Sophia Popowski Portfolio Project

1. Sophia Popowski
Mathematics
I am an intelligent, joy-seeking, hard-working
woman, achieving my dreams day by day.

2. Favorite Assignments
• DAPPS Goal-Setting Assignment- I loved this assignment as it definitely helped me stay a
little more on track with my assignments throughout the semester than I would’ve been
otherwise. This assignment allowed me to create a schedule/agenda for myself to follow
each week. Although, I didn’t always follow the deadlines I created through this
assignment, it did motivate me to work on my assignments even when I didn’t really want
to.
• Service Learning Project- This assignment not only allowed to get involved in my
community, but it also helped me come closer to a decision on the career path I wish to
take. By volunteering at my old high school, I was able to bond with old teachers and see
what working at a school was like from the teachers perspective. I also really enjoyed the
idea of just being able to help others out and lighten their burdens.
• Module 7 Discussion Board: Stress- This assignment might have been the most applicable
to my life. I always hold myself to high standards and I like to give myself a challenge in
almost everything I do. This always results in an insane amount of stress. After this
discussion, I was relieved to discover that stress is resolved by the way you respond to the
situations that you face.

3. Favorite Journals
• Chapter 3 Journal Entry 11- This assignment allowed me to picture more vividly the largest
goal I have at this point in time. Writing out how I wish to have my graduation day go
motivated me to take my assignments more seriously now. This gave what I am doing now
more purpose since I am working towards something that seems more realistic.
• Chapter 4 Journal Entry 13- I loved this assignemnt because it made me write out what
activities I had participated in over the past couple of days. Writing out all of these activities
and then dividing them into quadrants let me see exactly how many activities I was
participating in that were purposeful or useful. After seeing the results, I discovered what
things I could spend less time on to help myself have a more purposeful and meaninggful use
of my time.
• Chapter 5 Journal Entry 17- This journal let me express the things in my life holding me
back from acheiveing the most success. After picking out what might be holding me back, I
was able to think of people who could help me overcome these restrictions. I loved this
assignment most because it was centered on ways to create a better support system in school
and this was especially important since it seems that even after this semester, my support
system is theweakest link in my pursuit of success.

4. Favorite Module: Module 4: Chapter 4
Mastering Self-Management
Module 4 was full of information on how to prioritize. It taught
you how to create your own schedule and to fill it with purposeful
events. It also taught how to improve your personal self-
management skills. It explained that there are three inner qualities
that can help you overcome procrastination and strengthen your
self-discipline, which are commitment, focus, and persistence. This
was espicially applicable to me as I am a terrible procrastinator. No
matter how important an assignment is to me, I always seem to
wait until the last minute to finish it. This module taught me a lot
about how to help myself become even more successful by
overcoming my weaknesses.

5. Lessons I have learned…
• Creating an agenda of all due assignments for the week
lessens the likeliness that you will procrastinate.
• Stress is not a result of the situations or challenges you face,
but is a result of how you respond to those situations or
challenges.
• Vividly imagining the achievement of your goals can
motivate you to do better now and it can also make those
goals seem more realistic day-to-day.

6. Self-Assessment Scores
___64___ ___74___ 1. Accepting personal responsibility.
___70___ ___78___ 2. Discovering self-motivation.
___49___ ___66___ 3. Mastering self-management
___42___ ___46___ 4. Employing interdependence
___50___ ___75___ 5. Gaining self-awareness
___62___ ___78___ 6. Adopting lifelong learning
___57___ ___73___ 7. Developing emotional intelligence.
___59___ ___72___ 8. Believing in myself
Over the course of this semester, I
grew incredibly in personal
responsibility. I think that, in the
sense of personal responsibility, I
was put to the test this semester. With
softball on the side, I knew I had to
be completely dedicated to school if I
wanted to be as successful as I had
hoped. This course has taught me
many lessons, but one of the most
useful was to know that I was
responsible for the success I achieve
and see in my life. Regardless of the
situations I am in, if I have goals,
plans, a positive attitude, and a true
desire and motivation to be
successful, I will see that success
appear in my life.

7. To a future student of learning frameworks…
• This course teaches you how to become the most successful
college student you can possibly be.
• Set goals for yourself. Setting goals has truly helped me this
first semester of college and it has started to cure my lack of
motivation to finish assignments ahead of time.
• Stress does not come from the situations or challenges you
face but it is instead a thought process.
• Always work to improve your attitude towards school and
create more positive thoughts towards your challenges.

8. To a future student of learning frameworks…
• Stay motivated and don’t let any negative thoughts
consume you when things get difficult.
• This is a time in your life to just get stuff done, so when you
are in college, get stuff done!
Overall… Make goals, achieve them, avoid stress and
anxiety by having a positive outlook on your
challenges, focus on your classes, and most importantly,
have fun!

9. Visions for the Future
If I accomplish all of my goals and dreams, I would
graduate college in 2020 with a Bachelors Degree in
Mathematics (with a teaching certificate) and a minor in
Spanish. At this point I will have an apartment, start
working at a high school as a math teacher for freshman
in algebra, possibly teach a couple of Spanish classes,
and maybe even help coach the school’s softball team.

10. Visions for the Future
After I am steady on my own feet, I would love to get
married and start my own family. Although it is not an
academic or career goal, having a family of my own is
one of my goals and dreams. Having a support system
full of people I love would be something I would look
forward to coming home to everyday. After a few more
years pass, I can see myself potentially going back to
school to further my education in mathematics, and
possibly becoming a college professor.