Hello New Terp! I hope you're adjusting well to life at UMD, and are ready for the next four years that will be full of experiences like ever before. I am writing this essay to you to let you know what to expect from your freshman year, and to maybe get you excited about what is to come from your first year. I hope that as things begin to open as we come back to a new normal, you learn a few things from my first year experiences, and take them into account as you make your own experiences. To begin, I'm sure you are wondering what college classes will be like, but most importantly, how to navigate them in a new academic environment. For me, the class that came as the greatest surprises were probably my Introduction to Information Studies class, the introductory course for my major. This class revealed to me why I have an interest in technology, but not in the way that maybe some do. I care more about technology ethics, and the practical uses of technology. By reading the case studies and articles in the class and learning about the many ethical concerns in the technology sector, I was reminded why I chose my major, in the midst of having to deal with online classes. I was able to find myself again in a way in that class, and was reminded of the interest I had in this field. I think the best way to have this same revelation or surprise is to maybe take a moment and think about when you were applying to the university, and ask yourself what the goal of coming here was. Do the things in class motivate you in a way that makes you happy that you accepted your offer? Do you see yourself searching for more information about the topics you learn in class by yourself? Do you feel something in your chest as you do class assignments, and learning more about your course of study? If you can say yes to those questions, you may, even among the many things that may come your way these next few years, be able to have a sort of revelation as I did. One of the best things about coming to university is being able to form relationships with faculty. I think it's a great opportunity to talk to professionals that have actually done research in the areas that you may have an interest in, and learn a thing or two from them. I actually had success in doing this as I was searching for someone to work with for my practicum. I wanted to do research on the digital divide (a really interesting topic I promise), but I didn't know exactly who was doing research on it at the university. I decided to go on my major's website, and do a deep dive of all the researchers there, and found a nice woman named Dr. Anna Ndumu. At first I was thinking "she won't email me back what's the point?," but I decided to take a chance and send her an email about my interests and how I loved her work. Lo and behold, in about a day, she responded back to me! She said that my academic achievements, as well as what I wrote in my email showed that I was truly someone she wanted to work with, and she set up a meeting with me to discuss what I could be doing with her in the future. I tell you about my own experience to inspire you. I hope that you realize that even though you are a freshman, there's someone out there who wants to work with you, whether it be for your practicum or beyond. Don't be afraid to send out emails to several professors and researchers to do work with them! You'll get a response from the one who needs you the most, and you'll appreciate that you were able to take a leap and contact them. One of the most important things at a university is forming relationships with other students. You want to meet new people who are like you, or just people that you vibe with. As someone who would consider themselves a sort of introvert, I am glad to say that I did make a lot of friends online, despite never being able to see them. Meeting friends online who also go to the university helped motivate me, as I knew that there would be people that I would be able to talk to once I was able to be on campus again. Not only that, it's nice to text someone after classes, talking about a plethora of things that don't have to do with classes. I think the greatest obstacle is not being open to new people. You'll be in person, so no excuses for not making at least one friend! Make friends with people in your own SGC cohort, or if your year has a GroupMe, participate in the many conversations that happen (I know they do, they definitely do in ours). But by making these connections, you may find a lifelong friend, or someone that can motivate you both in life and in school. Speaking from my own experience, you may, on a whim, want to do a research study with a friend you make! I say all this to say that the connections with your peers are not like the ones you make with your professors, these connections are not only to maybe take a class with in the future, but to also find someone like-minded, who you know will motivate you, and you know how to motivate them as well. Finally, I want to be realistic. As much as my experiences sound fun, there are a few things that I was least prepared for. The most important one was, not being prepared for the amount of times I would fail. Failure on an exam, failure in applying for a leadership position, I've experienced a few failures that brought me down a bit this past year. When it comes to failure, first, scream into a pillow. You're frustrated, so let it out! Next, I recommend that you take a step back. Remind yourself that you did do your best in whatever you set out to do, or maybe you didn't, which can help for this next part. After you take a step back, reflect on what you did, and maybe take a mental note on what to do next time. And if you keep failing, seek help. There's no shame in doing so. Dr. Holtz, Dr. Merck, and your TAs are there to help you. Not only that, but if you contact me, I will be glad to help you as well. There's also so many resources at the university that make you realize that failure is only a stepping stone to great success. So I encourage you to take failure as only a temporary block in the journey, and to move forward and keep going. I hope that my experiences were some guidance on what to expect here at the university. As I said before, if you need anything come look for me! I'll do my best to help you in anything you need, or to guide you to the right person. Good luck New Terp, and I hope all goes well for you.