Month: August 2016

OSSM not only allowed me to mature and develop important life skills, it gave me a community of people (friends and faculty) whose influence will stick with me for the rest of my life.  Remembering all the hard physics problems, long labs and random study sessions in the mezzanine, I realize all the fun I had and I’m truly happy to be a part of something so special.

At OSSM I have developed many skills that surpass college preparedness and qualify as life skills.  Living and learning with some of the brightest students. faculty, and staff in the nation is an honor and has enabled me to gain so much knowledge.  I expect to build on that knowledge exponentially!

I have learned the importance of managing a profound amount of work with spending time to relax.  Learning to balance the two ideas can change how you approach all work in life for the better, making you a more effective worker.  

I learned that I have a passion for physics that I did not know I had.  At my home school, I would have never taken any physics class.  But, because of the exceptional physics program at OSSM, I found a major portion of what my passions are.

There is a sense of security to be gained from similarity.  At OSSM, however, I have found my best friends are the most different from me, and I relish in our unique approaches to problem solving.  We all share in the ambition to better ourselves and the community we share.  

In so many ways, my experience at OSSM grew me as a person by completely breaking down and rebuilding my perception of an excellent education. Not only was I able to experience a competitive yet collaborative school culture, but I learned much more than I ever thought possible.  

I learned the value of true friendship and to be more accepting of my own imperfection (such as grades) because in the end we all learn from our faults and flaws and can always improve.  OSSM certainly has given me a first, real experience of hard work — There is no time or space for procrastination!  

At OSSM, I learned leadership and responsibility.  Gaining knowledge went from a task that ought to be done to a joy that shapes who I am and who I may become.

OSSM prepared me for a petroleum engineering undergraduate program which helped me start my first semester of college as a sophomore and have a higher GPA after that first semester.   (See more of Tyler’s story HERE!)