Coming into my first year at the University of Maryland, I expected college to be challenging but somewhat predictable. What I didn’t expect was how much I would rely on familiarity at first, and how much that would later shift as I grew into trying new things. In the fall semester, I joined rowing because I wanted something familiar. I had done it for seven years before college, so it felt like a natural fit and something I already knew and loved. In many ways, it was a good transition into college life and gave me a sense of stability during my first semester. However, as the spring came, I realized I didn’t really want to continue with it. Instead, I rushed Alpha Phi Omega, a professional fraternity, and that decision ended up being one of the most fulfilling parts of my year. Through APO, I have met so many new people both within all the Scholars programs and outside. It has been a great way to connect with students who are older than me, in different majors, and coming from very different walks of life. That experience has helped me become much more open socially and more confident in meeting new people.
Scholars have also shaped a huge part of my freshman experience. This semester, I had the opportunity to become a Scholars Ambassador, which meant I was able to sit on panels for admitted students and talk about why I love my Scholars program. I even got to show students my residence hall, which was a really cool full-circle moment. It was an amazing experience to connect with incoming students because I was able to answer questions I remember having when I was in their position and share things I wish someone had told me before coming to college. I will also be a Scholars Peer Mentor next year, which I am really looking forward to. Even though I did not always lean on my own peer mentor as much as I could have, I hope to be a present and supportive mentor for incoming freshmen. I want to be someone they can come to for both academic and social support, especially since I will be back in the SGC dorm next year. Looking back, I think a big reason I have had such a successful freshman year is the consistency Scholars has given me. It is a class I have every week with people I have grown incredibly close with over the year. I genuinely look forward to colloquium each week because it has become a space where I feel connected, supported, and able to reflect on bigger global issues (even if sometimes it feels like we are talking about how the world is slowly falling apart… joking, kind of). In all seriousness, it has been one of the most meaningful and grounding parts of my first year.
Academically, I also made an important decision to change my major to Elementary Education. I originally stayed in Environmental Science for a year because I thought that was where my passion was, and in some ways it still is. I care deeply about environmental issues and see myself working in that field in the future. However, I realized that the Environmental Science major was pushing me toward a research-focused path, which I can confidently say is not something I see myself doing long-term. Switching to Education and beginning my education coursework next semester feels like a much better fit for my goals. The process of changing my major was a little frustrating at first, especially because my AGNR advisor was not very helpful and ended up making the process more stressful. However, once I connected with the Education Department and my new advisor, I felt much more supported. They were welcoming and helped make the transition much smoother.
A class I have really enjoyed was my TLPL101 course, Inquiry Approach to Teaching STEM. It was taught by a friend of a friend from my study abroad program, which may have played a small role in why I enjoyed it so much, but the class itself was also genuinely meaningful to me. It challenged me to think more deeply about my own thinking and how to guide students through their learning processes rather than simply directing them toward answers. I learned a lot about asking questions that encourage students to engage with one another, think critically, and build understanding together. What made the class even more interesting was that most of the students were not education majors. The course is designed to encourage STEM majors to consider teaching, so it was cool to see people learning how to teach while I was continuing to develop my own perspective on education. It also made discussions more diverse, since people brought in different academic backgrounds and ways of thinking. On top of that, one of my fellow Alpha Phi Omega pledges was in the class with me, which made the first day of rush especially fun and unexpected.
One thing I was not fully prepared for was the amount of studying that I would have to learn how to do in college. In high school, I realized that I did not need to study nearly as much to do well, so the adjustment to college-level expectations has been challenging. I am still learning how to study more effectively and consistently, and it is something I continue to work on. This has been one of the biggest academic transitions for me, because success in college requires a level of discipline and time management that I am still building.
Another major highlight of my year was the opportunity to study abroad, which will count toward my experiential learning requirement for my practicum project. I spent two weeks in Ecuador, including four days in Quito and ten days in the Galápagos Islands, staying with a host family. It was an incredible experience that gave me a new perspective on sustainability and how different countries approach environmental education, including how it is taught in classrooms. Living with a host family and being immersed in a place where I didn’t fully understand the language was also challenging in a good way. It pushed me to improve my Spanish and become more comfortable navigating unfamiliar environments, something I want to continue working on.
Overall, this year taught me that growth often comes from both comfort and discomfort. Whether it was starting with something familiar like rowing, stepping into something new like Alpha Phi Omega, finding my place within Scholars, changing my academic path, or studying abroad, each experience shaped how I see myself and my future. If I could give incoming students one piece of advice, it would be to stay open to change. Some of the most meaningful parts of college come from the decisions you don’t fully expect to make at the beginning.