The transition from taking high school classes to college courses has been a bit challenging. I had to adapt to the amount of coursework I needed to complete outside of the classroom which was unfamiliar to me. Once I found new study strategies and plans, I have come to enjoy the structure of college courses.
At first I was nervous because I knew that the University of Maryland was a big school with massive lecture halls. This vision made me think I would have no opportunities to speak with the professor, and that I would fall behind if I did not know immediately what the professor was talking about. I soon discovered that although there are hundreds of students in classes, it is ok to ask questions. I also have found going to office hours very helpful. The structure of the classes were also not as I was expecting. For example, I saw my MATH135 course syllabus and I thought the coursework would be too much. When the time came to complete the assignments I came to find that the discussions and the group work was really helpful in grasping a full understanding on all the subjects. The work was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be and I found the material to be engaging.
I was really excited to be a part of this program because I am very interested in how humans are impacting our climate. I was also excited to have a community of people who had similar interests as me, but were also taking different classes than me so I could hear about other programs. At orientation when we all came together to discuss the course before the semester started, I already met so many interesting people in the program. I also got insight into the class structure, which made me excited because the lecture topics seemed so interesting.
In CPSG100, I was expecting to be taught a lot about climate change. Although we do talk a lot about this subject, there are so many interesting subjects I was not expecting to learn about. For example, we had a lecture on lying and logical fallacies, and an in class discussion with our peers after reading passages to determine which logical fallacy was occurring. This was such an interesting subject that I think is important for people to be able to understand, and I enjoyed the tie it had into pseudoscience. I was not expecting to do HTML assignments in this class, but I do enjoy learning how to do something new. I was expecting to learn a lot about how climate change is going to impact the future, but we have been learning a lot about the history of climate change.
I’d expect that everyone was at least a little nervous to start college. We’ve all watched movies and heard stories about how college will be the most challenging but “the best years of your life.” I imagined that I would be scrambling through all of my classes and have no time to meet anyone. Although some classes are challenging and have a lot of work, I have a lot more free time than I was expecting. Yes, a lot of that time is dedicated to studying, but I actually have the ability to pursue new interests and spend time with people. I have met some of my best friends here, and I am really grateful to be able to be a part of the scholars community. Living in Centreville has been different than I expected. Almost everyone on my floor is in the Life Sciences scholars program. I really enjoy being able to talk to them about their program, and being able to share about my own program. A lot of the people on my floor I have become good friends with, which really made me feel like I was a part of a community.
Advice I would give to incoming freshmen would be don’t let fear stop you from doing anything. This applies to anything and everything: asking for help in a class, talking to someone you want to be friends with, trying new things. I know that talking to the professor seems intimidating, but they want you to succeed and are willing to help you when needed. All freshmen are experiencing this new chapter in their lives, you are never alone. Take risks! This is the time in your life where you can find passion in new things, take that to your advantage.
As my first semester at the University of Maryland comes to an end, I have come to find that the college experience was a bit different than I imagined. Some courses I am taking are harder than I expected them to be but I have found so many great people in each class I’ve taken here that have helped me throughout the way. The structure of the classes in CPSG100, and my other classes, were different than I expected. I enjoy the discussions in this class, as well as my other classes, and I have found the readings in CPSG100 to be very intriguing. I have met so many wonderful people here, and I am excited to continue my next semester here in college park scholars!