Taryn Brown

UC Honors Portfolio

Year-in-Review

In what way(s) did you personally grow this year? How did you demonstrate or rebuild the resilience needed to move forward during this time? How will you utilize resources and your support network to hold yourself accountable in continuing this growth?

2022-2023

This past year has been a rollercoaster of learning experiences. I accomplished many things- completing my first year of college, being independent, traveling out of the country for the first time and overall being proud of the relationships and foundations I built to enhance my experience at the University of Cincinnati. Personally, I feel as though I was able to grow in many ways. The first semester proved to be quite a learning curve for me both academically and personally. I had to learn to balance a social life (building new friendships), my academics and taking care of myself. It was difficult at first, but overcoming the challenges provided me with a huge confidence boost for the second semester and I found a great balance. Second semester I was even able to add to my busy schedule and make time to volunteer. I was a café assistant at Rohs Street Café every Saturday. The community there was something I will never forget and found myself looking forward to every weekend. I built lots of relationships through volunteering and felt much more connected and at home in Cincinnati because of it.

One major thing I had to overcome this school year was procrastination. The first semester was especially difficult to manage the workload that comes with architecture. It took a while for me to get into a good rhythm and build good time management skills. I could not have overcome my cycle of procrastination without my classmates in my studio. They helped hold me accountable for getting my work done, and in return I did the same thing for them. They were a valuable resource and a huge part of my support system this school year.

Even going into summer with no schoolwork I have found other ways to stay busy and continue growing. I am currently working on learning Revit, a program that I have never used before. Additionally, I hope to clean up my portfolio and create a website for my work. I am also working part time this summer to help save up for school and future travel plans I hope to complete. Overall, this year has had stress, sweat, tears and smiles. I have gained knowledge and experiences I could never have imagined a year ago. I am proud of myself for my many accomplishments this past year from making the Dean’s List both semesters to completing my first honors experience. While I have grown a lot in the past year, I know I still have much more to learn and achieve. I am excited to continue to grow and find myself at UC, and in the honor program. My friends, family and teachers helped and supported me a lot last year and I know I will continue to need their support in order to hold myself accountable and be the best version of me that I can be.

Year-in-Review

2023-2024

Over the past year, I have experienced many changes that have altered my perspective and opened me up to more growth. Over the summer I had a nice break from schoolwork and was able to make more time for myself and seeing friends and family. When I came for fall semester at UC, it was full throttle. On top of normal classwork for architecture, I was starting a self- designed honors experience and applying for co-op jobs. Fall semester of this past year was undoubtably the hardest semester at UC to date. I struggled to secure a co-op job for a while and didn't end up receiving an offer until December. This was extremely difficult for me- the stress of not knowing where my co-op would be or if I would even get one, combined with a sort of guilt and shame of not being able to get a job. Additionally, seeing friends get amazing job opportunities was fun, but definitely harmful to my mindset when it came to my own career. Luckily, I was able to secure a position with a wonderful firm and believe that the experience of having difficulty securing a job provided a great lesson to me and showed me how much hard work pays off. Moving forward with my job search for the fall, I am much more prepared and ahead of the game. I know what I want out of a firm and where I want to go. All I have to do now is make it happen!

As far as co-op goes, while the stress of finding an internship was overwhelming, the outcome was worth it. This spring I completed my first architecture co-op. It was a rewarding and honestly fun experience. I moved to Nashville for the semester, working at a small firm in a suburb that mostly did healthcare architecture. Many of my friends from DAAP were doing internships in Nashville, along with some new people, so I was able to maintain friendships and form new connections. I lived alone, which was a very new thing for me. I think I grew a lot in my independence and being comfortable with being alone. I hung out with friends on the weekends, but I did a lot of exploring by myself as well and gained confidence in my ability to be self-sufficient. I think this confidence fueled a fire in me to search outside of the country for either my upcoming fall or summer co-op.

Aside from my architectural studies and co-op experience, I also had time to complete a self-designed honors experience this past semester. I wrote an original screenplay (reflection and full PDF of screenplay can be found on the Honors Experiences page). I have always loved writing, but this was an amazing experience and lit a new fire under my passion for film and writing. As a result, I am now pursuing a Screenwriting Certificate at UC and will be taking my first screenwriting course this summer!

Overall, this past year was full of struggle and overcoming obstacles, but also immense growth, happiness and new experiences. I can't wait to see what the future holds (fingers crossed for a co-op overseas) and I look forward to completing the Honors Experience I am currently pursuing in Honors English 2089! I will continue to hold myself accountable for further growth and know that friends, family, professors and advisors will also push me to go beyond the limits I once imagined for myself and into a whole new world of possibilities!