SECOND YEAR IN REVIEW
Having just wrapped up my second year as a mechanical engineering student at UC, I couldn't be happier. I've finished my second Honors Experience (feel free to see that in my other tabs) and I've started my second co-op term. I'm still working with Emery Oleochemicals, and I must say that I really enjoy learning from professionals in my field, and also learning from industry leaders alongside the academic leadership I receive from my professors in class. All in all, I feel that I am continuing to grow at an incredible rate, and its all that I can do to simply absorb as much knowledge and experience as I can before I graduate.
My second year at UC held all kinds of surprises. In class, I finally started to experience some in-major classes, and I loved every second of them. My classes last semester truly affirmed that I'm in the correct major, and I've yet to take a Mechanical Engineering class that I didn't enjoy to the utmost degree. Also, coming back from co-op into classes was a new experience. Having some work experience under my belt was very helpful in staying motivated for coursework, and I think that co-op went a long way for me personally in developing lasting growth as an individual. I had a lot of fun my second year, and I made a lot of new friends. On the whole, I would consider my college career to be very successful to this point, and I look forward to the next three years.
As with any time period in an individual's life, there are challenges. I worked hard in all of my classes, while staying in shape, and maintaining relationships. I was stressed, and it was hard, but I was doing what I love, and it was well worth all of my hard work. One week before exams, I had the misfortune of developing a health concern that required surgery. I spent the next week in the hospital (culminating in surgery) and then I went into exams in less than adequate shape. This was very trying for me as an individual, because exams are so heavily weighted, and an entire semester's worth of hard work was deftly wiped away.
This was a wake up call for me in many ways. First and foremost, I learned just how important my health is to myself, and also to my family and friends. The outpouring of support from those in my inner circle was humbling. I also learned that there must be a better way to educate students than giving exams that add an immense amount of stress to students that cannot afford any more trials in their already very demanding lives. I began to wonder, of all of my friends that are struggling with things, how likely are they to develop mental health issues because of a bad grade? Though this seemed far fetched to me a year ago, I can see how so much hard work and stress, all to sit in a room and be examined for hours with no break, sounds a little bit more like an interrogation than a learning experience. I don't claim to have any answers,, all I know is that as a society we have to do better. I know that we CAN do better. This problem in education is something that I will be spending a bit more of my time looking into both for my graduating class, and all of the classes that come after ours.
All in all, I have grown as a person my second year at UC, and that was my goal going into this past year. I will strive to continue to do better in every aspect of my life, and I will continue to do everything in my power to help others along their paths as well. I'm thankful for all of my experiences thus far, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!
My second year at UC held all kinds of surprises. In class, I finally started to experience some in-major classes, and I loved every second of them. My classes last semester truly affirmed that I'm in the correct major, and I've yet to take a Mechanical Engineering class that I didn't enjoy to the utmost degree. Also, coming back from co-op into classes was a new experience. Having some work experience under my belt was very helpful in staying motivated for coursework, and I think that co-op went a long way for me personally in developing lasting growth as an individual. I had a lot of fun my second year, and I made a lot of new friends. On the whole, I would consider my college career to be very successful to this point, and I look forward to the next three years.
As with any time period in an individual's life, there are challenges. I worked hard in all of my classes, while staying in shape, and maintaining relationships. I was stressed, and it was hard, but I was doing what I love, and it was well worth all of my hard work. One week before exams, I had the misfortune of developing a health concern that required surgery. I spent the next week in the hospital (culminating in surgery) and then I went into exams in less than adequate shape. This was very trying for me as an individual, because exams are so heavily weighted, and an entire semester's worth of hard work was deftly wiped away.
This was a wake up call for me in many ways. First and foremost, I learned just how important my health is to myself, and also to my family and friends. The outpouring of support from those in my inner circle was humbling. I also learned that there must be a better way to educate students than giving exams that add an immense amount of stress to students that cannot afford any more trials in their already very demanding lives. I began to wonder, of all of my friends that are struggling with things, how likely are they to develop mental health issues because of a bad grade? Though this seemed far fetched to me a year ago, I can see how so much hard work and stress, all to sit in a room and be examined for hours with no break, sounds a little bit more like an interrogation than a learning experience. I don't claim to have any answers,, all I know is that as a society we have to do better. I know that we CAN do better. This problem in education is something that I will be spending a bit more of my time looking into both for my graduating class, and all of the classes that come after ours.
All in all, I have grown as a person my second year at UC, and that was my goal going into this past year. I will strive to continue to do better in every aspect of my life, and I will continue to do everything in my power to help others along their paths as well. I'm thankful for all of my experiences thus far, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!