Episode 9 – Back to Success

Sounds of Success – Episode 9 – Back to Success
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Phil: Hello, and welcome to the sounds of success. I’m Phil Butler

Christina: and Christina Bui.

Phil: We’re so excited to have y’all listening with us today. And I don’t know. Maybe you can notice, but things sound a little crisper, a little brighter than maybe they have before the podcast.

Christina: You want to know why? Tell me why it’s, because we’re actually recording in person in the studio.

Phil: Yo, it feels real fancy. We have headphones on and like boom mikes, and we feel like legit podcasts, right?

Christina: I feel like an actual

podcast.

Phil: We’re not guerilla podcasts or anything.

Christina: Exactly. Because before this, I was recording with very, very cheap headphones in my room and y’all could hear my cat literally going bonkers in the back.

Phil: Yeah. Or done it, that garbage trucks driving by my house, whatever

Christina: this is much better. We’re very excited for y’all to be coming back to the new school year. For those of you who have been listening to us since last year, welcome back for our new listeners. Hello?

Phil: Hello and welcome. So today, uh, we have two really fantastic guests on the podcast.

Uh, these are two of our lead mentors for the foundation scholars program and the pace program. And, uh, they’re going to drop some really good pro tips for yawn. How to college during your first year?

Christina: Yeah, we’re really excited to get started.

Phil: All right, well, go to the interview,

Christina: woo! All right. Y’all we are super excited to actually be recording in the late development studio, recording studios today. It is really, really fancy. I’m using headphones that I did not buy an Amazon for $5 right now. So I feel on top of the world. Yeah. This is

definitely an upgrade from like the headphones that come for free with your iPhone.

Right.

For quite a time. So like we said earlier, we are having two other mentors with us today. We have Casey eskimia. Casey is a senior psychology major and is also a TA for the foundation scholars program.

Casey: Hi, I’m excited to be here. Thanks,

Christina: Casey. And we also have Shannon with us. Shannon is a junior.

She’s also a psychology major and she is paces lead mentor.

Shannon: Hello, everyone. I’m excited to be here.

Phil: We’re glad to have y’all both. Thank you so much.

Christina: Of course. Yeah. So we know that y’all are really ramping up for the first day of school coming up soon. I was driving to campus earlier today and it was.

Parents are moving in boxes and carts all over the place happening. Uh, we want to talk on this episode a little bit more about what it’s like to start off the new school year, whether you’re a first-year student starting off in college for the first time ever, or. Sophomore coming back after an amazing first year, we’re going to be talking a lot about how to do it.

Right. What does it feel like to start off a new semester on the right track and how can you get there? So for Casey and Shannon, I just want you all to think back to your first semester of college. How did you feel and what were some things that you were worried about? Yeah,

Shannon: I will go first. Um, I know.

Well, he felt a sense of just being overwhelmed. Um,

Phil: why would you be, I don’t know.

Shannon: It’s strange that you ask, um, obviously going into college, there’s just so much, and I think I was really worried about taking on that responsibility of, you know, You’re not going to go home to your mom and dad every night and say, Hey, how do I do this?

Hey, how do I do that? Will you sign this for me? It’s like, no, I’m doing this and that. And I’m signing, signing this for myself. And it was like, okay. Wow. My parents are always going to be there for me, but I have to be that number one to take control now. And then of course, just grades and making friends are always at the top of that list.

Um, I always put a lot of stress on myself with grades. I’m my biggest critic. And so obviously going to college, like, yes, you’re supposed to have fun. You and, or your parents are paying a lot of money for you to go to this school and it’s a great school. So you really want to do well and make them proud, make yourself proud.

And finally, of course, like making friends, I think that’s always shifts like

Christina: doozy.

Casey: I’m going to sit next to me at lunch, you know, like next

Phil: to me, right? Yeah, yeah,

Shannon: exactly. And so definitely

Phil: big place. And there’s so many people, like, it seems it’s this like counterintuitive thing. Like the more people there are.

