My first year at the University of Maryland was quite challenging, but I would choose to experience it all over again.
One of my favorite classes this semester is ENES100. Having the opportunity to create our robot and getting to work hands-on all semester has been very enjoyable. This was a requirement for my major but it has taught me a lot about other engineering fields and improved my coding skills. Also, I spent a lot of time selecting my Gen Ed course for this semester and am so thankful I chose to take ARTH200, which is about art throughout history from around the Mediterranean Sea. I am very excited to be able to share some of my knowledge with my family when we visit Italy this summer. I looked through basically all of the available Gen Ed courses listed on the Schedule of Classes and looked into all of the courses that interested me. I highly recommend picking classes that actually interest you!
My closest relationships with faculty members have been made through classes that have smaller class sizes and through the organization's I have joined. It has been difficult for me to get to know my professors in my larger classes, but the best way to form relationships in those classes is visiting office hours. Also, you can also develop relationships with your Teaching Assistants, as there are often discussions with much smaller class sizes. I have gotten to know my Teaching Assistants well in my small lab classes like ENES100 and ENEE101.
My relationships with my friends here at University of Maryland have made the adjustment to college life infinitely better. Making friends with people in your classes definitely encourages you to attend class and makes it easier to ask questions and have people to study with. Also, join organizations, like Alpha Phi Omega, to be part of a community on campus. I have made a lot of my closest friends through this organization and I am so thankful that I joined last semester. These friendships make me feel at home at college and I am so excited to be living with the friends I made this year next semester. It can be overwhelming at the beginning of the year to make new friends, but everyone is in the same boat so do not be afraid to reach out to new people. It can be hard to be the first person to reach out.
I had a hard time adjusting to exams, especially finals, being worth such a large part of my grade. It makes studying a lot more stressful. Also, I have been stressed out about whether or not classes will be curved after taking exams with low averages. In order to do well on my exams, I often need to find time to attend office hours before an exam for help with review, as there is often little in-class review before exams and not many practice materials available. Also, my computer science projects take me a lot of time and it can be difficult to find time to work on them. My advice for difficult class assignments like coding projects is to start them as early as possible and attend office hours when needed.