"Survive and Thrive" Essays

(2013)



In Spring 2013, Hanover College's Learning Center invited students to submit essays for a contest on "how to succeed during your first term at Hanover."  The following personal narratives were among those submitted. 

N.B.: The paragraph numbers provided are not part of the original documents.


Jennie Dumaine (Hanover College, Class of 2013)

{1} Before I arrived on campus, I was well aware of the reputation of Hanover College and had mentally prepared myself for four grueling years of a language arts curriculum. Despite the fact that I was a straight “A” student in high school, I convinced myself that A’s were impossible at Hanover; I would just settle for the best I could do. The first weeks of classes only reinforced my fears.  I had never been given so many reading assignments, lab worksheets, and Spanish exercises. The work never seemed to end! Eventually I developed a method to complete everything, but it usually involved skipping reading assignments for my science classes because the professor would cover the material in class anyway. My classmates weren’t reading the textbook either, so we were all in the same situation. In our minds, we never had a quiz, so there was no point.

{2} I was able to get by with this mentality until about halfway through the first semester, when the material in my Chemistry class expanded beyond my background from high school. Each night before class I thought, “Why waste time reading when I could be doing something else more productive?” I received my wakeup call after failing two consecutive chemistry quizzes on acids, bases, and buffers. I had never before failed a test and was shocked! In preparation for the quizzes, I had done all the homework problems and even some other practice problems, but apparently this was not enough. I met with the professor and the first question he asked was, “Well, did you do the reading for class?”

{3} I decided to give the reading thing a try, but it didn’t seem to make a difference at first; however, over time, I noticed I could follow the class lectures much better. Instead of just simply reading the material, I began to make my own outlines as I read. For me, handwriting the material was beneficial because I could draw figures, rewrite formulas, and include example problems from the book.  I really liked using different colors to distinguish between sections in the book, so it was easier to find the material later when using my study guides for the exam.  Although reading was more time consuming, the resulting study guides I made were more useful later. Occasionally I could even recall material for the exam based upon the colored figures I drew. Reading the textbook was truly the key! Despite failing two quizzes, I was able to do well enough throughout the remainder of the semester to earn an “A” in the course because of my new found study strategy. Now, looking back as a senior science major, I attribute my accomplishments to reading my textbook and making homemade study guides. If you wish to be successful in the sciences, READ YOUR BOOK AND TAKE NOTES! Just try it and see what happens! Receiving “A’s” in the sciences is certainly an attainable feat and using your textbook will only make this goal more feasible.



Jacie Hubbard
(Hanover College, Class of 2014)

{4} When I think back to freshman year, there are so many fond memories, such as, meeting my hall mates, meeting my PA group, my first trip to Wal-Mart (where all the college students stopped to buy febreze), and many other first time events. One event that was not only a first experience but a reoccurring experience my freshman year was a little something called an “all-nighter.” These usually happened when I would get an assignment, completely forget about it and panic the night before it was due, and then try to cram everything into one night of horrible, caffeine-driven effort to not fail. Now, I know I was not the only person who did this, and I know someone is reading this right now saying “I’m not that unorganized, so that will never happen to me.” It isn’t just about being organized, but you have to make sure you manage your time wisely, which, frankly, I did not do. As I write this, I look at my pictures on Facebook from freshman year and can easily tell you some examples of what not to do when it comes to managing your time. First off, don’t make an event of your all-nighter. Don’t buy a Five Hour Energy for a Great Works Rough Draft that is due at 11am and use the night to goof off with fellow classmates who also have not started their assignment. Second, stick to the task at hand. Don’t keep putting off the assignment as the dawn draws near by telling yourself it is okay to go on a Taco Bell run or to joust with mops and brooms in your hall with fellow all-nighter hall mates. Third, stay in one place while you are working, if at all possible. Try not to move from the library to your room, to the main lobby of your friend’s residence hall, or to the SAC because nothing gets done, and eventually you end up back at your own room with little to nothing to show for the past five hours of your all-nighter. Now, I won’t lie to you and say that an all-nighter with friends isn’t fun because it is hours of fun, literally! I simply suggest that you try to save your all-nighter for a weekend instead of a Tuesday night before an assignment is due.

{5} How can you avoid an emergency all-nighter? As a junior, I can say that as silly and simple as my advice may seem, it works. First, as soon as your get your syllabi from your professors on the first day of the semester go directly to Wal-Mart or Staples, buy yourself an industrial-sized calendar, and write everything down for each class with a separate but corresponding color. Next, put a star on the calendar two days before a large assignment is due. Make it your personal goal to be completely finished by that date instead of the due date. It helps you stay on track but also gives you two days to fall back on in case of an emergency. Good luck with your freshman year, and remember that any mistakes you make can end up being a great piece of advice for future first-years.

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