Who
are you and what do you expect from this class? Please write 4-5
sentences about yourself, including academic, career, and personal goals
relevant to our course in human nature/death & dying (why
you are in school, what you like to study, where you
work/volunteer/spend your time, other relevant experience, something
interesting about you, etc.)
Then please ask questions and/or comment on the posts of at least two of your classmates. Let's get to know each other.
Hello, my name is Katie Robinson and I am a sophomore nursing major. I transferred from the University of Louisville last semester so I am actually a junior credit wise. One expectation I have from this class is to engage in a lot of interesting conversations with the class. Death is an interesting topic that is rarely discussed because it is not typically a pleasant topic of discussion for most people. I would also like to learn how my classmates and philosophers view death and dying. I currently work at a hospital so I see a lot of death, and I think it will be different to learn various ways people view death, especially as I continue my education of becoming a nurse.
ReplyDeleteHello Katie, I did enjoy reading your blog. You mentioned that death is interesting and I would like to ask what makes it of an interest to you? Do you find the process interesting or what happens to the body, mind and spirit? I am interested in your thoughts. Thanks so much!
DeleteHey Katie, I completely agree with you within your belief that there is going to be a lot of interesting conversations within the class! You did a great job on your post
DeleteHey katie! I know you work in the hospital, so you see a lot of death through that. I was wondering if you had any personal experiences you would like to share? thanks!
DeleteHeidi, yes! I think that there is a very intense process happening to the body, mind and spirit all at the same time as a person dies. I would like to explore this part of death more in this class. Ellie, one experience that I had recently in the hospital was when I walked into the patients room and he had died. I serve dinner at the hospital and the patient had actually ordered his dinner himself right before he died. I couldn't believe that he had been able to do that.
DeleteHi Katie, I also think it will be interesting how this class will correlate to your major. As the course goes on and you get more experience in the hospitals I would love to hear stories and life experiences.
DeleteHi, my name is Heidi Beard and I am a sophomore in the BSN program. I am a transfer student from NKU. I am a senior here at Thomas More due to credits. I am currently an LPN and work in long term care @ a nursing facility in Ohio. I am from the Cincinnati area and have an Associate degree in Biology from UC. Personally, due to my career I have encountered the process of death from beginning to end numerous times and I do enjoy giving the patients the respect and comfort at the end of their life. I have had the pleasure of working with Hospice and have an appreciation for the field. Taking this course will allow me to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge beyond the surface about the topic of death and dying and to become a better nurse. Upon graduation, I would like to pursue critical care nursing and or surgery. My experience with healthcare is extensive and includes all areas of practice. An interesting fact about myself is that I find an interest in the paranormal and do believe in spirits. I welcome any and all questions in relation to this topic and would like to share my knowledge and experience to anyone who would find it helpful. My expectation of the course is that each student regardless of his or her background can appreciate and embrace the end of life process and take note that each person's death is different. We should not be afraid of the unknown yet we should be eager to learn the sensitive topic of death and be able to discuss it in a positive light.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi! I found your blog really interesting. I had no idea that you are technically a senior due to all of your credits. I also think your interest in the paranormal is really cool. I can't wait to hear more about your perspective on death!
DeleteHey Heidi! I am happy that you are in our class because you probably have so much knowledge on the subject. I am interested to hear some of the stories you have if you choose to share! I was wondering if there is a specific reason you believe in the paranormal?
DeleteThank you Melissa. It may not be normal but the subject of death and the process including the burial and embalming I find fascinating. I do not take the death as a reason to have a party so to speak, but the human body was made meticulously for a reason and modern medicine has come so far in advancement from studying the death of individuals. Each of us are unique with different morbidities and no one "death" are alike. We can learn about the effects of hundreds of diseases that were not possible from the human race. Thank you for reading my post and you did a good job also.
DeleteKatie, I will be glad to share all of my experiences and knowledge with the class. I must say I have seen a lot of things and it is a blessing but also part of life that is still a mystery and takes us by surprise. I believe that we spiritually leave our bodies after we die that we live in the next chapter wherever that may be depending on what you believe. I have had a few experiences that have caught my attention. I also have heard, read and watched true stories from others and most of it you can not duplicate. I also believe in angels which are a form of spirit. So, I hope that helps a bit more. I can share more if you are interested. Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts also.
DeleteHey Heidi, I think you have a distinct experience with the hospital setting that most of us are lacking, because of your work. So I also think that you would have an interesting perspective that we can all learn from as this course continues. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!
