Charles Hammond's Freshman Time Capsule Reflection Essay

As my freshman year of college comes to an end, it is now time to reflect on all the ways I have grown and changed because of the move to a new and exciting style of learning. In my first year as a student at the university of Maryland, I have been exposed to a wide variety of classes and topics that I have never encountered in my high school or other forms of education. The gen ed class fmsc 110 class "Families and Global Health" that I took this semester shows this new and broader range of topics very well. As a bioengineering major, I did not anticipate learning about very many topics outside of STEM, but this class really broadened my perspective on the topics that I would learn about in college. It also showed me that even gen ed classes that are not directly STEM focused have implications that include scientific areas that are relevant in my other major specific classes. Part of the class included writing research papers about the state of different healthcare topics in another country. These papers helped teach me how to perform academic research effectively and gather many credible sources into a well thought out paper. It also included some topics directly involved with science like climate change. I found this class from the Scholars list of gen ed requirements which can definitely be used by new students to find classes that will broaden your perspective on things.

Developing relationships with faculty in college is much harder than in high school, mainly because professors have so much more to care about and so many more students that they teach. If you do not go out of your way to interact with professors, they will not know who you are. I have had a hard time with creating super strong connections with professors because of this, but my greatest success in connecting with a professor was in engl101S. Because this class was a scholars only section, it had a much smaller class size and was more similar to a high school english class. This allowed me to get to know the professor better and really connect with them on a better level than my other professors. I would encourage freshman to try their best to show up to office hours and participate in class when possible in order to make the most and best connections with their professors.

Adjusting to university life is not easy but it is not as scary as you might think. I feel that I had a relatively easy time adjusting to university life and came to like it a lot. Making new friends in your classes can help you feel more comfortable and give you an outlet for conversation and having fun outside of class. Some of the greatest obstacles in making new friends and meeting new people is the structure of lectures. There are not too many opportunities to talk to the people around you, but discussions are smaller and more teamwork oriented which can allow you to make more friends easier. Also, as freshman everyone is in the same situation so people are open to making new friends and talking to others. Your new connections can be helpful in studying and finding ways to get involved on campus through clubs, research, or other means. Meeting new people will help to enrich your college experience in every aspect.

The area of college I was least prepared for was definitely the amount of work you are expected to do on your own. When there are so many people in each class it is impossible for professors to keep track of every student, so personal accountability is a big factor in whether you pass or fail your classes. I was unprepared for this and found myself scrambling at deadlines a lot over my first year. I would recommend that incoming students go into college with the mindset that you are responsible for your learning and it is up to you to make sure you are learning everything you need to succeed. College can definitely be a great experience, but it can also go bad very quickly if you are not careful. Just make sure that you come in with the right attitude and I am sure you will have a great first year!

Last modified: 13 May 2025