In all honesty, scholars were nothing like I expected them to be. To be completely honest, I didn’t really go into it with many expectations, I just thought it was going to be like a regular class where you just learn about science with basic facts and statistics. However, it was so much more than that. In the Science and Global Change program I learned about science and how to apply it. There was critical thinking and analysis to where you applied topics and subjects and learned how to use them in your regular life. I learned about the science all around us that we didn’t even notice. I was never the technology type of girl, it was never my strong suit, but this class challenged me to change that. I learned more than I thought I would.
Not only does the Science and Global Change program want to be educated but they want to take that knowledge and go into the world and change it. I was not expecting the Excursions and the Service Day and so many other aspects of this program to affect my life the way it did. I was able to see the world around me in a new light. The museum trips taught me to appreciate what I have here with me now because It might not be there forever. I have learned about culture, climate, scientific analysis and technology more in this course than I have in my entire educational career.
Classes and school assignments have also been drastically different. The workload seems to be very individualistic. You are able to learn the way that you want to learn. For example, you have total control over what to write about in English class, or you are able to make connections you didn’t know how to previously, and the possibilities are endless. Especially here at the University of Maryland, classes are rigorous and growing up in a family where education was highly valued, I felt like I was kept to a high standard for classes. However, in college you do learn to become a professional procrastinator. But try not to do that because it is so much more beneficial to work on projects little by little. Also, I did not realize the amount of writing you have to do in college so procrastinating can be very difficult.
Especially with living situations, living in a dorm versus living at home are completely different. I have an older brother but he is ten years older than me. So by the time I was able to establish territory at home, he had moved out. So figuring out how to live with someone was definitely an interesting process. It was hard to become comfortable because I felt so estranged but as time went on it got better and I was able to be myself around my roommate and we established house rules and such. I do miss cooking a lot. At home, I cooked almost all of my meals, I loved to cook and that is something I really miss about being home.
My advice that I would give to an upcoming SGC student is to go into it with an open mind and to always work hard. You feel so much better after knowing the work you put into something is yours. Trust me, the effort might be a lot, especially with all of the social pressure to be around people and to go out all the time but you will reap the benefits. Knowing that I earned all of my grades in college is so much more rewarding to me now than it was in high school. Stay strong and do the things that you know will make you happy. For me that was being productive, but for others it might be meditating, or yoga, or art. Either way, find something that you love to do and do it consistently, it takes your mind off the stress of the hard work of school and it gives you the opportunity to become your own self.