Back-to-school season is here, which means the usual blend of excitement and trepidation.
This month’s Thursdays@3 panel talked through the stress to highlight some recommendations for getting the school year started right.
Here’s what they had to say:
(You can watch the entire August discussion below and register to attend next month’s discussion.)
Lea Habr, A.M.ASCE
Recent graduate of Lebanese American University
Starting the semester on the right foot sets the tone for everything that follows. It’s really important always to establish a solid foundation for the year ahead – both academically and mentally.
What I do is print calendars. It really helps me to set important deadlines as well as write on the side all my goals that I have. It could be personal goals or focusing on a specific course, trying to ace a specific subject, or even getting involved in extracurriculars.
For me, this approach really ensures that I’m more proactive than reactive, and I always have all my deadlines and priorities in mind while organizing them in a very smooth way through the calendar.
Daniel Bressler, P.E., M.ASCE
Structural engineer, Brooklyn
I think the main key for me was don’t fall behind on your work. That was the most important thing.
I think there’s not a whole lot – at least in my experience – that you can do to prepare because with many of these courses, the information is very heavy, and it’s tough to teach yourself a lot of this information.
So reading ahead is useful, but not always the best use of your time. … When you get an assignment, do it right away because eventually, it will pile up, and about halfway through the semester, you’re going to be feeling like you’re drowning. That’s inevitable.
So, at least … right when you get an assignment, make sure you allocate time to do it that weekend or whenever you are planning on doing it.
Andrew Kline, E.I.T., A.M.ASCE
Recent graduate of Villanova University
I think the key is to figure out what your learning style is and things along that nature that are unique to you.
I know that I am a procrastinator, so I need to set firm deadlines. I know what works for me is I set a deadline for myself two days before when it’s actually due. So when I sit down and do the work, there’s that slight panic that comes over me of like, “Oh my gosh, this is due tomorrow.” But I’m giving myself that two-day buffer so that I know that have some time still, which allows me to reach out to a professor or whoever I might need to talk to.
Morgan Klover, S.M.ASCE
Current civil engineering student, Southern Illinois University–Carbondale
The first week of any semester can always be the most overwhelming because you’re getting into all your new things.
One thing I like to do is make a week-at-a-glance calendar with my courses, my RSOs, my job – anything I do weekly. So then I can see when I’m free and when I have time to do homework. The semester does go by really fast, so if you work hard in the beginning, you have more buffer when it comes to your midterms and your finals.
Thursdays@3 brings together a panel of civil engineers to discuss the most timely topics of the moment every third Thursday of the month. The next Thursdays@3 discussion is 3-4 p.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 19, and the topic is “Empowering Engineers: The Role of Mentors in Career Development.” Register today.
