It goes without saying that the 2020-2021 school year was a little out of the ordinary. With classes that would normally have been held in person have been converted and reformatted to fit the online format. Suddenly we were all attending Zoom University. There were undoubtedly some benefits, we could rewatch lectures at whatever time, and whatever speed we pleased, we did not have to print as much paper as everything was submitted as a PDF, and we had a little more freedom and flexibility to study from where we wanted to, not confined to a desk and chair in a classroom environment. However, majoring in Chemical Engineering has been a challenge to say the least. A major not designed to be learned in an online environment has led to many disappointing grades, and less than average understanding. Not to mention the declining motivation as the semester carried forward. However, as my freshman year nears its end, I have learned some lessons that I would have liked to follow to make the best out of the situation.
The course that surprised me was one of my chemical engineering intro courses: CHBE101. I came in with the misconception that it might be easy, since it's only an introductory course, however the complexities of different processes and application of certain rules and concepts only during certain conditions, as well as making assumptions have thrown me for a loop. It was just something that I did not expect to learn and experience all at once. Although surprise and learning is good, I recommend incoming freshmen to stay on top of their classes, and constantly ask clarifying questions. By doing so, you won't be surprised by the quantity of content you have to learn, rather what the content entails.
The best way to develop relationships with faculty members is making an effort to do so. This means maintaining a connection with them, going to office hours, asking questions, and staying engaged in class. This can have many benefits, as professors and faculty members are often notable members of the field that they are teaching in. Because of this, it is quite possible that maintaining a connection with them can help you pursue some of your long term career goals. My success with connecting with professors happened with a program that I am in, after researching about what this specific professor specializes in, I was able to ask questions about his experience which can help me with my career goals. I recommend incoming students to be knowledgeable and make the extra effort to learn about their professors, which can come with pleasant surprises.
The main way in which my relationship with other students has helped me adjust to university is because of the sense of community that comes with it. If we are in the same class, these relationships allow us to study and prepare for classes together. If we do not share classes, then our mutual highs and lows of classes and how we are doing allows us to bond. The biggest obstacle to developing friendships that I have experienced is the online version of school that we have had to endure. Although I may have gotten lucky sometimes to be paired with people willing to talk and hold a conversation, the biggest obstacle that I am also guilty of participating in is the lack of engagement. With the majority of classes with people muting themselves and having their cameras off, it is not exactly easy to strike up a conversation, especially because there is no longer the obligation to respond, and people can remain muted. As this will be less of an issue next year, I suggest making friends with people you can spend time with, who have similar goals and interests as you, so you can both do well together in your classes.
One aspect of college which didn't quite hit me until I was faced with the situation was how near the end of the semester, when everything is due, there are assignments which you could have done earlier in the semester to save yourself time, and allow yourself to have more time to study for finals. Although I knew about this before, I cannot emphasize enough, how disappointing it is to sit down with an assignment, and only wish that you have done it earlier, to prepare for more urgent assignments. The main lesson from this is that although rest and free time is good for you to prevent burnout, if you find yourself doing absolutely mindless tasks for hours on end, try digging into your long term assignments, and knock some of them out of the way, at least partially.