Showing vs. Telling

Surrounded by a sea of note-cards, 20 year old Carolyn Martin tests her knowledge about Human Anatomy for the fourth hour straight in the Du Bois library. After earning a C- in the class last year, a point away from the required grade for Nursing majors, Martin was forced to take the class again. This put her a year behind her fellow nursing students, making her a 5^th year senior.

A West Roxbury native, Martin always showed signs of excellence when it came to school. She attended Mount Alvernia, an all-girl private Catholic school, where she was awarded the honor of valedictorian. So why is she doing poorly now?

“The classes are a lot harder and require more studying then I’m used to. I kind of slacked off freshman year thinking I could just skate by, but I definitely can’t,” Martin said.

Martin is determined to excel this year, and refuses to let anything get in her way. “I used to care more about going out with my friends and work came second, but now work comes first. If sitting in this library for six more hours is what it takes to get an A, then so be it,” she says, setting in fro some more studying after eating an apple.