I started truly feeling like a college student at my New Student Orientation at the University of Maryland, College Park. I remember, my orientation group was getting ready to do an activity, when another incoming student asked something along the lines of "do we have to do this?" Our orientation advisor responded "listen, you are an adult and you can do whatever you want." That simple statement kind of made the shift in my life feel more real. As opposed to high school, where strict guidelines are the norm, in college, I'm pretty much able to go about life any way I please, both academically and personally. This hit me even harder after I moved into my dorm (Centreville Hall) and my parents left to go back home. I had so much time and didn't know what to do with it.
Living without my parents to take care of many of my things has honestly not been as hard as I expected. I keep my dorm clean, stay on top of my laundry (most of the time), and make sure to still save time for other aspects of my life. I think I've had such a good time acclimating to college life because I have a very strong support system around me. Two of my best friends from high school also attend UMD, and my sister (who's a senior) does too. Furthermore, I live in Baltimore, MD, which is just about an hour train ride away, so I can easily go home anytime. Academically, I am quite surprised by how little homework I have; only three out of my six classes regularly give me homework, and all of them only give around one to two assignments per week. My smaller classes are definitely more engaging and fun, and thus I am more motivated to work harder in those classes. My larger classes like math and chemistry have harder material and are less fun, leading to me performing worse in them. Going into my classes, I was quite surprised by how small some of them are; I expected most college classes to have hundreds of students. Instead, I have multiple classes that are around the same size as those from my high school. I expected college to consist of large lectures, where students come in, take notes, then leave. While I do have a couple classes like this, the majority of my classes are smaller and far more interactive and personal.
Joining the Science and Global Change Scholars Program, I expected it to focus a lot on scientific research that is used to study humans' impact on global climate change and how it can be counteracted. While this is an aspect of the class (especially in the lectures), the class pleasantly surprised me with its more holistic approach. This semester, most of the homework readings related to pseudoscience and how logical fallacies help fuel many misconceptions about science and society's perception of it. I really appreciated this aspect of the class because I have started to become more aware of such 'fake' arguments. Learning about this has allowed me to improve my own scientific knowledge and research skills. Going into this class, I assumed it would focus heavily on only the scientific aspects; I didn’t even consider the social aspect that the class also focuses on. Looking back, the name of the program is Science and Global Change, not Science and Climate Change, so it makes sense that personal interactions are also emphasized.
One of my favorite aspects of SGC has been the trips we've gone on, including the excursion report project. Going to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens on the day after I moved in was a great experience that fostered my quick team-building skills over a fun and impactful activity. For any new incoming SGC scholars, I would recommend you to enjoy this trip and make friends with your team; removing heavy weeds from small ponds is a task that can bring people surprisingly close, even if it's just for a few hours. For your excursion report, you should explore something that you aren't completely familiar with. I went to the National Museum of Natural History, which I had only briefly been to before. While scanning the exhibits and displays, looking for answers to my excursion report, I noticed that I felt very strongly about some of the topics I was supposed to write about. Specifically, when I was looking at the "Cellphones: Unseen Connections" exhibit, I felt as though it undermined the exploitative nature that a large portion of the battery industry has. I incorporated this into my excursion report, noting that I think the exhibit could use some work. All of this is to say that exploring a new topic (and how others present it) can help you realize passion for topics you didn't know you had. If it weren’t for the excursion report project, I wouldn’t have necessarily discovered the passion that I have for addressing social issues within technology and engineering fields. My last piece of advice would be to just enjoy college. While all the exams and projects can be stressful, learning how to appreciate all of it will make your experience much better.
Overall, my first semester of college has been really good. I've met a lot of new people, learned to take care of myself, learned a lot in the classroom, but most importantly, I've learned a lot about myself.