The transition from high school to college is an imperative moment for everybody attending college. Within this process, expectations of classes, social life, and other preconceived notions may start to be speculated. With this class in particular, coming into college I expected this class to be a little bit more laid back but still informative. I was not sure what a colloquium was, so I just lumped it in under the category of a lecture, meaning most of the time the professor would be talking to you about the material. Lastly, I did not expect harsh grading, since I expected the class to be more laid back. In this case, my expectations were not far off. This class is very laid back. Although a little reading is required to stay afloat in the course, it is manageable. Additionally, the professors are very lenient when it comes to grading and accepting late work or unpolished work. Often times they will tell you to turn in late or wrong assignments in order to receive a higher grade. However, in terms of the idea of a colloquium, my expectations were not matched. Although there can be some days when the professor does lecture, often times, group and activity work is included with in the colloquium time-space. Overall, I expected this to be one of my easier college courses and that is what I received.
As for specific course content, when signing up for class and receiving the books I needed for the semester, I came across the titles “ Don’t Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make In Thinking” and “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark” made me think this class was going to be mainly on how science can be wrong and how they way humans think can be flawed. Although I did expect the main point of the flaws of human thinking and science, I did not expect it to be in this depth. Humans are biased creatures and I knew that coming into this class; however, I did not realize we were as biased as were are. For example, humans change and warp memories in their favor unwillingly. Additionally, I did not expect to learn outside of a classroom setting. SGC, along with the other scholar's programs, started out college with an excursion. We went to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens near DC and that in itself was unexpected. Although it was less of a learning experience, bonding with other scholars I had was necessary, especially as an incoming freshman in an unknown environment. The work we did there was definitely the more laborious side of the service day activities, but I had fun improving the ponds for their beauty. The next excursion I went on was to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis. I learned the most at this foundation out of all the excursions I went on. The director talked about how the Chesapeake Bay once home to many beautiful species that have died or become endangered because of human error. Also, the environment itself of the Chesapeake Bay, and the world itself, have deteriorated. As a result, the growth of certain vegetables, pH and added contaminants of the water, and soil nutrients have been negatively affected. In order to solve these issues, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation hosts events like water cleanings and planting trees to improve environments, with the addition of their eco-friendly building. Overall, I expected this to be more on the information side of excursions and it was. Lastly, the National History Museum in New York City excursion. I expected this one to be more of a fun excursion, as opposed to being information-heavy; however, it was a good mix of both. After waking up at 5 am, we took the Maryland Bus to the museum and talked about dinosaurs and the vast scale of the universe for a good portion of the day. Then we were given a free realm to roam Time Square until around 7 pm, which was fun but exhausting. The excursions are fun and a necessary part of SGC. Although I did not expect to have them, I am glad to have gone on so many of them.
As an incoming college student, not just the University of Maryland, you must realize that everything you do is on you. Nobody makes you go to class, maintain your health, do your homework, or even sleep. All that is up to you, so it is imperative that you can dictate your life in those important aspects. More specifically to UMD, living in Centreville with other scholars helps a lot with the social and academic mindset in college. Although everybody's majors are different, most first-year STEM students take or have taken similar classes, too what you are taking so help is always there and that is how you can make friends. Also, the class is right outside of the dorm so that is a plus. Lastly, the one piece of advice I would give is to try not to work the first semester. Everyone has different economic situations which might make that harder to achieve; however, focusing on the change in environment and school is important and work can distract from that. Everyone is trying to find themselves during this change in their lives, so try not to give up because of one unfortunate situation.