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1.3: Reading: Student Spotlights

  • Page ID
    49539
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    Read the Student Profiles. Then answer the questions to check your understanding.

    Student Profile #1

    Student Spotlight--Meet Jennifer Moy

    Posted on November 20, 2019 by Christopher Larson

    Originally from the Bronx, at the age of fourteen, Jennifer and her family moved to Brooklyn, NY. Jennifer had attended Frank McCourt High School, a small school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her long commute to school presented an opportunity to see the city in new ways. Gazing up at the monoliths, she was awe-inspired by the architecture and structures that surrounded her.

    When it came time to decide which college to attend, Jennifer was undecided between City College and Stony Brook University--she had already been accepted into the City College Engineering program. Despite this, Jennifer chose Stony Brook University as her new home. In truth, she did not want to attend college in the city, plus the adventure of dormitory living was far more appealing.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Jennifer Moy

    Jennifer started her first semester at Stony Brook University during the summer of 2017 through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). In her freshman year, her major remained undeclared, but the following year she chose Civil Engineering. In her first year, Jennifer got a job at the Health Sciences Library. Since that time, she has seen some really wonderful changes at the library and has helped make them happen.

    Jennifer is ready to graduate with her bachelor's degree by May 2021 and wants to specialize in structural engineering: "I grew up in a city full of towers and skyscrapers and it fascinates me how beautiful these structures are, and it inspires and motivates me to contribute to the structural architecture of a city building someday." We're looking forward to that day, Jennifer!

    cc licensed BY-NC https://library.stonybrook.edu/2019/11/20/student-spotlight-meet-jennifer-moy/

    Student Profile #2

    Student Spotlight--Shivani Mishra

    Posted on December 11, 2019 by Christopher Larson

    For December’s Student Spotlight we present Shivani Mishra! Shivani grew up on Long Island where she attended Half Hollow Hills High School. In 2018 she was inducted into the National Honor Society and the National French Honor Society, and is a three-time winner of the National French Exam Contest. She also happens to be a certified Kenpō Martial Arts black belt… so don’t mess with her!

    Inspired by her volunteer experience in the hospital and as an emergency medical technician Shivani knew she wanted to learn medicine but when she started her first semester at Stony Brook she had no idea what to major in. Despite the pressure to declare her major she stayed focused on her pre-medicine courses (general chemistry, classical physics, calculus) until she discovered an area of study that she liked

    “Physics was especially appealing to me. On Saturdays and Sundays, I enjoyed the quiet and peaceful Math/Physics Library to work on my homework or to peruse the collections. I enjoyed spending my time at the physics library so much that I decided to apply as a student library assistant at the end of the semester.”

    – Shivani Mishra
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Shivani Mishra

    As a student employee, Shivani learned new skills using the library’s vast print and online resources, and building connections with other students and faculty. Eventually, Shivani declared her major in physics. She wants to delve into medicine and physics, and integrate her biomedical research interests with her passion for physics. We wish her the best in all of her academic pursuits. Of course, we’re proud to have her on board with us while she does.

    cc licensed BY-NC from https://library.stonybrook.edu/2019/12/11/student-spotlight-shivani-mishra/

    Comprehension and Rhetorical Analysis

    After reading the two profiles above, answer the questions below.

    • Who is the author of both profiles?
    • What are the titles and dates of publication for each profile?
    • What institution published these student spotlights? Make a guess. How did you find the answer to this question?
    • Who is the audience for these profiles? Choose all that apply.
      • People who work at Stony Brook University
      • Students who attend Stony Brook University
      • People who want to attend Stony Brook University in the future
      • Students at other universities

    Fill out the chart below for both profiles.

    Profile #1 Profile #2
    Name of student
    Where she grew up
    High school
    Current major
    Future plans
    Where she works now

    Christopher Larson is the author of both of these profiles. In order to write these profiles, he needed to interview Jennifer Moy and Shivani Mishra. In other words, he needed to ask them questions to find out more about them. Practice composing questions about the readings by completing the activity below.

    Read the first paragraph of both profiles again. What questions did the Christopher Larson ask both students? One question has been written below as an example. Write two more questions.

    • Where did you go to high school?

    Read the second paragraph of Spotlight#1 below. Which question did the interviewer ask Jennifer? Choose the best open-ended question. Open-ended questions begin with a "wh" question word and allow for a long answer.

    Spotlight #1: When it came time to decide which college to attend, Jennifer was undecided between City College and Stony Brook University--she had already been accepted into the City College Engineering program. Despite this, Jennifer chose Stony Brook University as her new home. In truth, she did not want to attend college in the city, plus the adventure of dormitory living was far more appealing.

    1. Where did you decide to go to college?
    2. Where is your new home?
    3. Why did you decide to attend Stony Brook University?
    4. Did you decide to attend Stony Brook University?

    Read the second paragraph of Spotlight#2 below. What question do you think the iChristopher Larson asked Shivani? Write an open-ended question.

    Spotlight #2: Inspired by her volunteer experience in the hospital and as an emergency medical technician Shivani knew she wanted to learn medicine but when she started her first semester at Stony Brook she had no idea what to major in. Despite the pressure to declare her major she stayed focused on her pre-medicine courses (general chemistry, classical physics, calculus) until she discovered an area of study that she liked.

    Most profiles use quotations. Read the excerpt below. It contains a quotation. A quotation is a set of words inside quotation marks. It looks like this: "word word word." Who said the words in the quotation below?

    Jennifer is ready to graduate with her bachelor's degree by May 2021 and wants to specialize in structural engineering: "I grew up in a city full of towers and skyscrapers and it fascinates me how beautiful these structures are, and it inspires and motivates me to contribute to the structural architecture of a city building someday."

    Note about words used in the U.S. educational system

    Students in a four-year program such as high school or university may be identified by the year they are completing in the program.

    • First year--freshman
    • Second year--sophomore
    • Third year--junior
    • Fourth year--senior

    Students earning their associate's or bachelor's degree are called undergraduate students.

    Students earning a degree after their bachelor's degree are called graduate students.

    Common degrees offered in U.S. colleges and universities are associate's (2-year), bachelor's (4-year), master's (bachelor's plus 2 years), and doctorate (master's plus a varying number of years)

    vocabulary: despite

    Despite is a contrast signal word that means "even though" or "in spite of."

    We use "despite" to say the situation or person was not affected by something.

    "Despite" is used before a noun phrase.

    Example: Despite my head cold, I went to work today (I went to work even though I had a head cold).

    Example: Despite the difficulty of the final exam, the students passed the class (the students passed the class even though the final exam was difficult).

    vocabulary words and phrases related to college/university

    • Dormitory
    • Freshman
    • Sophomore
    • Junior
    • Senior
    • Major
    • Declare a major
    • Graduate (n) (v)
    • Graduation
    • Associate's, bachelor's, master's degree
    • Specialize
    • Semester
    • Program

    vocabulary words and phrases for careers and education

    • Inspire
    • Motivate
    • On board
    • Volunteer (n) (v)
    • Intern
    • Pursue (v)
    • Pursuit (n)
    • Adventure
    • In (high, low) demand
    • Resource
    • Travel

    idioms and signal words

    • By a long shot
    • Don't mess with
    • Despite

    majors and specializations

    • Photography
    • Geography
    • Architecture
    • Physics

    This page titled 1.3: Reading: Student Spotlights is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sara Ferguson.

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