First Semester Grades

Semester Wrap-Up

First semester is officially in the books, and I'm proud of how it went academically. I finished with a 4.0 GPA across all my honors classes while balancing basketball and other commitments.

Atmospheric Science Highlight

My favorite class this semester was definitely Atmospheric Science. We spent the last few weeks building weather models and analyzing real storm data from the National Weather Service.

For our final project, I analyzed the atmospheric conditions that led to a major tornado outbreak in the Midwest last spring. Breaking down the temperature gradients, wind shear, and moisture levels to understand why those storms formed was incredibly cool.

Balancing Basketball and School

The toughest part of the semester was managing time during the first month of basketball season. Between practices, games, film sessions, and homework, there weren't a lot of free hours.

A few things that helped:

• Study hall on the bus – We have long road trips, and I started using that time to knock out assignments.
• Blocking out time – I scheduled specific hours for homework, just like I would for a workout.
• Asking for help – When I didn't understand something in Algebra II, I went to my teacher early instead of waiting until the test.

What's Next

Next semester I'm taking AP Environmental Science and Honors English. I'm also hoping to shadow a local meteorologist to see what the day-to-day work looks like.

Onward!