Auburn’s most popular professors share their advice for freshmen

Spoiler: This isn’t just for freshmen

When the fall semester begins, freshmen always ask their older friends for advice about studying, involvement and college life in general. This advice will suffice, but we forget about a valuable resource have that has many of the answers we are looking for – our professors. I asked Professor Armstrong, Professor Kearley and Dr. Bohanan, three of the most popular professors at Auburn University, what they thought freshmen needed to know and this is what they said.

Time management

Matt Kearley, who teaches in the Biology department, said “college is so much more than just what you’re learning in the classroom,” and that you should “learn as much as you can, but still be able to take advantage of all the other opportunities that you have at college.”

Some of these other opportunities are things like organizations, internships and simply making friends in general. It’s important to balance time between all of these things and know where your time is best placed.

Jessica Armstrong, a professor in the Communication and Journalism department, said that it is important to “have some fun, but put schoolwork first.”

She also went on to say that getting involved in extracurriculars is vital. Professor Armstrong highlighted the importance of getting to know people with different views and values than your own.

She says that this is “invaluable to you in your development as a person,” and went on to say “sororities and fraternities are fine, but what they tend to do is put people with their own kind, people with the same values, ethnicity, race, which is okay, but I think you should also get involved outside your comfort zone.” We also talked about how important this is because once students get jobs their workplace will be a diverse environment.

Professor Armstrong also said that she has noticed a lot of freshmen don’t know how to manage their time but that “you can develop it, and now is the time to start” because it will make you much more successful.

Donna Bohanan, who teaches in the History department, highly recommends using a planner or the calendar on your iPhone and says “in life, time management is one of the huge keys to success, not just here, but after you graduate as well.”

How to be successful in classes

Professor Kearley encourages students to “make use of your professors and your TAs” and to not “be intimidated to go talk to them.” He said that most professors share the same view: “that’s why we love teaching. Because we’re here to help students learn.”

Professor Armstrong said it’s important to professors that you “don’t use social media in class, teachers hate this, don’t sit on the back row, be engaged in the course, you’ll get more out of it and it’s a good way for the teacher to know that you’re taking the course seriously.”

Dr. Bohanan told me that not only is class attendance very important, but also “what you do in class and the notes you take.” She says she tells her students “they need to write a lot and they need to write in paragraphs” and to “tell it to themselves in those paragraphs.” She added that it’s important to be able to see the relationships between all the different things in your notes.

Another frequent mistake students make is assuming that all you should write down is the bullet points on a PowerPoint but Dr. Bohanan said: “if that’s all you’ve written down, then you’re in trouble.”

Health

In college, our health tends to be one of the most neglected aspects of our lives. We eat junk food, we stay up too late, and we never want to go to the doctor. We get so caught up in our lives that we don’t dedicate time to our health.

Professor Armstrong’s very first piece of advice was to “take care of yourself” and to remember “there is nothing wrong with asking for help.” You might need help with a class from a professor, help mentally from a therapist, spiritual help from a place of worship, or guidance from the career center. These services are here for you to use and you shouldn’t be afraid to use them.

Dr. Bohanan advised “sleep matters.” As college students, we like to go out and have fun and pull all-nighters, but it leaves us exhausted and unable to focus in class. And those energy drinks and sugary coffees are terrible for your body. She also added that exercise is a great tool to help students cope with the stress of college. Simply walking to class instead of driving or taking the transit can make a big impact. Eating healthy (as healthy as you can on a college student budget) and exercising will make you feel better about yourself and give you much more energy.

Social

Professor Kearley is a member of the Premedical Professions Advisory Committee (PPAC), which helps students through the process of applying for professional schools like Med School. He told me that one of the questions he asks these students is “If you had somebody that’s coming in and they’re just starting off as a freshmen, what would be your advice for them?” The reoccurring answer these students gave was “get a good core of people around you.” He said that they emphasized the importance of having people around you with similar life and academic goals as yourself.

Life after college

Life after college is scary to think about, especially once you are in your junior or senior year. Professor Armstrong said as a freshman you can “have a plan, but don’t panic if you haven’t figured out your life’s purpose yet.”

Professor Kearley said that he always sees seniors nervous and stressed about not having a job but the students that he talks to that have been out of college for a few years say that “once they get that first job, everything kind of falls into place.”

Life in general

Professor Armstrong told me “nothing goes from point A to point B in life. Nothing is that linear. You’re going to take twists and turns and that’s good, that’s a good thing, that’s usually those twists and turns are interesting and kind of lead you to where you need to be.” As long as you remember this, you will be fine. These next four years will be stressful, enlightening, and fun. They will go by quickly, but you will look back on them and miss them.

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