DeleteHi my name is Mallory Meier and I am a sophomore in the Nursing program. I transferred from Miami University last year, so I am a junior at the college. I am excited for this class because I believe it is very relevant to nursing and that knowledge I acquire in this class will be very applicable in my field of study. I do have some experience with death. My father died from cancer when I was 15 and I was in the hospital room with him when it happened. This experience has obviously made a huge impact on me and how I live my life. Experiencing this at such a young age raised a lot of questions for me, but also made me realize that death is inevitable for all of us and that we should live our lives accordingly. I am hoping that this class can answer some of the questions that I have and can help me to understand some of the emotions that I still feel today in regards to death.
ReplyDeleteHey Mallory, thank you for sharing you personal story. I cannot even imagine being in the room as my dad passed away while only being 15 years old. I imagine you were probably terrified, but you were very strong and brave. I am interested in what emotions you have regarding death, and I look forward to hearing them in class.
DeleteHey Mal, thanks for sharing your personal encounter with death. I've been learning that death is inevitable as we continue to get older and our loved ones begin to leave us. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to go through something like that at such a young age. I'm looking forward to hearing your view points on the death process as we progress in this class.
DeleteHey Mallory,
DeleteYou and I should definitely have a good chat sometime. My dad died this past October from cancer, difference being, I wasn't at the hospital and a few other things. I completely understand the part about being young and going through such a traumatic experience - I'll be 22 in May. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. Part of me just wants to give you a hug because I feel like you and I probably have a lot of the same questions and can't understand why we still feel the ways we do today. I was actually fairly nervous to share about my dad in my introduction. So, know you're not the only one and maybe we can answer some of each other's questions. If we can't, I'm pretty sure this class will do that for us.
Hey Mallory, Thank you for sharing your personal experience with death. I couldn't imagine the pain you went through to lose your father so young. I have to experience with death to and I still find it hard to talk about it still. I am also going to go into the medical field and I feel that this class will help us with our future goals since we will experience death around us a lot.
DeleteMy name is Stefanie Nourtsis and I am a sophomore in the nursing program. I am looking forward to being in this class because I think it is an important subject to study. I am of Greek decent and when I was 15 my yia yia (grandmother) who lived with my family passed away. I was in the hospice room with her when it happened and I will never forget what the nurse said, all of her organs had shut down but she believed that the mind and heart were the last to leave even though my yia yia was unconscious. Right before she passed away, I kissed her cheek and told her I loved her and when she took her last breath, a tear fell down her cheek. She was like a mother to me and it was hard for me to accept her death. Still to this day I have questions about death that no one can seem to answer. I think it will be interesting to actually take a course and to see other people’s opinions and to hear the comments and stories that they have to share. I am also looking forward to understanding death a little better than I already do.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal experience about your grandmother's passing. You mentioned that you have questions about death that you are searching for answers. I do hope this class will give you those answers and that you may have a more in depth understanding to death and will be able to apply it to your own personal experiences in the future. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and feelings about the topic.
DeleteHi, my name is Melissa McMullen and I am a sophomore nursing major. I am from Bethel, Ohio which is about 45 minutes away from Thomas More from which I commute back and forth each day. I am extremely interested in seeing how this class presents itself. Death, although a somewhat taboo topic within our society, is something that has always been close to home for my siblings and me. My dad is 80 years old and as far as I can remember, the fear of losing him has always been at the back of my mind and somewhat a part of my life. Growing up with a dad so much older than the rest has definitely had its challenges, but because of it I feel like I view life much more preciously than most. Overall, I am really excited to see how this class impacts my perspective on death and my career as a future nurse.
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa! Thank you for sharing that information about your dad. My dad is a lot older than most dads too and I worry about him, as well. I think that having this situation will make you stronger as a person and bring your family closer together.
DeleteHi Melissa, I also have had death hit close to my family recently with my aunt who suffered from ALS. Hopefully this class can give us a better understanding on death, because I know I could use more knowledge on the topic!
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Derek Torok, I come from Bethel, Ohio, making my commute to school about 35-40 minutes on a good day. I am a Junior in the Nursing program here at TMC and am currently employed as a CNA on a Medical Surgical unit at St. Elizabeth Hospital. After graduating with my BSN I plan on working in the MICU for a couple of years, later transferring to the ED because they do not accept new grads in most cases. I do plan on going back to school for my masters, becoming an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner by 25 is the plan, but I am still studying and learning the trade so this could change. While death is a touchy subject for most, I feel that in this setting it and with the right intentions, this course will give me an opportunity to think about death and how I want things to be. I also expect for this course to give me the resources to cope with death as well as help others with their coping as a future MICU/ED nurse.