The harder you think it’s going to be to make friends. And sometimes it is hard because it’s

Christina: survey. Yeah. But the good thing about being a first year student is that everyone else is also worried about making

Shannon: friends. And I came from a very small high school. So for me, making friends was really easy because it was just like, we all kind of knew each other.

We were all from the same area. Like just seemed very easy. And then I came here and I was like, it’s going to be even easier because there’s more people. And it was like, Whoa. No, like there’s so many more to pick from. I don’t even know. So yeah, I was definitely overwhelmed, but as time went on, time, heals making friends

Phil: in high school kind of happens automatically, right?

Like, like the, the extracurriculars you’re in, or even just the small classes. And in college, you kind of have to have a little bit of a game plan, right? Like sometimes it happens automatically strategy

Christina: and I know

Shannon: Christina’s strategy.

Christina: We’ll talk about that.

Phil: Like you might fall in love with their roommate and be VFS forever or die.

Right.

Christina: We’re just throwing Christina under the bus. Yes. If y’all ever want to know how to make like a really easy friend or find your soulmate, apparently the answer is your roommate. Yeah. Awesome. TMI. Okay. So I feel like Shannon covered a lot of what I think Casey will also say, but Casey, do you agree with that?

Were you also feeling the same levels of anxiety?

Casey: Oh, my gosh. Yeah, it was, it’s more of like, what did it, and I feel I was feeling positive. Exactly. It was like, I had some positive emotions, some negative emotions. Cause I was excited. I was excited. I was coming into this big city when I was very rapidly falling in love with the city.

Um, like Shannon was sharing. I’m also from a small town and so yeah. Super excited about coming to college and being in such a wonderful city. But then I was also of course, very stressed and overwhelmed and anxious about like, how hard are the classes going to be? Am I going to make friends? But luckily that stress about making friends was really quickly like swept away because much like Christina.

Fell in love with my roommate to this day. So they were like my best friends immediately. So I have really good memories of that. That’s really

Christina: sweet. Yeah. So it seems like we’re really talking a lot about, you know, how do you make friends in college? And I think that when you’re in. Cool. It’s so easy to make friends because you see these people every single day, every day, and it’s not like that in college.

I feel like you need to put more effort into seeing people and everything it almost. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Shannon’s laughing because, so at the very end of the semester in the spring, um, the pace mentors were giving you. See the pace students, you know? Oh, like you’re all, y’all are all going into your second year at UT full-time like you got any questions and they were asking all these questions and someone asked, you know, how do you make friends in Enbridge and glasses?

We’ve never had these before and half of the mentors are sophomores. So they couldn’t answer that either. And I was just like, oh, So I have a strategy for that. And this was actually what I did in college is I would walk into a classroom. I would find a random girl who just looks nice random girl who looks nice, pick one thing that she has and just compliment that thing.

So, Casey, exactly. So, how do you see Casey? Right now? Casey is wearing these really cute, um, like bright pink cat ear headphones. So Casey was wearing that or had it on her desk or on, on her backpack. I’d sit down and be like, oh my God, I love your headphones. with cats. Where did you get them? And then she’d tell me where I got them.

And then it’d be like BT dubs. My name is Christina, boom friend, easy money. And you just rinse, repeat, just pick a girl, compliment the girl. Now your friends it’s so easy. If you are a boy, I don’t know. Compliment their shoes. Like cool kicks, bro. I don’t know. I’m not a boy. I would not know.

Phil: It’s kind of the same for guys.

I think, you know, you just pick somebody and. You know, this is a good study strategy too. And then a good strategy for going to classes is making friends in each of your classes. Cause then there’s some, you know, like the buddy system, you have some accountability from being there besides a professor, but I would always try to have that one or two people that like, if I wasn’t there, they knew that I wouldn’t be there and vice versa so that you had somebody.

