S-STEM Scholar Misty Ghee's Blog

 I went about the whole college thing backwards. I started a career and then realized to advance further I needed a degree. So when I went into the biology field I already had a great baseline knowledge about biology. I will say the one thing that has wowed me per say is how complex soil actually is, and how many different components there are to it, soil is its own ecosystem.  In the next three years I am looking forward to advancing my skills in analyzing data from research obtained. I am going to succeed in this by going through ASU Wests Masters program of Biological Data Science. I really want to zone in on fungi and how it spreads throughout different materials. 

I wouldn't be where I am today without a handful of people who have literally been my rocks over the course of the last several years, but mostly these people have really rallied behind me over the last two years to make sure that not only did I survive but thrived and graduated college.  First and foremost I wouldn't be where I am today without my daughter Julia. Two years ago she watched in horror with two of her younger sisters as her stepdad strangled and tried to kill me. Her quick thinking to call 911 and get her sisters to a safe space saved my life. Due to this I have made it a mission to complete every goal I have for not only myself but my girls. I survived for a reason and I need to make the most of every day. My kids are my why, why I am finishing college, why I am going to graduate school, why I won't give up. I have also have a longtime friend who is also a mom and in college and we rally around each other when things get tough and make sure to keep one anothe...

 As I finish this semester I look back at all the craziness that is COVID. This wasn't a normal semester by any stretch of the imagination. My instructors did the best they could when it came to my lab classes, however, it isn't the same as getting the hands on experience. There is a major difference in watching someone use equipment or look at what they see under a microscope versus actually using the equipment ourselves and working with the microscope.  Group projects are even harder because you never get actual face to face time with your team members like you would if you were in class. It is much easier for them to ignore the texts and calls when you are trying to complete projects versus catching up with them in class. All in all while this semester was a rocky one, I have to say I am impressed with how everyone handled the changes that were thrown at them. Online learning doesn't just affect students, it affects teachers as well, they have to adjust their teaching st...

      This semester has been another difficult one, and not in the normal every semester is hard, in everything is different, and we no longer have the "normal" approach to classes. I had a professor provide me with a learning styles quiz to see what way we learn best, given the options of visual, auditory and kinetic. I already assumed that I was a visual and auditory learner based on my love of reading and audiobooks, and my scores did show that I selected visual or auditory as my number one and if we were to only circle one it would be visual and then auditory with kinetic falling way behind in the number 3 spot.      However, what I noticed was odd, is that by far kinetic was almost always my number two selection, which being a science major with several labs, it shouldn't of surprised me. I never realized until this year when we had classes over zoom that there are certain things that my professor's try to explain using their hands and we nee...

 There are several benefits that you have when you are on the TRAIN scholarship that aren't apparent at first. Obviously, the first benefit that is known to all is the actual scholarship itself. However, the TRAIN program really helps you connect with people that are going to be in majority of the same classes as you. This gave me the chance to actually go, wow in this class of 30/50/100 people I can pick out a handful that I actually know. Before COVID hit, what it allowed for was help understanding a topic, asking someone you know for notes if you missed the class, and even study groups. What I have found is that outside of the TRAIN program its not the same group of people in the core science classes I am taking, most are actually just people filling a science requirement.  The TRAIN program also allows for you to have a group of people to talk about the future with, what thoughts are on careers or grad school. It really broadens your view. Two people could be getting biolo...

     When people talk about going to college, being online isn't the first thing they jump to. Most students, even nontraditional ones like me, enjoy being on campus. This semester is one that has been a bit different for me. ASU has given us the option to attend classes remotely this semester due to COVID 19, the only reason I took the offer initially is because I am a single mom with four kids who all are doing school online. This allows me to be home and lets be real be a referee for all the fights that come with four girls being cooped up in the house together since March.       However, this has given me the opportunity to learn in new ways that I never thought possible. In the past I have always struggled with online classes because school is what gets put on the back burner with me, so it would be the night the assignment was due and I was cramming to get that weeks lesson done so I could complete the assignment. The way ASU has done things this...