The future is an incredibly daunting aspect of one’s life to ponder about. The fear of the unknown can become challenging and cause some to question their options. My fear of the unknown almost prevented me from attending one of the most challenging universities in the nation. As a transfer sophomore, I am excited to get involved with activities, both inside and outside the classroom, that I can dedicate my time and energy to. However, it isn’t always easy to hit the ground running and find the balance between academics and activities outside the classroom. While I came from a relatively competitive public high school, I always questioned my ability to do well at Cornell where everyone here was in the top percentile of his or her graduating class.

It wasn’t until after Dr. Schwartz’s presentation that I realized I now had the recourses to alleviate college student nerves. During his lecture, Dr. Schwartz sketched a plan for every student, regardless of the student’s graduating year, to follow and adapt in his or her everyday lives. Furthermore, Dr. Schwartz explained to me that there would be times where I may do poorly on tests and or some assignments. He stressed that students would overcome this failure, learn from it, and move on. By “moving” on, Dr. Schwartz elaborated that students shouldn’t immediately jump to changing his or her major due to a lower grade than expected, but instead seek additional assistance from fellow classmates, graduate students, and last but not least, professors. Dr. Schwartz encouraged students to take a goal-oriented strategy in pursuing and maintaining relationships with different professors each semester. He contends that by fostering good relationships with professors, students will be able to get more involved outside of the classroom in a plethora of research opportunities as well as seek recommendation letters for future pursuits. In regards to off-campus activities, Dr. Schwartz recommended that students should get involved with activities on campus and possibly steer clear of Greek Life if students are taking a demanding course load. Interestingly, Dr. Schwartz preached that “time is time” not money. He wanted all students to understand that life moves fast and it is better to look back at thing we attempted and did not like than to look back and wish that we did x, y, z. Lastly, Dr. Schwartz left us with a few words of wisdom on how to not only do well here at Cornell but in all of out future endeavors. As such, Dr. Schwartz stated the 3Rs, Resilience, Resourcefulness, Resolve (with an emphasis on persistence). He explained that the 3Rs would be vital in exploring new opportunities and accepting of oneself and others.

Overall, while Dr. Schwartz’s presentation emphasized a number of strategies for college students to adopt, I feel as though his target audience should have been focused on incoming freshman. He made a number of helpful suggestions for college students; however, I believe that high school seniors and/or freshman entering the college sphere would gain more from his advice. Nonetheless, Dr. Schwartz is a thoughtful individual who presented helpful information (teacher recommendation advice) during my first Rose Scholars event.