Trista Reading Notes 9

I enjoyed reading My Freshman Year as it was a new perspective on our readings. Her campus was comparable to NDSU and I felt most of what was discussed more than likely occurs very similarly on campus here. Those of us in this class or graduate education in general were probably not the typical undergraduate students as mentioned in the book. We were probably those that got up early, were always in class, and were the overachievers on homework. It was nice to read about the typical undergraduate student attitudes and experiences and I definitely noticed similar trends to what was mentioned in the book to students in my class.

In the first few chapters I felt my freshman experience to be somewhat more similar to the authors than the students she was observing. My mother teaches on campus so I was familiar with the buildings and had someone telling me where to go and what to do if she didn’t just simply do it for me. If I had a question I had one central location to go, EML 365 and it would be answered. I also did not live in the dorms my freshman year, despite my mother’s advice to embrace this experience. As an 18 year old I thought it was a great idea to live in an apartment off campus, however, reflecting back I didn’t experience much of what was mentioned in the first few chapters and I didn’t develop the “core” group of friends Nathan discussed. I was more like the she interviewed whose core group of friends was established at a part time job.

I think the most interesting thing to me was the discussion on diversity, monogamous groups, and chapter four As Others See Us. When discussing who sits with who it was surprising to me that Nathan found 40% of the minority to be missing from her observation because they were likely eating alone. I am sure as an undergraduate I was guilty of a majority of what was discussed in these chapters. It wasn’t until I was in “the real world” and later as a graduate student that my eyes were opened. I very much sympathize with those students from other countries and respect their ability to complete a program in a country other than their home country. It is hard enough I can’t imagine doing it in another language. I also agree with the biggest complaint from international students regarding our ignorance (p. 84). The book showed that we as American students have no interest in learning about other cultures and their experiences and that lack of interest is felt by international students.

The least surprising to me was the lack of involvement in activities put on by the RA and the lack of interest in the education side of college. While these are two separate chapters and two separate issues they both speak to the fact that students will do what they want to do and for the most part it doesn’t seem to involve doing more than necessary. As someone who organizes social events like the RAs’ in the book I have trouble getting graduate students to social events even when they ask for them. It would seem graduate student would be more interested in getting involved and meeting other students, however, when given the opportunity they rarely show up similar to the freshman for “movie night”.

I think the advice I would give to a new college student would be to have this experience open your eyes. Participate in activities that interest you even if your friends don’t. Look to meet new people outside your comfort zone, open your eyes to diversity, and educate yourself on new topics both social and intellectual. Lean about other cultures and ask individuals about themselves. Too often we are so concerned with ourselves and our schedules that we don’t take the time to dig deeper into the backgrounds of others. I think the advice I would give to a new college instructor is to make clear your expectations and stick with them. Don’t assume that students expectations for themselves are as high as yours are without communicating them. The book mentions students will do the least amount of work possible and if they don’t see it as being a part of their grade they most likely will not do it at all.

The book has not changed my perspective, however, I did learn some valuable new information that I will carry with me. I sometimes need to put myself in their shoes and not assume they know things that I know.