Hey Derek, thanks for sharing your future plans regarding nursing! I agree completely with death being such a touchy subject for most. Sometimes it can almost be awkward to talk to people who have had to encounter a death of their loved ones at such a young age, but I've found that they enjoy talking about it because they're reliving their memories with them. I hope this course helps me become more comfortable with the acceptance of it and how to cope with it too.
DeleteDerek, that commute sounds terrible. It's cool to see that you have your career mapped out. My girlfriend is studying nursing at UC and wants to do anesthesia. Good luck with your goals, sounds like you're on the right path.
DeleteDerek, that's awesome that you already have a job in a hospital! I was looking into something like that myself. I also have a 40 minute commute, so that made a big difference in deciding what to do. Are you related to Dr. Torok in the nursing department as well? She is my transfer adviser and helped me make the transition into TMC
DeleteHello, my name is Ellie Caudill and I am a sophomore nursing major. I am from the East side of Cincinnati and I commute 25-30 minutes to Thomas More every day. After graduating with my BSN I want to work at Children’s hospital on the oncology floor and eventually go back to school for my masters. Although death is a hard subject to talk about in society, this was not the case for my family. In March 2006, my 23 year old cousin, Jason, was a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver. The girl driving swerved off the road and hit a telephone pole, throwing my cousin through the windshield. Jason was rushed to the University’s hospital where he was placed on life support until my family could get there. My aunt and uncle had a huge decision to make regarding life or death for him. After a couple of days, they decided to take Jason off life support and honor his wishes of becoming an organ and tissue donor. That day Jason lost his life, but in return he saved more than 7 lives. Along with my cousin's death, I have lost a great deal of family members that has shown me death cannot be run from. In this class, I expect to learn more about the process of death and I want to learn other people’s thoughts regarding death. I would like to understand death further so I could use it in my future career as a nurse.
ReplyDeleteYes, commuter life!! :)
DeleteI really like your last sentence, honestly. Being adopted, I was surrounded by nurses since the moment I entered this world. The nurses at Good Sam were actually the first people to name me because my adoption wasn't finalized. My adoptive parents weren't allowed to name me yet and the nurses thought I looked like an "Anna". So, what really gets me is when I hear people say, "People in the medical field aren't really known for bedside manner."
Well, um...duh. But, I think that's where nurses come into play. I may have met two, maybe three, nurses so far who really didn't have a single drop of bedside manner in their blood. On the other hand, I was born with an auto-immune disease, I supposedly grew out of not long ago. Downside: I still have to have vials drawn every six months to test for re-occurrence indicators. I have an extreme phobia to needles and had it not been for those nurses, I may still be on that floor, passed out cold. I think your wanting to understand death will enhance, not only your medical background, but as it's called, "bedside manner". Props for wanting to use this type of knowledge in your future career, especially after experiencing what you did with your cousin.
Hi Ellie, I really enjoyed your touching story about cousin. That is such a hard thing to go through, no matter how close you are to a family member. I like that you want to also use this class in your career as a nurse. That will definitely give you a better perspective that some people don't get.
DeleteHey guys! I'm Taylor Boehmer and I'm a sophomore in the nursing program! I transferred from UK last fall, so I'm technically a junior in college. I've grown up in Florence, Kentucky and commute to school since it's only a short 20 minutes away. I'm currently employed at the Snappy Tomato Pizza in Richwood as a manager, so I may be one of the only people you know that does not like to eat pizza whatsoever. After graduating with a BSN, I inter on moving to Orlando, Florida for a couple years to work at the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital and preferably in the pediatric cardiology unit. After working for a few years, I'm planning to return back to school to become a nurse practitioner. Pertaining to this class, I'm not necessarily one who likes to discuss death in any circumstance so this class will definitely bring me out of my comfort zone. When I was 12, I had my first major experience with death. My best friend's mom, who was basically my second mom, passed away due to a rare spinal cord cancer on my mom's birthday while we were all at the hospital with her family. I hope this class helps me understand the death process more since I will need the knowledge as I enter the medical field as a nurse.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I can't believe you work at a pizza place and don't like to eat pizza! If it was up to me I'd have it every day of the week. I'm sorry to hear about your friends mom, hopefully this class will allow you to see it in a way you hadn't previously. Good luck with your career goals, they sound awesome!
