When I came to Penn as a freshman in the fall of 2012, I was
a professional at not studying for quizzes, tests, or exams. Coming from a
small private school in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, school was never the
thing that stumped me. Sure, I had my fair share of homework and stress,
amongst college applications, sports practices, rehearsals for the band, and
Model United Nations research. But the foundation of my stress was in the time
management department, not the content of my academics. I was confident in my
ability to succeed on an exam, as long as I had done the appropriate homework,
listened in class, and glanced over the material as a refresher the night
before.
Coming to Penn and majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering, however, was a whole different story. My peers were just as smart,
driven, and accomplished as me. And it took completely bombing the first Chem
101 midterm a few weeks into the semester, a class I actually felt strongly
about, for me to have a real wake-up call. My no-study days were long gone. But
what was I to do? I had never studied before, I had no strategic skills to fall
back on, and no one to teach me the study habits I desperately needed.
After some frantic phone calls home, then a brief period of
denial, I was at dinner one night with a group of friends whom I’d grown really
close with during AWE Pre-Orientation. One of my friends suggested I go to the
TA (Teaching Assistant) office hours with her that night. The concept baffled
me; wouldn’t it be embarrassing to show my face in the “supplemental help”
meeting, where the under-achieving students went when they were in trouble? But
I ignored this train of thought and let my friend convince me to go, chalking
it up to new experiences and getting out of my comfort zone. We walked down to
the Engineering Quad together after dinner and both timidly knocked on the door
of our TA’s office, totally unsure of what we were going to encounter.
The door swung open and, to my complete shock, nearly half
our class sat in the tiny office. Most kids sat on the floor, legs and
backpacks and notebooks and laptops sprawled all around, some kids even eating
dinner while they were working. Everyone, from the kid with the highest grade
on the midterm to the kid with the lowest grade, was working together on the
most recent homework assignment. It turned out pretty much everyone was just as
confused as I was, and we ended up tackling that week’s problems as a team. I
went home that night and texted my mom in disbelief. I had figured out my first
major problem on my own.
From that night forward, throughout my four years at Penn, I
have had to constantly remind myself of the amazing resources available to
undergrads when the going gets tough. Many of the TA’s for Engineering classes are
phenomenal; they are always willing to meet with you either in office hours or
by appointment if your schedule conflicts. Professors are equally receptive,
answering emails (often in the middle of the night), and encouraging students
to ask questions when they’re confused, instead of falling behind and then
trying and failing to catch up later.
Penn is bursting at the seams with smart, driven,
accomplished kids, but the faculty and grad students are even more driven, accomplished
and smarter. We must always keep them in mind as the amazing resources they
truly are. We must not be timid or afraid when it comes to asking for help.
Learning how to ask for help is just as important as learning from the help
that is received. If I could go back to freshman year and give myself one piece
of advice, it would be to take even greater advantage of my professors and
TA’s. Never again will you be surrounded by such brilliant people who are so
willing to help you. Take advantage of these endless opportunities, ask for
help, and learn a little bit about yourself in the process.
Rebecca Michelson CBE ‘16
Then and Now
