Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Introduction to an Obsessed Sports Fan

Hello, my name is Nick Rogers and I'm 20 years old. I actually don't go to OU. I live in Edmond, Oklahoma and I go to UCO there. However, I needed a Non-Western Culture class for my major and this class was highly recommended among some friends. So, this is my first and only class I'll be taking at OU. I'm extremely excited to get started as this class seems very different than anything I've ever taken so I'm relieved for a change of pace.

I'm a pre-occupational therapy student and I've actually already been accepted to the masters of occupational therapy program at OU Health Sciences Center starting summer 2017. Because occupational therapy is in such a demand for workers, I was actually accepted into the program during my senior year of high school. I went through an early-admission process which was extremely beneficial for my academic progression. I just have to maintain certain GPA and obtain a certain score on the GRE and I keep my enrollment. 

I work at Kumon: Math and Reading Center. I've worked there since I was a senior in high school and I absolutely love it. I get to work with elementary level kids and it's never short of entertaining. I didn't really think I would like it so much at first, but after working there for years I've really started to warm up to it. We have such a friendly staff, it's such a nice and relaxing environment. I couldn't imagine working anywhere else for the past few years.

As for my hobbies, I am completely obsessed with sports and more specially the NBA and the Thunder. I go to tons of Thunder games and watch any on TV that I'm not able to attend. I follow numerous Twitter accounts that have NBA news and rumors up to the second. I know all about advanced stats in relation to basketball. I post on an Thunder fan-site called Dailythunder where I'm constantly getting into arguments on the status of the team.


(personal photo)

I'm sure I'll end up adding more to this post as the semester progresses, but this is all I can think of for now. I can't wait to get started for this semester!

23 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm Joanne, and I'm also in this class with you, but I am definitely an OU student, and will be one for the next two years. That's really amazing that you're already accepted to a masters program for occupation therapy! I'm only a junior right now, so even thinking about graduate school is a bit scary for me.
    I have also tutored children when I was in high school and a bit as a general chemistry TA last year, and I absolutely loved it as well! I think helping kids learn new things and seeing them finally understand it is so adorable.
    I don't watch basketball that much but go Thunder!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey! I agree with Joanne. Thats really cool that you've gotten into your program already. Congratulations! I have a lot of friends that study at UCO and they said they love it, so I see why you study there. I tutored when I was in high school too, but it was just some international students that were in my grade. I do wish I was a better sports fan, but I do love going to thunder games!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, this is so exciting, Nick: I know there are these interconnected enrollment things for the online courses, but not so many students take advantage of that. I think it is very cool to have a UCO student in class this semester. Super! Perhaps there will even be some students you meet in this class who end up with you at OU HSC (congratulations on your acceptance there!). And I am sure there was someone else who mentioned Kumon - I think it was Marisha, so maybe you two know each other already! Marisha's Intro

    And I know sports is huge at Twitter... I follow lots of OU Twitter activity, but I don't even try to follow OU sports. It would probably drown out my whole Twitter stream, ha ha. But I do follow some great Twitter accounts at India: there are even some authors we read for this class who use Twitter, and I've gotten to have conversations with them there, which I think is amazing. Devdutt Pattanaik's videos were a really popular reading/viewing option with people in the class last year, and he is at Twitter, for example, so exciting! Check him out if you get a chance; I am a huge fan of his: @devduttmyth - you'll see from his banner image there that he just published a new book which is a children's version of the Ramayana focusing on Sita as the main character. I really like the idea that people in India are retelling these epics in much the same way you will be doing for class: it's a global thing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey! I really enjoyed your introduction. I got a clear idea of who you are. I enjoyed the sports focus because I am a huge sports fan also. I enjoy college football more personally though. I am going to school to become a teacher so I also enjoyed the part on your job as a tutor. I love being in a classroom setting so I can imagine this being right up my alley.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That’s cool that you live in Edmond! I used to love there, for most of my life actually, but I moved to Moore to be closer to OU. Congratulations on being accepted to the therapy program! It’s exciting to see someone who knows exactly what they want to do in life (I envy you). My friend Marisha also works at Kumon which is why I got excited when I read that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Nick! Welcome to an OU course! I'm sure there's not much different from a UCO course, but still really cool that you have an option to take this! I also love the OKC Thunder and I'm excited to see what happens this upcoming season. I haven't been to very many of their games but I do love to go when I get the chance! But I also really enjoy watching a game from the comfort of my (family's) couch!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi, Nick! That's amazing that you got accepted into OUHSC. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Nick! Congratulations on being accepted into OUHSC! I am sure you will do well! I love that you have such a passion for sports! I'll admit I am a Thunder fan, but I am most definitely not that devoted. I'm sure you get to teach a lot of kids at Kumon! Personally, I adore kids and love to teach them and spend time with them! I wish you all the best for your future endeavors! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Nick, You are very right this class is different than any other class that I have ever taken. I am an OU student and I have never seen anything like this, it definitely keeps the class interesting and something new. OT is a great profession and I am sure that you will love it. I bet kids are very entertaining, I hang out with my cousins a lot and the time just flies by.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that you don't go to OU, but are taking this class! I had also heard really great reviews from my friends.