DeleteI'm Zak Orlemann, I am a junior and I am majoring in Sports and Entertainment Marketing. I grew up in Anderson Township on the east side of Cincinnati, and I graduated from Turpin High School. I originally came to Thomas More to play baseball, which I did for my freshman and sophomore years. Last summer I interned with a local company called SelfDiploma, and it changed my career goals. I'm now focusing on landing a job in the entertainment field. This course will be beneficial because I enjoy understanding how people think and make decisions, and what decision is more important than the ones made at the end of life? When I'm not in class, I work as a server at Arthur's in Anderson, and I am an absolute nerd when it comes to my obsession with baseball.
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ReplyDeleteI am Alexa Mitchell, I am a sophomore and I am majoring in Elementary Education. I am from Crescent Springs, Kentucky, and I graduated from Covington Latin High School. I entered Thomas More playing no sports and mainly focusing on academics. This year I joined Cheerleading, and it has been a great time. Since I am majoring in Elementary Education I don't focus on the death and dying part of life, but instead the growing up and learning in life with children. I am really excited to have this class because it interests me, and even though death is such a scary mystery, I can't wait to have better knowledge on the subject.
ReplyDeleteHi Alexa I really agree wanting to know more about death, it's like being afraid of the unknown, which really interest me.
DeleteHi Alexa, hopefully from this class you would be able to help any of your future students if they experience death in their family to help them through this tough time.
DeleteHi I am Chante Randolph and I am junior, my major is business administration with a concentration in Human Resources. I'm from Cincinnati and I also graduated from Colerain high school '12. I am going to school because I hope to help people one day with the degree I would be getting. On campus i'm involved in two clubs, Student activities board and Business Society. During the summer and winter season I work part-time at JcPenney. For this class the one goal I want to accomplish is not being afraid to talk about death. Death the word or even thinking about just makes nervous. Not to long ago both of my grandparents died on the same day an hour from each other. So yea.. I want to just face this head on and have and awesome class!
ReplyDeleteHi Chante! I like your idea of learning to not be afraid to talk about death. It's a scary topic and very touchy when it comes to feelings about death. I agree with you and hope we become more open to the idea of death and the ideas surrounding it.
DeleteHey Chante! I agree that I would like to not be afraid to talk about death after this class. You're not alone when you say it makes you nervous. I think it's part of human nature to be afraid to talk about such a touchy subject. We'll make it through this semester together!
DeleteHi everyone, I am Sean Daugherty, I'm a sophomore at TMC. I graduated from the University of Louisville in '13 with a BS in Biology, and then I transferred up here to get a BSN. Right now, I work nights at FedEx, but I'm planning on taking my BSN further to graduate school to reach my doctorate and work as a Nurse Anesthetist. My biggest motivation for pursuing a medical career is my cousin and neighbor Joey, who is in a persistent vegetative state. He was born this way, because of complications in delivery as a result of the resident doctor who treated my aunt had a mental breakdown and fled in the middle of her emergency C-section. I've always felt that I could succeed where he had failed, and I would hope to keep the same thing from happening to someone else. I've also had several elderly relatives die in my lifetime, as well as my best friend from grade school about 2 years ago. In regards to the class, I've taken similar ethics classes before, and I have strong rooted opinions to share, but I look forward to discussing with you all over the course of this semester. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm Lindy Gamble, I'm a sophomore by credits and a senior by age. I transferred from Notre Dame College in Cleveland after two years, took a year off to move back home to Cincinnati and get a job, save for tuition, and now I'm here!! I also switched from a Pre-Education Early Childhood Major to a Communication Major when I transferred. I'm really hoping to explore the areas of Social Media Management for different companies. I'm also a part of the Color Guard here at TMC and when I have the time/funds, I do compete against local and international groups. During the school year, I work weekends only on The Banks along the Ohio River at Moerlein Lager House (Someone said they loved craft beers, yes??). Outside of school, I love to ride and raise horses. They've been in my family for at least three generations now. I'm also the girl who chose to play Cello because, "I can sit down."
My goal for this class is to not be so afraid of facing death - not only in terms of my own...way, way, waaaaay down the road - but also the death of others. It's funny that I'm a Communication Major, but when it comes to my feelings and how to express some of them, most of the time I'll end up hiding them on the inside instead. That's exactly what I did this past October when my dad passed away from Pancreatic Cancer and contributing health factors. Long story, short: he and I never really got on well - my parents divorced when I was very young, I don't even remember it. The ways I found out about his illness and death still haunt me to this day. I still struggle with all of the unanswered questions on the inside. But, on the outside, the majority of the time I'm smiling and saying, "I'm okay. I still want things to carry on as normal as possible."
I'm really hoping this class can help me answer some questions, realize certain things were out of my control, and help me to understand why I react the way I do. I'm not afraid to have a genuine conversation about my dad or death, but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with the concept.