Knew that you were missing or knew that, you know, you were looking for them too. Yeah.

Christina: And you don’t even need to be like best friends with them. I feel like, I think a lot of the times you just really need someone that can let you take a picture of their notes of

Shannon: you are absent some sort of support

Christina: system.

Exactly. Exactly. How about y’all? Like, how did you go about making friends your first semester and also second semester? Cause we know that the first semester might not always be perfect.

Phil: Yeah. It took me awhile. My like core group of friends until spring of my first year,

Christina: too.

Casey: Well, my first semester I did, I did something very similar to what you were talking

It was just so funny. There was this girl who looked really, really sweet. And as she was walking out of my chem lecture, I noticed that she had a little key chain of, of one of like these like BTS character. And I was really into K-pop and I was like, oh my gosh, like we’re, we’re going to be best friends.

So I like tapped her on the back of that. I love your key chain, are you army? And she was like, yes. Oh my God. Let’s see. Best friends, give me your number. And we studied a lot. Um, and then after that we studied a lot together and then we ended up being so close that when we were getting ready to do our course schedules for the following semester, we made sure to get into the same bio class.

Yeah. And it worked out really well. And I remember being so happy because I was having so much trouble making friends and that gave me the confidence to every semester after that, just turn around to the person next to me, introduce myself and try to exchange numbers. Like can have a study buddy for that class.

Yeah,

Christina: I agree. I like that strategy cherish.

Shannon: I would definitely say I’m still kind of like in that midst of figuring that out. Sure. Yeah. I think a lot due to the pandemic, like, it’s been really hard. You can’t nudge that person next to you and be like, Hey, what’s going on? Do you have a better way of explaining this?

Or, Hey, love your shoes. I don’t know. No. What shoes people are wearing on zoom? Like,

Phil: yeah, like here are you

Shannon: wearing slippers? Like me? Yeah. Yeah, and their cameras aren’t on. So it’s hard. Um, but definitely I think with being a pace mentor, just being in the pace community, um, within clubs, just finding a few people who you kinda can relate to find just similarities too.

I know the pace mentor group has been. Like somewhere I’ve very much found like identity in, we all have a very similar purpose, which is awesome. And then another thing, like I’m been trying out on the soccer team and just making friends there, we all like soccer, so there’s this start there. And so I’m really excited this year after learning.

Like mistakes that I’ve made in the past two years, but also just hearing others talk about what they went through and how they found friends. I think junior year, I’m really excited to kind of branch out a little bit step out of my comfort zone. I know there’s a question coming later, possibly. That I might touch on this, but like, I have to put an effort as well.

And that was something that like hit me hard. And so I’m excited to put forth that effort. Yeah. It’s

Phil: hard. That is a good segue kind of into this next question. I think maybe this is my habit, how you’ll answer it. So, you know, time travel is not possible yet, but, um, if you could hop it on time machine and go find, you know, first day of class, you from your first year, what do you think you’d tell yourself.

Shannon: I’ll let Casey take the

Casey: first one on here. Academic.

Christina: Ooh, tell

Phil: me more about that. So

Christina: we love being resources.

Casey: Yes. And I needed it because when I tell y’all. Did not study in high school, which is so shameful, so embarrassing, but I just, I didn’t. And so when I came to college, I was a little naive. I expected it to be as easy as it was in high school.

I learned it the hard way that it’s not. And I just, I didn’t know how to study. I was having my, like my first chem class. The first exam was coming up and I was dislike. Well, they said to do practice questions. So I’m going to do three practice questions. So crypto scared. Um, yeah. Uh, freshman year, Casey.

Um, no, that’s not studying for an exam. Um, but no little naive me went into the exam. Thought I was so prepared. Uh, no, we’re not even gonna talk about what my grade was. I did so bad and yeah, sometimes you just have to learn lessons the hard way, but that’s what resources like this are for the mentors, learn things the hard way.

