My first semester at the University of Maryland as a whole, as well as in the Science and Global Change Program, has been, to put it briefly, an experience. Coming into college, I didn’t entirely know what to expect. I knew that it would be hard, and that I had a lot more power over myself than I have ever had, but my expectations were still exceeded. To start, my classes outside of CPSG100 have been fairly to be expected. In many of them, we have a few exams that dictate most of my grade, my math class being 86% weighted on 3 exams, our final being worth 42% of this. However, I am always provided with more than enough resources to find success if I apply myself to learning the material. This is how most of my experiences in my classes have gone. If I put effort into learning the content, even if I do not understand it in lecture, I can teach myself through working hard. In high school, we had many opportunities to make up work and to make mistakes, however, in college, it has been a lot stricter. However, this has been a good thing, as it drives me to always try my best and to advocate for myself with teachers and TA. I have also found the classes to be fun, even. In my ENES100 class, we are building a vehicle, and even though ours isn’t very good, it’s unlike anything I’ve done before.
As for CPSG100, it has also exceeded my expectations. Going into it, I did not expect such a focus on pseudoscience, fallacies, and other crazy things that affect the way many people think and act. I did not look too much into the program at first, as I honestly only did it because I heard the dorms were better, however, I was very pleasantly surprised. I have never gone to a colloquium and left thinking that the content was boring, or that it was a waste of my time. From the name, I assumed that we would be learning solely about climate change. We did learn about climate change and scientific processes for some of the year, but most of it was about critical thinking and other things of that sort, which was very intriguing. The two professors, Dr. Holtz, and Dr. Merck also make for an incredible experience each time I am in class, as they bring big energy every week, The outside the classroom activities have also been phenomenal. Many of my peers thought the opposite, but I loved the service day at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I really enjoyed wading around in the swamps and picking weeds, and I got to talk to a lot of new people and bond over the suffering. I also thoroughly enjoyed my trip to the Smithsonian Museums in DC on both occasions we visited. I got to see a lot of things and explore places in the museums I likely would not visit otherwise. As for college life, it has been about what I expected. Due to my newfound independence, I really need to find motivation within myself to be productive. Despite this, I have found my methods of being productive and, while I have a lot to work on, I am getting much better at doing work in my free time rather than socializing or sitting in my dorm and playing video games. I envisioned myself in college working hard on the weekdays, and having fun with my friends on the weekends, and this is what it has mostly been like. Because I try to get the majority of my work done on the weekdays, on weekends I can spend time with my friends playing sports, watching movies, and spending too many hours at the dining hall, all while doing minimal work and studying. In all, college life has lived up to expectations, but it has been harder than I thought to actually sit down and get all of my work done with the many distractions that are always around me.
This segues into some advice that I would have for future SGC students. This is to just enjoy the ride. It will have its ups and downs, and you will do poorly on some assignments. It is how you respond to the things that happen each day that matters. Not every day has to be a good day, but these days that aren’t so good should be left in the past, because the world really doesn’t stop. In high school, you lived at home, had your parents to help you with problems, and didn’t really have to worry about much. In college, you are responsible for getting things done, and that means everything is on you. However, being in a school such as UMD and in a program such as SGC, there will be so many people that want to see you succeed. Reaching out to them for help is always a strong option when you feel overwhelmed. In all, work hard, play hard, and remember what you are here for: to create opportunities to succeed in the future.
My experiences in college so far have been just this. I have a lot of work to do, but I also have a lot of fun. I spend time doing this work, but also make sure to make time to see friends, go to sports games, and spend time with myself. I came into college unsure of what would happen while I was there, and I can now say with confidence, it has fully exceeded any expectations I had.