Kevin Zheng's Freshman Time Capsule Reflection Essay

My first year at UMD has been fun and academically enriching. I have learned a lot about mechanical engineering, engineering in general, and things outside of my major as well. In this essay, I will talk about a course that came as a revelation, relationships with faculty, adjusting to the university, and an academic aspect of UMD that I was not prepared for.

The class that came as the biggest revelation to me was Enes100, Intro to Engineering Design. This is a mandatory class for all first-year engineering students, and I came into the class wanting to just get the requirement over with. But now, nearing the end of the semester, this has been my favorite class I’ve taken so far, and also the class where I’ve learned the most. I worked with a team of 7 classmates to build an autonomous vehicle, which took up most of the semester. I learned and practiced numerous engineering skills including computer-aided design, 3D printing, laser cutting, coding, and more. Getting to know a group of people and building something cool together was a great experience. I guess the lesson is to keep an open mind for every class you take; just because it’s an early requirement doesn’t mean it won’t be interesting.

Developing relationships with faculty is important because they can often help guide you in your academic journey. You could begin these relationships by simply answering their questions in class, asking questions, or greeting them at the start or end of class. The most difficult part is usually initiating these relationships, but it is important to realize that (most) professors care about their students. They won’t treat you like their children, but they still want you to succeed. By demonstrating that you care about your own education, professors will be more invested in you as well.

Adjusting to university won’t be easy for many people, but developing relationships with fellow students will help you a lot with adjusting. Personally, I am a pretty independent person, so living on my own wasn’t too difficult to adjust to. I was also fortunate enough to have friends from high school who are also attending UMD, which made the initial transition easier. Joining clubs is a great way to make friends when you first come to the university since you will be able to meet people with similar interests. Being able to talk to people who are also trying to adjust to the university can help you feel less overwhelmed.

One academic aspect of UMD that I was not prepared for was the lack of supervision. In high school, almost every class assigned homework and periodic quizzes, which helped make sure you are on pace with the content. This is not the same for many college courses. Quizzes are very rare, which increases the weight of exams. For example, in Math246 Differential Equations, there are 4 exams in total that make up 83% of the final grade, with the rest of the grade coming from Matlab projects. There are no quizzes or weekly graded homework, so it is up to each student to make sure they are understanding the fast-paced content. So it is important to do exactly that — make sure you are keeping up, because college professors won’t supervise you like high school teachers will.

If you are an incoming freshman reading this, good luck!

Last modified: 7 May 2022