Hey there! Congrats on your graduation, that is so exciting!

As far as being new to college goes, the best advice I can give you is simple: don’t be afraid. Which sounds ridiculous, I know, “don’t be afraid.” How vague. Excuse you. But it’s the truth, it’s the best advice I can give you. 

You will only get out of college what you put into it(whether that’s new friendships, your classes, extracurriculars, romances, whatever), and if you spend your time holed up in your dorm room (which was definitely my automatic instinct), then you’ll miss out on all the things college has to offer.

It’s important to remember that while your degree is important, that won’t be the most important part of your education. What will shape you the most is what you do outside of the classroom. Can you communicate well? Do you work well under pressure? Are you adaptive?

You don’t have to be loud and in your face to be outgoing, but you can’t keep to yourself if you want to truly thrive and be successful. You are capable of amounting to so, so much and the only thing that can truly hold you back is yourself.

I really hope that helped at least a little bit, and if you want some more information, here are a few of the posts I’ve made that kind of deal with advice (particularly for an incoming freshman). Please, please reach out if you have any more questions! 

Okay yes women in STEM is such a powerful thing.

How did I get through it? I think it helped that I was such a dweeb in middle school.

(yes, really - this is from some time around 6th grade)

Something about knowing I was a nerd and was never going to be one of the “cool” kids helped immensely by taking off some of the pressure and letting me focus on being my little nerdy self (although now it’s apparently cool to be a nerd in middle school? who knew).

Fast forward three years to my first day of high school. Things were going swimmingly. I was happily enrolled in College Prep English I, College Prep World History, Algebra II, and a creative writing elective, oh and I looked adorable.

(first day of high school)

My first day was perfect. Until I got to my last class of the day. Being the nerd that I was, I had taken Biology (a 10th grade class) as an 8th grader, because being on a robotics team was apparently not extra enough for me. That made me eligible to take Chemistry as a freshman. So I ended my day in a class of 13 people, including myself and my teacher. Sparing you the traumatizing details, I will say that it was simply not the right class for me and I took my happy little nerdy butt on down to my counselor’s office to get me switched to a more appropriate class.

People made fun of me, and I was the youngest person in my new Chemistry class (had been in the other one too, come to think about it).

But you know what? It got me where I wanted to be. I made some friends, I took AP Chemistry as a sophomore (not necessarily something I would recommend, but whatever), and I learned that I actually really loved Chemistry.

(Chelsea, Mobeena, and me rocking PPE)

That then gave me the chance to take Physics sooner, to realize my passion for it sooner, to figure out what Aerospace engineering was sooner. 

I was a nerd in high school, it’s as simple as that. I was in Dumbledore’s Army (Harry Potter club), BBC North (BBC fan club), I was in a two-year English program that encouraged and required creative writing side by side with literary analysis. And as cheesy as it sounds, that all started with me standing up for what I wanted on day one. My counselor thought it was weird that I was requesting a harder class on day one, my teacher was annoyed at having a freshman in his junior level class, some of the students made fun of me or were offended at how much younger than them I was. 

But I made it. I stuck it out, I let them make fun of me, I accepted that I was always going to be a little nerdy, and little on the weird side, and it helped make it easier.

Maybe if I had been “cool” from the start I would have had it a little easier - I noticed some of my other friends did. But whatever, I made it didn’t I?

Moral of the story? Be true to who you are, whether that’s a total nerd or someone a bit cooler. Do what you think you should do, take the classes you want to take whenever you get the chance. Join the clubs and teams that excite you. Everything else will fall into place.

(Peep me at the US Space and Rockets Center next to a Saturn V) 

Hi there yeah so I don’t have any job prospects (yet) because I’m actually sticking around to get a Master’s in Industrial Engineering with a focus on Engineering Management. That being said, I’ve currently got an internship within the aerospace industry but I get to look at big picture connectivity across the industry. In short, I get to combine my Bachelor’s with my Master’s.

This literally describes my freshman year in a nutshell.

A hard fact of engineering is that there are just not going to be any females. It’s a fact, it’s unavoidable. We’re underrepresented to an extreme, but we come out stronger for it (at least we try).

The boys are going to be pretentious, but there is also going to be a small group of them, usually the super quiet ones you haven’t noticed yet, who aren’t asshats. Be friends with them. They’re helpful, and will actually ask you for help (most engineering males subconsciously don’t think they need help from women (but they do)). Also, you’ll end up running away to drink margaritas with them on Thursday nights after finishing a computer program that made you want to punch someone.

Literallly all the damn time.

The thing is, I know my strengths are not in the technical side of engineering, but this is the industry where my passion lies. I know there are going to be people in my classes who are going to be better at this than me, and when I get frustrated, I have to remember that.

However, it isn’t always enough to remind myself that there are smarter people out there. That doesn’t negate the fact that I feel like an idiot and question why in the hell am I even bothering with engineering school.

SO when I get like that, here’s what I do:

I let myself panic for approximately 1.34 minutes (pulling a number out of my ass here – just don’t let it go on for too long) 

I take a break. Sometimes I go walk around outside. Sometimes I take a break and listen to a song (currently obsessing over Shape of You, just like half the planet). Sometimes I eat a chocolate brownie Clif bar. Just take a couple of moments for yourself.

Next, start to think about the reasons you’re doing this. Why are you studying in your field? What inspired you to do what you’re doing? Who are you doing this for? Hold on to that.

Now, remind yourself that you are awesome. It’s sounds cheesy and mildly ridiculous, but do it. You’re great. You’re brilliant. You’re you. And that is more than enough. 

You may feel like you’re the dumbest or most useless person in the room, but you are bringing something unique to the table, even if you don’t know what that unique thing is. Keep studying, keep bettering yourself, and know that you’re worth everything. No one else is going to offer the same perspective you can, which makes you invaluable.

Just show yourself a little self-love, even when it feels impossible.