And then they’d tell you about their horrible experiences and what you should get. An academic coach don’t know how to study. Yeah. Um, well, funny story is I did it at dub getting an academic coach cause I ended up, uh, figuring out how to study through other resources. But when I became like a mentor, I, I recommend it to all of my mentees because I’m like, I, I wish I would have used it, but I had to learn how to study the hard way, which when you get an academic yeah.

Really easy. I’ve heard really good stories from students who have used them. And. I just wish I, I used it cause I had to, I had to really suffer through my first semester.

Christina: Yeah. And for our listeners, if you are wondering about an academic coach, you can find that through the singer learning center. They are super-duper awesome.

The services are free and they offer a ton of tutoring services on, I would say like 95% of the classes that all the UT freshmen take. So definitely reach out to that for sure. They have tutoring services for chemistry 3 0 1, because all of you are taking chemistry 3 0

Phil: 1. Yeah. We actually recorded an episode with the singer learning center’s assistant director at last year.

Um, so if you check that episode out, you can learn a lot more. Yeah. What services

Shannon: they offer? Absolutely. And I think that’s great advice and kind of shifting off of that. I have total opposite side of the spectrum. I wish I had more fun. I wish I would have told myself. Not take life so seriously, I’ve always been a very outgoing, positive person.

And I came to college and I kind of like did a 180 and I was like, wow, exactly. Like we’re growing up. And like, we’re not having any more fun. And

exactly. And I mean, Saturday nights I would be like, oh God, stop. You’re my test. That’s next. Friday. And it’s like, why you have literally 13 days it’s a Saturday night. Like, go get dinner with a friend, like, go knock on your neighbor’s door, say hi something. Yeah. And I mean, it turned out great. If you want to say that, just because, you know, the grade portion was great, but then it, yeah.

Not really any social life, not really any friends. And then we got sent home from COVID. Then when I came back, I had no one to reach out to cause I was like, I didn’t do anything. And so definitely I think the academic coach, great advice and great future planning at the same time. Don’t forget that you’re in college.

You’re definitely here to be smart and show that you’re smart, but you’re also here to make those lifelong friends. Something. I definitely wish I would have told myself from the beginning. I think

Christina: that’s something that a lot of people struggle with in college where balance. Yeah. Like you want to have good grades, but you also want to have fun and everything.

I tell my students this all the time. So if you’re a pay student, you’ve definitely heard the story before. Even until I was well through college, I still had a hard time with balancing studying and having fun. So my junior year of college, I loved this story. Oh man, I hate telling this because it’s embarrassing.

But my junior year of college was when Megan, the stallion was blowing up and she was coming to south by Southwest. She was going to host something called the hottest party. Uh, my friends and I got invited. And they’re like, Christina, you gotta go. It’s Megan’s hotties party. You got to go. And I said, I would love to, but I have an Arabic exam that I have to study for.

So I’m not going to go. Then the next morning I woke up and took my paramedic exam. I walked down to the exit yeah. Room. I checked Instagram and I look at the stories and there are my friends on Meghan, the stallions, Instagram stories. Like Megan, the stallion posted an Instagram story of her hanging out with my friends.

And I think about that every single day, because I

Phil: don’t really great regrets.

Christina: It is truly one of my biggest regrets ever, because I do not remember what was on that Arabic exam. Not even a little bit in, do you remember

Shannon: what you got on that

Christina: test? Yep. No clue, no clue. So, yeah, balance

Shannon: and I think that’s something that you definitely learn with time and even something now I’m like, okay, I had the freshman year where I really didn’t do anything sophomore year.

We might let that go its past because we don’t really know what went on there. There was a gold pandemic. Um, but junior year it’s like, okay, let’s really evaluate. Let’s really try and spread our time out.

Phil: Well, and, and balance, isn’t something you master ever. It’s always something that you’re constantly like, you know, I’ve been out of college a little while now and it was thanks.

