I began my undergraduate degree in marine biology fall semester of 2007, and took all of the basic freshmen courses including chemistry, biology, marine biology 101, finite math, and Shakespeare.  It was a difficult course load, but with all of the resources on campus, I was able to succeed.  The students were very friendly, and I was able to easily make friends and set up study groups.  There was also free tutoring and free writing lab, which I took advantage of every day.  I never had a problem meeting with professors or lab teachers.  I did have one very demanding lab instructor, but was able to push through it.  I studied probably 40-50 hours a week outside of class. 

The following semester, I began tutoring.  This was a huge accomplishment for me, as I had always been told as a high school student, that I was not good in math nor science.  Once I was in the university environment, I was able to really blossom (I know cheesey). 

I continued taking a pretty heavy course-load and studying hard.  I of course had a few professors that did not teach to my learning style, but there were enough other resources on campus to utilize. 

The cafeteria and library at that time were outdated and our science research facility was located on the main island of Galveston.  That made some things difficult, but in 2010, a new science building was built on campus (and it's awesome), and the library was revamped, and they were working on a new cafeteria when I graduated. 

As a sophomore, I received a scholarship to conduct research in the chemistry department.  That was an incredible asset to my resume, and I gained a lot of valuable experience. 

There was not an honors program in 2007, but they started one the following year, which a lot of my friends were in.  I instead was involved in several organizations (some academic and some fun).  It seemed as though everyone was in some sort of an organization.