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ReplyDeleteMy name is Leann Morgan. I am a sophomore communication major. I like to work with people and meet new people. I like to learn new ideas and perspectives that I did not know before. I also enjoy working with children and listening to music. From this class, I hope to learn to have more of an open perspective about death. When my grandpa passed away, his death hit me very hard. I did not understand why it happened and why my family made the choice to remove him from life support. I hope this class gives me an open perspective and more thoughts about death that I did not think of before.
ReplyDeleteHey Leann, as a fellow communication major I am excited to take this class with you. It seems we have similar interests and what we want to get out of the class. It will be a great semester!
DeleteHey everyone, my name is Kristen Weber. I am a sophomore Communication major and Sociology minor. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Mother of Mercy High School. I work at the Kohl's on Harrison and have been there for about a year and a half. I am the Vice President of Operations for the Student Activities Board here at Thomas More, and I spend most of my time working on or attending events. I also really enjoy listen to music, and I sing as well. I was a dancer in theatre in high school and was in two plays my freshman year at TMC. I am very interested in this class because I have never taken anything like it before. We had a death and dying class in high school, but I wasn't interested then and took something else instead. I don't know very much about death and dying, and I have to admit that it isn't something I think about or would even like to think about often. I think this class will be a new challenge for me, and I'm very interested to see where it takes me.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Connor Lewis, I am a business marketing major and a 5th year senior at TMC. Before this past year I never knew what I wanted to do with my life so I really have to do some soul searching and personal development. After I found myself I was able to see things clearer. I have many goals for my life. Out of college I plan on working for a marketing company or getting into sales. Eventually I will start my own company. In the mean time I will work and live below my means to save money. I plan to invest in real estate in the future in order to build residual income. My goal is to retire before 35 so I can have time to do the things I want to do. Some interesting things about me are that I played football my entire life and two year at TMC. I work full time as a personal trainer. I love to play golf in the warmer months. I love food. I love traveling. I'm obsessed with exotic cars. I am also in the process of learning Spanish in order to keep up with my girlfriend's Hispanic family and to give me more opportunities for my career.
After the first class, I had so many things going through my head about death. It's an interesting subject, but not many people like to talk about it. The video we watched gave me many different points of view and made me wonder what I would do in that situation. Honestly, I have no idea how I would do if I had to make that decision. I have lost people close to me before, but I’ve never really been the kind of person to show my emotions. My goal for this class is to get a better grasp on death and dying through many different perspectives.
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Sami Sherron. I am 18 years old and I live in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. I'm a cheerleader at Beechwood High School and I am graduating this year. I would love to go to UTK or CU Boulder in the fall and major in philosophy. I plan on eventually going to Law School. I love music and attend as many concerts as possible. I also love photography. Last semester I took a dual credit course at NKU, so I decided to switch it up and take one at TMC this spring.
My goal for this class is to become more comfortable contributing to conversation. I love hearing others' opinions on topics that are not usually discussed, and I need to make sure I give my opinions as well. I am excited for this class because it's my first college philosophy class and I want to see if I enjoy it. Taking this class will definitely help me decide on my major this fall.
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Matt Love, I'm 23 years old. I'm a junior, Business Administration major concentrating in Human Resource Management. Some interesting facts about me is that I was born in Connecticut and I love to read and compare books to the movie. I'm hoping to be able to talk about death better after this class because I don't really understand how to talk to people about it right now. I have lost people close to me like everyone else in my class, the most recent one being Dec. 26 when my great-grandmother passed away.
My name is Michael Castellini, I just turned 24 years old. Im studying accounting and business management, and i have one year left after this semester to graduate. Exciting Stuff. For this class, i would like to learn more about how to think philosophically about all things in life, like all the great philosophers before us. My favorite YouTube channel is called shots of awe, which consists for short 3 minute philosophical blasts from Jason Silva that make you think about everything. You guys should check it out. my academic goals are to graduate and possibly further my education down the road a ways. im involved with a music production company, and my job is to help throw concerts around town doing a a lot of different things and also throwing music festivals over the summer. its fun and keeps me busy and thats where i want to be for now.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jonna Wilson, I'm 20 years old. I'm a junior studying Biology and I am also a pre-med student.I am a medical assistant at a Pediatrics office in Florence. I am hoping to get into med school to become a surgeon. The possible fields that I am thinking of going into trauma, pediatrics, and neurology. I never really thought about taking a philosophy course before, but I heard that this was a really good class. Since I am going into the field of medicine I hope that this will help with me to talk about to a patient's loved ones if they passed away. I also find that it will be interesting how other cultures deal with death compared to our own.
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