Middle Grades English and Social Studies teaching certification.  I have three children, a 9 year old and 5 year old twins! In my spare time, which is very rare, I do love to exercise and read novels.  I am excited to learn more about the adolescent age group, as well as add some YA novels to my collection.

  Hello everyone! My name is Olivia Turner. I am a senior here at Upstate. I am a Secondary Education English Major. In my free time, I enjoy making cute presentations for Teachers Pay Teachers and doing photography in my spare time with my small business. I think that YA novels play a huge role in my personal and academic life. In my personal life, I use YA novels to escape my surroundings and reality. I enjoy reading all types of YA novels because I am able to learn something new about how it might feel to be in the life of someone else. Being able to look into the perspective of an adolescent's life is a large benefactor to reading YA novels for my academic life. Since I plan to be a teacher next year, gaining multiple perspectives is great for understanding my students who are vastly different from each other.