My freshman year has been a year of mistakes and then learning from them. I have made amazing friends and memories, and have learned how I fit in at a top tier research university. The course that came as the biggest surprise for me was my introductory environmental science class (ENST111). I took this class because I wanted to learn about potential careers in environmental science, and it is the main reason I decided my major to be environmental science and tech (ENST). In this class every week we had two grad students or faculty members come in to tell us about their research and career path. We also took field trips to multiple outdoor sites which was an incredible opportunity. My friend is an ENST major and told me about this introductory class, which is how I found out about it. The faculty are working to include this in the ENST curriculum, but students can find out about this on the ENST website. If students are unsure about their major I would recommend finding introductory classes in things that interest them to figure out if they enjoy the material.
I have created a relationship with the instructor for this ENST class, and my soon to be advisor. A big part of this is we would go on these field trips every week, which gave me a chance to talk with them even beyond the environment. A big obstacle I faced is in my bigger classes where there are hundreds of students. Unless you go to office hours, it is almost impossible to create a relationship, and I found better luck with the teaching assistants. I would recommend incoming students pursue this through going to office hours and asking engaging questions. You can ask the instructors about their personal research to get the ball rolling. As you go through college the classes will get smaller and this will get easier.
Coming into college can be nerve racking and I had a better time of it than most because I am from Maryland and knew many people coming here. Although I am not friends with all those people now they introduced me to my future roommates and close friends. I also joined a professional fraternity which is where a lot of my new friends have come from. A big obstacle in making these new relationships is the people you bond with may not live close by, with it being a huge campus. Another obstacle is that it takes time to form bonds with people, and for a while I felt anxious about making friends but now I don’t face that anymore. I would recommend any incoming students to join as many clubs and organizations as they are interested in. I joined a service fraternity and field hockey, which brought me close to a lot of cool people. Putting yourself out there is the best thing you can do for yourself.
I felt I was least prepared for the academic rigor of college. While you have to prioritize your assignments you also have to build in a lot of time to study for exams. This can be difficult to balance with your new friendships and the sheer amount of fun opportunities on this campus. I overcame this by learning what study method works best for me, and then implementing this a certain time during the day. I would also do most of my assignments over the weekend, so I could prioritize studying the rest of the week. It can be a lot, but it is definitely manageable and very worth it.