This first year has been really interesting. I think the most interesting / surprising class that I have taken so far is ENEE101 which is a sort of introduction to a whole ton of ECE topics. In that class so far we have explored a number of super surprising topics like quantum mechanics and optical data transmission. That class is designed to be really easy and everyone gets an A+ without really having to try on the labs but I have made an effort to do everything that I possibly can in that class including all of the actually difficult extra credit questions that really require understanding the content and truly applying it. That class has taught me a lot about a number of surprising topics and I have really enjoyed fully engaging with that class content. So far I have developed pretty good relationships with a number of different faculty members. I have met a lot of ECE professors and I am hoping to do research with some of them either over the summer or next year. I found that sitting very close to the front and doing your best to answer questions will make professors remember your face and get to know you. I recommend just talking to your professors and asking them questions that make both you and them think more deeply about the topic. This will allow them to remember you and want to help you in the future.
On the topic of adjusting to university life it is a bit of a change but thankfully one I was definitely prepared for. My parents have been great about trying to make me as independent as possible from a young age and that really helped with the transition to college. Making friends with a bunch of different people in all of your classes is super helpful because it will allow you to have people to fall back on if you miss a class but also people to study with when you don’t understand something. I think something that is really difficult for me is going up to people and introducing yourself for the first time. Once you get to know them it is much easier and I think some valuable advice is that everyone wants to make friends so don’t be afraid to go up to people and say hi. They will not be mean and will appreciate your attempt to be nice. I think building close friendships is super important and make sure that you are there for them when they need you to be so that they will also be there for you. Finally I think the aspect of college life that I was least prepared for was at first making my own schedule and fully managing my own life. I got used to that very quickly and after a few weeks appreciated the freedom to make my own schedule and decide what to do. I think that coming into college it is important to make a list of stuff you need to do, especially at the beginning, so you stay organized and keep everything together. You will very quickly adapt to the lifestyle change but the strict organization at the beginning will definitely help with the transition. I was also a bit unprepared for some of the courses to be similar to high school courses in terms of difficulty and expectations. I expected the classes to be much more rigorous than some of them were and I think that is important to note for freshmen. Please don’t start stressing about how hard a class is going to be before you have gotten there because you will definitely be able to handle it and I promise it will be easier than everyone has told you it will be. College is made out to be significantly more scary than it really is and you can totally handle it.
In summary I had a really great first year and I am looking forward to the next three years. I got a lot done academically and made a lot of new friends, all together I would definitely categorize this year as a success and here's to making next year even more successful.