first run through

Ryan Gilson shares his story as a lifelong learner. He talks about his background, including growing up in Detroit and his interest in Spanish. He discusses his experiences at the University of Arizona, where he enjoys the self-paced learning style but also acknowledges the need for self-discipline. Ryan is considering majoring in computer science and engineering to broaden his future options. He mentions his strengths in self-discipline and time management, but acknowledges the need to improve motivation for schoolwork. He discusses the disciplinary perspectives that shape his thinking, such as the scientific method and the humanist perspective. Ryan believes that learning Spanish and gaining a second language skill will enhance his major. In the future, he hopes to finish college, enter the workforce, and possibly travel. He is interested in a career as a game developer and values the ability to work from anywhere. Outside of academics, Ryan wants to learn how to draw and improve his Hi, I'm Ryan Gilson, and this is my story of a lifelong learner. So, to begin, where am I from? I was born in Dearborn, which is right outside of Detroit, Michigan, on September 29, 2004. I grew up in Detroit until I was about eight when I moved to Saline with my mom, which is right outside of Ann Arbor. And my dad lives in Battle Creek with my stepmom. So, how has my history shaped my academic pursuits? So, one thing that has really noticeably impacted my academic pursuits is my English and Spanish background. Because I did not do very good in English, and I didn't really enjoy it. So that has led me to pretty much avoiding as much English as I can in college. And Spanish, it wasn't so much the teacher, it was just I didn't feel I was learning very effectively. So, I am now teaching myself Spanish through Duolingo, just on my own. And where am I now? So, what learning experiences have led me so far at U of A that have changed how I view or approach the world? So, the biggest and clearest difference between college and high school, in my opinion, has been the self-paced learning aspect of it. Where many classes are learning outside of the classroom, and then you come and talk about what you learned about, or expand on it, ask questions, stuff like that. And I find this to be much more self-reliant and more enjoyable, in my opinion. But it is a kind of double-bladed sword, because if you're not staying on top of things, you will fall behind, because there's no one telling you how much you need to be doing. But, like I said, I really enjoy it. So, at this point, my intended major is computer science. But I'm thinking of moving to computer science and engineering, just because it's not too many extra classes, I hope. And, you know, just broadening my future options seems like a good choice. So, what are some strengths that have emerged for me since beginning at U of A? And what are some areas that still need development? One of my favorite strengths that I've built up has been my self-discipline, or time management, where I'm the only one making decisions for myself, and that has forced me to stay on top of things, which I've really been enjoying. I get to do what I want, and it feels much more self-motivated, instead of just listening to what I'm being told to do. And one thing that I need improvement on is building up the motivation to do what I would call the busy work of school, which tends to be more of the do this because you're told to. And I find that's much less motivating for me. Moving on, what disciplinary perspectives have I found to shape the way I think the most? This would definitely be the scientific method and the humanist perspective. I'm sorry, the natural scientist perspective, which kind of relates to the scientific method, where you're thinking kind of in a problem-solving fashion, or thinking about why things are the way that they are, and stuff like that. And I have a lot of natural curiosity for the world around me, and my friends can tell you that they get annoyed with my endless lines of questions. And the humanist perspective, I just find learning about how people behave and the way people think is just really interesting, so that kind of ties into that natural curiosity of things. And what elective academic work, research, or non-academic experiences do you think will enhance your major? Probably the best example of this is learning Spanish, just because I think learning a second language is a great skill. Now moving on to, where am I going? So, in five years, I kind of see myself hopefully definitely done with college, hopefully entering the workforce, and possibly moving into my own apartment, or maybe just spending like a year or so to go travel once I am done with college, because that just sounds like a lot of fun. So, possible careers, I don't really have any one set career that I'm really aiming towards, but I think something like game developer would be super cool, just because I love video games, and I think it's really cool to kind of create something that you see being used by many people, so that would just be really amazing. And another bonus with any job would be being able to work from anywhere, just so that I can spend lots of time exploring outdoors, traveling, and stuff like that. So, when I'm done with all my academic learning, what type of things would I want to learn, just for fun? One of these is learning to draw. Learning to draw, I just recently started that this week, and it's been a lot of fun, and I really want to stick with that. And, you know, learning about my physical health and exercise, and improving skills such as mountain biking and skiing would just be a lot of fun, and like, yeah. And what are some things from my Wonder Journal that I'd like to pursue? As I kind of touched on earlier, I'm really interested in the way people think, and a lot of my wonders reflect that, where they're asking about just, you know, how people think, and the psychology of people. So, that's really something that I want to go into, hopefully with my future gen eds, and just self-learning. So, thank you. That was my story of a lifelong learner.