I'm a 26 year old Psychology student at Columbia College in Sonora CA. Fall 2017 will mark one year since I've been attending Columbia College, and after a near 7 year hiatus, will be the highest level of education I've completed. I've battled with issues relating from physical and mental health ever since I was around 10 years old, and after dealing with some setbacks over the past 2 years, I realized that I finally needed to finish my college career. As previously stated, this coming fall semester will mark one whole year since I've been a student at Columbia College, and I couldn't do it without our school's special programs such as our EOPS and Disability Student Services.

In my free time, I enjoy traveling, live music, embroidery, and various arts and crafts projects. I'm proud to say that I've worked hard, and I've persisted despite setbacks due to physical and mental health issues. Ideally, I would be looking to transfer to either the University of California Davis, Cal State University East Bay, Sacramento State University, Humboldt State University, San Francisco State University, or Cal State University Monterey Bay. While I'm still not 100% sure of my specific field, I would like to focus my studies in the social work field, or work in the counseling field with either children, LGBTQ+ teens, or young women who have been in disadvantaged situations. I look forward to graduating and transferring, but most of all, I look forward to learning more about the psychology field.

Essay: Echo Pen

The Echo Pen is a device that acts as a simple pen, a microphone, as well as a recorder. The user can either choose to write out their notes longhand, or use the pen as a recording device. This device can be used either in a classroom or meeting setting. Afterwards, the notes can be transferred onto the user's computer. For myself personally, I have hypotonia, (also known as low muscle tone) and writing my lecture notes longhand for a full class period can be excruciatingly painful. With the help of the Echo Pen, I can have access to clear and precise notes, straight from the classroom, as well as the teachers and professors.

While extremely useful for students like myself who have been diagnosed with muscle disorders, the Echo Pen should also be accessible for students in all grades, with any mobility related disability, who also have a 504 plan in place. A lot of students with disabilities will find it difficult to write longhand for extended periods of time, however not all disabled students will have access to their own laptops, or computer systems during class. While the Echo Pen does require a computer with a USB connection, schools can help make it accessible by providing computers for students to transfer their notes, thus giving access to students with disabilities who cannot afford, or do not have access to their own computer. Additionally, access to the Echo Pen allows students to spend less time organizing and fixing errors in their handwritten notes, and enables them to spend more time studying, reading, and working on their homework, and other enriching extracurricular activities.