This is a picture of me at an away Maryland vs. Rutgers football game.
Email: acanna@umd.edu
Going into college, you know it’s going to be a lot different than highschool. You are going to have a lot more responsibility, double the studying, and you quickly learn how to “adult.” It was no surprise to me coming in and knowing how much work I’d have to do. However, it was a slap in the face when I found out how quickly the classes go. You learn new material every class and if you’re not careful, you can fall behind very easily. However, one thing about college that’s refreshing is you get to learn about things you’re interested in. For example, I’m fascinated by climate change and the environment. In CPSG100, we learned about climate change in the first few lectures and have been focusing on all different aspects of the environment since then. One topic that I was pleasantly surprised to cover was rocks. I loved learning about the different types of rocks, how they form, and what they can tell you. Something that I found very interesting is that when taking classes here, I learned that I may not be interested in what I originally thought I was interested in. When coming here, I thought that I wanted to be a civil engineer. I loved designing buildings and rooms. However, after taking my civil engineering classes here, I have learned that civil engineering is more the material and math side of things and not the design. Civil engineers are looking at the tension and strength and stress of a material and making sure that’s safe for a structure. While this is important knowledge, it’s not what I’m interested in. Taking CPSG100 and AOSC200 showed me that I’m interested in all things environment and weather. One topic that I thought we were going to learn more about is ice. Ice and the chemicals inside are similar to rocks in the sense that they can tell us a lot about the history. Looking at the more outside the classroom experiences, I’ve had a great time. Through scholars, I’ve been able to go to Washington DC, make s’mores outside of my dorm, and travel to New York City. All of these experiences have been priceless and I wouldn’t change them for anything. As stated above, coming into college, I knew there was going to be a lot more academic things to focus on. However, I wasn’t sure what University life would look like. After coming here, I learned that University life is exactly what you make of it. You can choose to go out every weekend and party, or you can choose to participate in events the university has set up for students. These events could consist of bowling, movie nights, runs, craft nights, etc. These are always great ways to make friends. Along with that, the University, along with Scholars, provides lots of leadership opportunities. There have been several times I have applied for a position or had an opportunity to be interviewed and it has opened my eyes to all new possibilities of being involved. I have two pieces of advice I would give to a future Science and Global Change Student. One piece of advice is don’t take your time learning the material because it all moves very quickly. Another piece of advice is to not be too hard on yourself. College is a lot different than highschool. It’s a lot harder, it’s a lot more work, and you’re in a completely new environment. Don’t be hard on yourself if you aren’t doing as well as you thought you were going to. Next semester, I want to try and get involved with some of the sports teams. I’m not interested in playing, but I really enjoy watching all different sports games. I think going to these different events will also allow me to feel like I’m more connected to the university. Another thing I would like to try and get involved with is studio A at STAMP. This is an art studio in the basement of STAMP that holds classes. I’m not great at art, but I really enjoy painting, drawing, coloring, etc. I think going to these classes will help me relieve some stress and relax during the semester. Overall, I would say my first semester college experience was definitely a success. I had my ups and downs, but it always came back to a place where I was confident and happy with the work I was doing. As long as you’re trying your best, that’s all that really matters.