Jessica O'Hara

This professor has taught: FIRE120, FIRE120H, FIRE180, FIRE198, FIRE199, FIRE280, FIRE298, FIRE398, PHSC415, PHSC425, SPHL399
Information Review
Jessica O'Hara
PHSC415

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/17/2024
I found this class to be super interesting! You essentially learn about common diseases but Dr. OHara made it interesting! You watch lecture videos each week and then go to the lecture and discussion once a week. The lecture videos were very informative and not too long. The content is pretty interesting especially if you are going into healthcare. The weeks alternate between an in-class discussion assignment and an outside of class assignment + quiz. The quizzes were sometimes difficult but not too bad. The exams are similar to the quizzes and if you watch the lecture videos and payed attention, you should be prepared. There are 3 exams (one per 2 modules) and the third one is the final and non-cumulative! Many people did not go to class but I recommend going because I felt it helped reinforce material. There are also participation points from quizzes randomly given between the lecture and discussion, but multiple are dropped if you happen to miss a couple. This class is not hard compared to other bio and chem classes, and Dr. Ohara seems super sweet and helpful! The teaching team always emphasized that they are there to help and I felt that the material from this class was actually really beneficial! I loved the way this class was set up, I truly enjoyed the content, and Dr. OHara is a great professor!
Jessica O'Hara
PHSC415

Anonymous
04/25/2024
She'x such a sweet person and her class is structured in a way that is clean and easy to understand. I really love how she's able to explain complicated concepts in an easy way. Not at all a difficult class, but you will still learn a lot.
Jessica O'Hara
FIRE120

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/09/2024
FIRE120 is a very easy 3 credit class. Overall, when you go to the class, it will probably be like an in-class activity that you have to complete with your group. In the beginning of the semester, you can choose where you sit, but eventually you will be assigned a permanent group that you'll complete the final group project with. The activities are really easy to complete too. However the majority of your grade is from the homework assignments and group projects. For the homework assignments, they were usually to read an article and write a few notes on it or something you learned, and took around 30 minutes to complete so it wasn't bad at all. The group projects took a little more time, but still less than an hour or an hour and a half. For the group projects, Prof. O'Hara graded a little more strictly than the homework assignments, but still was a fair grade overall. Plus, for one of the assignments she re-grades the group project, so it shouldn't be anything too harmful to your grade. The group assignment was basically being assigned a research question and then finding scientific articles related to the topic, and then analyzing a graph and summarizing the different components of the articles. At the end of the semester, the group will present for 4 minutes on the findings, but it wasn't anything too stressful or time-consuming. There was also no final or midterm. I think the benefits of the class is that you'll learn how to read a scientific article and learn how to summarize/present information, and Prof. O'Hara is a very approachable and kind person if you have any questions at all.
Jessica O'Hara
FIRE120

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/29/2023
FIRE120 is a very easy 3 credit class. Overall, when you go to the class, it will probably be like an in-class activity that you have to complete with your group. In the beginning of the semester, you can choose where you sit, but eventually you will be assigned a permanent group that you'll complete the final group project with. The activities are really easy to complete too. However the majority of your grade is from the homework assignments and group projects. For the homework assignments, they were usually to read an article and write a few notes on it or something you learned, and took around 30 minutes to complete so it wasn't bad at all. The group projects took a little more time, but still less than an hour or an hour and a half. For the group projects, Prof. O'Hara graded a little more strictly than the homework assignments, but still was a fair grade overall. Plus, for one of the assignments she re-grades the group project, so it shouldn't be anything too harmful to your grade. The group assignment was basically being assigned a research question and then finding scientific articles related to the topic, and then analyzing a graph and summarizing the different components of the articles. At the end of the semester, the group will present for 4 minutes on the findings, but it wasn't anything too stressful or time-consuming. There was also no final or midterm. I think the benefits of the class is that you'll learn how to read a scientific article and learn how to summarize/present information, and Prof. O'Hara is a very approachable and kind person if you have any questions at all.
Jessica O'Hara
PHSC415

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/13/2023
Very nice professor. Class structure is really organized, content is interesting, and overall not a hard class.
Jessica O'Hara
FIRE298

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/23/2022
Best professor I have had in a long time. She loves you if you participate and try to make an effort. Her class is super easy and you learn a lot of useful lab skills.
Jessica O'Hara
FIRE280

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/01/2020
Dr. O'Hara is the most personable professor I have ever had. She truly cares about students well being along with their understanding of the course and all that working in a lab entails. The host-pathogen interaction stream within the fire program is a really interesting course that can be applied to so many different majors. The time in the lab is fun and rewarding when things finally work out.
Jessica O'Hara
FIRE120H

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/18/2019
Dr. O'Hara is a fun and engaging professor who is easy to talk to, especially when asking her about her research. She graded very generously for FIRE120H and made it a class I enjoyed going to.