I can’t believe I’m already a second semester junior. My time here at USC has flown by, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. This semester, I will be extremely busy with some tough classes and track season, but if I can survive, I’m sure it will be one of my best.
This semester, I am taking AME341b (2nd semester Mechoptronics), AME 301 (Dynamics), AME 309 (Fluid Mechanics), CE 460 (Construction Engineering), and MPGU120a (Beginning Pop/Rock Guitar). Second semester Mechoptronics, one of the most difficult classes at USC, should be my biggest challenge for the semester. While I was able to get an A in first semester Mechop, I will have to work at least as hard to get that same grade this time around. From what the professor tells us, they are trying to make the course more manageable since so many students complained about its difficulty, but I’m not so sure. I have Dynamics and Fluid Mechanics with the same professor, Wilcox, so hopefully I can get to know him well and do well in both of his classes. From what I can tell, I am one of only a few juniors in AME 301, while AME 309 is mostly juniors. I decided to take Construction Engineering as one of my Technical Electives because my father has been in the construction industry his whole life. The professor is hilarious and the workload doesn’t seem too tough, so I think I will really enjoy that class. Plus, one of the other Viterbi Student Ambassadors, Kristen Scudder, is in the class with me! You can check out her blog here. And finally, I chose to take a guitar class to fill in some extra units. I have dabbled on the guitar for years and took a class here at USC second semester of my freshman year, so I thought it would be fun to take one again.
Other than classes, my time is taken up by track and field, where I am a pole vaulter. Track season begins in the spring, so our meets will be starting at the end of February. While I have been plagued by injuries the past two seasons, I am healthy so far this year, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. My goal is to go 16′ and make the PAC-10 championship meet.
I am really excited for this semester and can’t wait to excel both in the classroom and on the track. Fight On!