Semester Reflections

Semester 2

Everyone envisions college life as a perfect world: living surrounded by friends, enjoying complete independence, and managing classes while also having time to socialize and make memories. In reality, while some aspects of college fit this vision, for most students the perfect college experience is just a dream. Even if it isn’t perfect, though, life at University of Maryland and within Arts Scholars is still unforgettable, and I’ve had a great time navigating my first year, even if it was different than I expected it to be.

At a school as big as the University of Maryland, I wasn’t expecting to connect much with my professors, especially in the huge freshman classes I knew I would be taking. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to realize that despite big class sizes, professors here truly care about their students, and it’s easy to make connections if you put in the effort. With this mindset, I frequently went to office hours to speak with professors and introduce myself, and though it took a little time, I truly felt the benefit of these connections throughout both of my semesters here. It’s great having someone to be understanding about class issues, and to help you through tough subjects. Through my talking with professors, I was even offered a TA job for next year! I’m truly glad I pushed myself to put in such an effort when I did– because the biggest obstacle I faced was my own reluctance to speak up. I’m sure many students feel the same way: it’s hard to put yourself out there when there’s so many students trying to do the same thing. Pushing through that feeling, though, is one of the most important things you can do for yourself– it’s a way to make connections that will last through your entire college experience.

Friendships are one of the most important aspects of living at university, and Maryland does a great job of providing bonding experiences for students. In Arts Scholars, I met lasting friends through campus events like service day and weekly colloquium– relationships that were helped through our program living in Bel Air hall. It was a great help through the adjustment to dorm living, and meeting new people so early into my first semester helped with the stressful transition to college classes. The main challenge that I faced with this, however, was the large amount of variation in majors and interests in the arts scholars community. At first, it seemed like everyone was interested in something different, and it was hard to find people to connect with that were in my major. Eventually though, as I met more people, this problem solved itself– I realized I shared classes with arts scholars members, and it helped me finally bridge that last gap and connect with my peers in all aspects of my college adjustment.

The Arts Scholars program is also extremely community-based: they constantly host events to bring students together and engage through the arts. Maryland day is the most notable example of this, with Arts Fest letting students celebrate their achievements and share them with the greater University community. It was a great experience for me to both participate and engage with the arts, and it’s certainly something I would not have been exposed to without Arts Scholars. The popular dance workshop presentation was a highlight for me– it was amazing to see how much audience participation went into their event, and I had a ton of fun learning how to dance onstage. I’m excited to contribute more to Arts Fest next year, with my capstone project and future workshops. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and let me branch out and meet more of the Scholars community. 

Arts Scholars has allowed me to branch out and exposed me to many different types of art– whether it be traditional forms like painting and illustration, or creative capstones like the making of video games and even the process of building an electric guitar. Art in my individual life has almost always been contained to traditional mediums, and Scholars has allowed me to realize its role in a more unorthodox way. For example, through my CPSA100 project, after speaking with my section TA, I decided to combine my interests in 3D printing and painting to create a cohesive piece– something that I never would have thought of if not for Arts Scholars. Future arts scholars can expand their personal definition of art by keeping an open mind: art can be almost anything, and the diverse student population within scholars is able to truly represent that.

Through my two semesters, I felt that workshops and field trips were the most beneficial in supporting my work. Workshops allowed me to connect with my peers more than regular colloquium– the small-group environment was great for making friends and building relationships, especially with the shared goal of getting ready for Arts Fest at the end of the semester. Field trips were also a lot of fun, and exposed me to great experiences outside of the University. Cirque du Soleil is my favorite example, as the unconventional aspects of their performance were interesting to analyze from an artistic perspective. Incoming Arts Scholars can get the most out of their experience by putting effort into making friends and making new experiences, as those two aspects were my favorite parts of the Arts Scholars program.

Overall, my first year was an incredible experience, no doubt helped by my participation in Arts Scholars. I’m happy with the choices I’ve made to get involved throughout the year, and I’m grateful for all the friendships that I’ve made to help along the way. Future Arts Scholars should be proud to participate in our program, and excited for all of the memorable milestones that they’ll experience in their first year.