Thanks a lot. Uh, but um, you know, it stand on one foot, right? You’re not still, you’re like, you’re constantly making little adjustments one way or the other, and that’s going to be true for the rest of your life. You’re always going to be negotiating. And fun and responsibility and good times. And it does take practice.

It’s not something that everybody is good at, but it’s something we, yeah. Aspire to be good at, right. Because it makes our lives that much more enjoyable ways.

Shannon: Keep trying try better the next day. Yes. Yes.

Christina: Yes. So then I have another question for you all, we’re talking about things that, you know, we regret things that we wish we could have known, but what is something that you did as a first year student that was helpful?

Something that you would pass on to another student that you don’t regret doing something that you’re proud of? I definitely

Shannon: felt like I planned, well, the academic portion, maybe not so much the social portion, but I was not super organized when I was in high school. I kind of just John things down or like, I was like, oh, like my brain can just store all up here.

And as much as that. Be easier maybe in high school when you just have like school and maybe a sport. Yeah. It gets a lot more than that in college, you have school and then hopefully you have some sort of social life and then you have clubs and then you have practices and then you have. Mentorships and things like

Phil: that.

I think a lot of people underestimate how much time and energy, like taking care of yourself. Yeah. 100% uses, right? Like laundry, laundry, groceries, feeding yourself.

Shannon: I think that was something that I’m really proud of myself for doing. Well was planning. I’m a very big physical person, but I know others are really into their Google calendars, but I wrote everything down.

I would just put in time to study, put in time to watch a movie put in time to relax. Um, so that was something I definitely did. Well, something I keep up with still something I hope to continue to do. Um, and that’s, I’m very glad I did that planning. It’s very good. Yes. Yes.

Casey: I S very similar to Shannon. I started a bullet journal.

I became very, very efficient in time management and organization, which is something that if Julianna and Diane are listening in right now. Um, but yeah, I started a bullet journal. It was on one side, it was obviously very efficient for being a student because you can create to do lists and plan out your day and make sure that you’re using your time efficiently.

But also it became very. Very much of a mindful activity for me, that’s the best way that I can explain it. And that it became just a moment of time where I can sit down and just take care of myself and be creative and get lost in like making my little weekly spreads. And for those of you who don’t know, like what bullet journals are, it’s kind of like, you’re creating your own planner.

It has a lot of creativity into it and you can get all excited about stickers and highlighters . So it was very good for staying on track of everything that I had to do. As an undergrad, but also taking care of myself and being creative and not getting too carried away with all of the stressful parts of being a college student.

Shannon: Yeah. Checking things off, just such

Casey: a personal rule. You cross out something, you get a little boost of serotonin. Definitely.

Shannon: Thing about it.

Christina: I wish that I could be the person that has a really cute bullet journal spread and everything, but I also bullet journal, but I call my bullet journaling brain dumps because they truly are just brain dumps.

They’re organized in a way that no one else would understand, but me. So if you’re out there and you’re thinking, you know, I want a bullet journal, but I don’t have the creativity or the good handwriting or the cute stickers, anything you don’t need any of that. It just needs to work for you. It just needs to work for you.

Shannon: Yeah. And I think

Casey: that’s the best

Christina: part. Exactly. Part. Yeah, no, no one bullet journals the same way as somebody else I’ve noticed with college.

Shannon: Like you, oh, sorry,

Casey: go ahead. Sorry. I say that I make it a point to include, like for each month, a little page, that’s just titled brain dump and I don’t worry about keeping it organized or keeping it pretty.

I just. Whatever thoughts come into my head on that page. And it’s very useful. Yeah. I

Phil: don’t mind the parking lot.

Christina: I, I treat my bullet journal the way most people treat their Apple’s notes app. Just random stuff is in there. I don’t know. What’s in

Phil: there is getting a little out of control. I need to check that out. Uh, well this question hasn’t really, um, been part of the experience in a while, but where do you all like to sit in a lecture hall and why?

