Being a Science and Global Change scholar this past semester has been the most rewarding experience of college thus far. Not only have I learned a lot about the changing world, but I have also been able to participate in fun activities during my first few months at the University of Maryland. I initially chose SGC because I was interested in environmental science but did not want to major in it, and thought this scholars program would be an opportunity to continue learning about a field that I liked. Although this program has been a way for me to learn new information outside of my major of bioengineering, it has also been so much more, as I will discuss in the following points.
The structure of CPSG100 surprised me, as I was expecting long, monotonous lectures each Tuesday but was pleasantly surprised by the collaborative colloquies. Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck deliver the information in a passionate manner making me excited for even the less interesting topics. There have been fewer required graded items than I expected of University courses, but each graded assignment has been very beneficial to my learning.
My other University courses (ENES102, CHEM135, CHEM136, MATH140, and COMM107) have been more difficult than I expected, and I have developed better time-management practices in order to adjust to college coursework as an engineering student. I was not expecting a lot of work outside of weekly homework assignments in ENES102, but our end-of-semester project has proved me wrong, with all of the groupwork being completed outside of class and being much more challenging than I originally thought for an introductory course. While the content is far from easy, CHEM135 has been much more challenging than I expected with a new professor and exam averages in the 40s and 50s. For a one credit class, I find myself spending more time on weekly lab reports for CHEM136 than I spend on homework for any other class. As for MATH140, it is definitely more difficult than AP Calculus, and I have learned that I do not enjoy theoretical math or proofs. Lastly, COMM107 has been a nice break since it is the only class (besides CPSG100) outside of my major, and I have enjoyed developing my public speaking skills.
As for CPSG100 coursework specifically, we have covered many topics in class that I did not expect, such as pseudoscience and HTML coding. I never thought I would be learning about Nazis in Science and Global Change, however the lecture on pseudoscience has been my favorite so far. We also explored basic HTML coding to make our own website, which is something I never thought I would be doing outside of computer science courses. We have not yet explored natural weather events such as El Niño or La Niña, which are topics I was expecting to cover in this program. The outside-of-classroom activities are nothing like I thought they would be like. Who knew school activities could be fun? Service Day was a day I will NEVER forget. The Metro Scavenger Hunt was an interactive way to get to know peers in the program and explore Washington, D.C. The trip to New York City was the best experience I have had during my first semester because I was able to visit the American Museum of Natural History while also getting to know my peers better.
University life in the dorms is very close to my high-school vision of college life. I expected a small living space with a hall full of loud students I would not interact with. Although the small living space is accurate and there is never a quiet moment in Centreville Hall, having hallmates that are also in SGC has been a great experience. We have bonded over fighting for the first shower after Service Day and learning HTML to turn in our website links on time, and I am glad to have something in common with the individuals I am living with.
I would advice future SGC students to be friendly to their hallmates and peers in the program, and to try to find SGC students who are in their same major. Their best friends can be waiting in CCC1100 on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:50 PM, and they will never know unless they branch out and talk to them. In addition, although Service Day may not be very fun, I encourage future students to make the most of it, as it will be a day they will never forget and will serve as a bonding moment among SGC students forever.