Before this talk I never fully appreciated the opportunities presented to me by living in a West campus residence. I knew immediately from moving in that Rose is immensely better than the North campus freshman dorm I lived in last year, but I did not recognize my role in creating and inspiring change. We discussed four main topics in this talk, but the ones that resonated with me the most were health and wellness and intellectual inquiry.

Health and wellness is something I would like to strive to incorporate more in my next semester here, as I noticed that my anxiety has become very bad since starting college. I would like to take moments to meditate and relax, especially before going to bed, to have a break from thinking about all the work I have and to ease my mind. I would also like to better take advantage of my opportunities next semester. I would like to take on more leadership roles, as leadership is something I haven’t tried yet, and to become more involved in clubs. I also would like to look for summer internships to see what opportunities are available. Overall the talk was very useful, as it got me thinking about ways for self growth and improvement during my time on West campus.

Before attending this table talk, I always thought of West Campus as a mere place to live; I never really considered it a community of citizens. This talk with Jeff Godowski changed my mind, as I could clearly see that others view the housing system as more than a living situation. It became evident that we are all moving towards common goals to make our experiences as positive as possible.

Four main ideas were presented during this talk regarding what we want to get out of our experience: health and wellness, cultural learning, intellectual inquiry, and active citizenship. All of these are extremely important in everyday life, as without both necessary health and desired knowledge, we are nothing more than a small dot on the planet. This talk truly changed how I view West Campus, and it opened my eyes to just how valuable this experience is. I need to start viewing this as a place to make myself a better, more informed person. I need to make everyday I have here count towards making West Campus a better place. And, as a result of this talk, I will continue to move towards this goal.

I really like this event and it really help us to learn more about west campus. Other Rose Scholars and I developed some ideas to improve this community. It is excited to make new changes and I hope it would make a big difference on our lives.