    Congratulations on your acceptance into the occupational therapy program! I think that will be a really interesting career for you. I also love that you work at Kumon. I think that would be a really interesting, entertaining, and rewarding job.

    I also love Thunder basketball. Steven Adams is one of my favorite person ever. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, you are the first student I have met through this class to not be attending OU as a full time student. It is really cool to hear that you work at Kumon. I work there as well. I been there for four years. I am glad to hear that your students are as entertaining as mine. Just like you, I am also a huge Thunders fan.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Nick! Congratulations on your acceptance to the OT program; it's going to be coming up very quickly. Are you excited?
    Also, it's cool that you work at Kumon. I used to work at the one in my hometown before I moved to college and it was one of the best jobs I've ever had. Working with those kids is so rewarding and it's so special to see them get excited about learning and things as simple as beating their own time on their classwork.
    Congrats again on OT school, and best of luck with your future endeavors!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think it is neat that you came to OU just to take this course! I always brag about the Mythology and Folklore class to my friends and I was just as excited to take this one as I was the last class! I hope you enjoy it and, even though you aren't actually having to do anything else with OU, I hope you enjoy your time at OU as well! I am a psych major but I was going for HES for the first three years of college. I am still going to try to do PT when I graduate but I think it is amazing what you've already done for your occupational therapy goal! I hope you manage to make it everything you want! I look forward to reading from you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello Nick! I really liked your introduction! I actually went to UCO my sophomore year before transferring into OU my Junior year! In my time there I was in the Kinesiology department and for a brief time I was considering becoming an Occupational therapist! I am also I huge thunder fan. Maybe not to the extent to your passion for the game but I do share similar interest in basketball.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey Nick! I love the Thunder as well. I try to catch their games as often as possible and one of my friends just became a Thunder girl! I have taken a few classes at UCO and love the campus. I think that working at Kumon would be very interesting and that you get to see lots of different students!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Nick! Welcome to your short time to the OU "campus"! My roommate is currently in the OT program at the Health Sciences Center and loves it! OT is such an interesting and important degree in helping better people's lives! Working with Elementary aged students is always a fun time. You can never leave work without getting a good story! I don't follow NBA too much, but I do love the Thunder! Hopefully they will have a good season this year! I'm also hoping they beat Golden State every chance they get!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Are you hoping to go into sports-related occupational therapy? I think that might be a great fit for you considering how much you love sports! What do you teach at Kumon? I've considered applying to similar programs and am always interested to hear about the experiences of other people who have been teaching in a similar program. I tutored back in high school but that was all informal.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Nick! It's good to finally meet you. Wow, it sounds like your life is much more put together than mine right now. I'm still in the process of applying to graduate school, so my big decisions are coming up soon. Occupational therapy is such a cool field though! One of my friends started studying that Freshman year, but unfortunately she changed her mind. It's her loss I guess if there's such a high demand for in that area.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Nick,

    I also was encouraged to take this class by a friend. It's been a great decision so far, and I'm glad you're having fun with it too. Congratulations on being accepted to the Occupational Therapy school. It sounds like a great program to be a part of. I also love watching NBA, although the Spurs are my favorite team. I'll root for Thunder if they aren't playing the Spurs though. Go Thunder!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi, Nick! I haven't met you yet! I think that's awesome that you love to work with children at Kumon! I remember seeing commercials for that center ever since I was young! Man, I wish I could get myself more interested in sports! I'm not like, an ultra competitive person by nature, so I kind of never took sports super to heart. Maybe someday! But for now I just chant, "go sportsball!"

    ReplyDelete
  22. I like hearing that you work at Kumon and help students learn more. I think it's really beneficial for a lot of kids (if not all of them) to receive some help beyond that which they would receive in school. Teachers are usually so busy that it's difficult for them to provide 1-on-1 attention to each kid. how much do you see these students improve? Do you find that those who might not be doing so well before the program are only needing an extra boost in order to reach the average scores or exceed them?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hey Nick,
    I really enjoyed reading about you in your introduction. You sound like a very interesting and busy person. I noticed that you are a fan of the Thunder and I am too. I am curious about your thoughts regarding the departure of that tall, skinny, ugly guy that was on the team last year? I think that him leaving made room for Russ to do his thing.

    ReplyDelete