Casey: A whole strategy for this. I think I learned this in some presentation. I can not remember where I learned this, but I can tell you

probably learned at LA te area. I, I personally, I’m an overachiever. I like to sit in the very front row if I can. So I will get to lecture halls early to get that front row. Cause some classes you got to fight for them and I will fight for them. Um, but usually like three, uh, the first three rows. It doesn’t matter where you sit on those.

Those are good. But if you prefer to sit near the back, if it’s after the third row, just sit like in the middle and that’s really good because it helps keep you. Focused because if you’re right in front of the professor, you’re less likely to take your phone out and check Twitter because you don’t want, you don’t want them to see you.

Um, but also it’s where you. Friends. Usually it’s most people, they very surprisingly, I have found in my past classes, most people sit more towards the front, so I have an easier time making friends within the front rows. Yeah. And

Shannon: also like, if you are sitting in the, for front three rows, Normally other people sitting in the front three rows have a lot very similar academic, um, goals, strategies, goals, thoughts that you have not to say that anyone in the back doesn’t have those thoughts, but you’re just more likely to find them in the zone that you sit in.

Christina: I agree, especially because there’s this weird misconception I had about college. I thought that. There were no group projects in college. And then I got to college and it was group projects, every class. And so the people that you sit next to become pretty important if your class is

Shannon: group projects.

Christina: So if you are an overachiever and you want to be working with other overachievers, don’t sit in the 15th.

Yeah.

Shannon: My, my thing has always just been sitting in a spot where. The professor will be able to see you. And if you talk that they would be able to hear you without like oversharing awaiting themselves, um, I always do go by like the T that’s, I think what everyone knows it as and refers to it as, but I think it’s just important to again, be in a position where like, it does hold you accountable, because if you do take your phone out, then you’re like, oh, I’m like, literally right here, that’s so embarrassing.

And so rude to the professor. But then also just making sure that if you were to talk or ask a question, why they would be able to hear you and not like have to run after you to come listen, it’s

Casey: really good for professors to be able to see you because if they recognize your face, that is a really great foundation for building a connection with your professor, which is so, so important.

If you’re a steward. Thinking about going into grad school or any other professional school, like med school, law school, et cetera, et cetera. Those letters of recommendation are going to be very important. And you want a professor that knows you. So being that student that sits in the front row is going to get you lots of good points for when they want to write that letter of recommendation for you.

And also wherever you sit like Christina was talking about with the group projects, you’re going to find. Wherever you sit on the first day is probably going to become your seat, right? Yes. They call

Christina: it on assigned assigned seats and people will lose their marbles. If you sit in their unassigned assigned seats.

Casey: Very true. As of that, usually the people around you, they’re going to be the same people that sit there every single day. First day, first week, make sure you’re turning to your left and to your right and behind you and getting those, get

Shannon: there early to snag, snag, the seat you want.

Christina: Exactly. So I know that Casey just mentioned, you know, forming a relationship with your professor by sitting in the very first row for people who cannot get to the very first row, what are other strategies that they could use to become closer connected with their

Shannon: professor?

I know for me a huge one is asking questions. I’m sure Christina. Yes. And even over emails, like confirming things. Um, Christina probably knows this. I asked so many questions in our mentor training weekly. She

Christina: has a lot of questions and it’s great because usually the questions that Shannon is asking are things I haven’t even thought about.

And so if Shannon is asking that question, somebody else is also wondering the same thing.

Shannon: It seemed like kind of obvious, but I’m just like, just to make sure, but you asked me those questions, points, attention, points, attention to you. And the professor is looking you in the eye. They see you. They also see that you’re trying.

Yeah, for sure. And another thing I really like to do is just coming five or 10 minutes before class and staying five or 10 minutes after class, just having a conversation, whether it’s hi, how are you doing? Or. Hey, I read this or I saw this movie that kind of pertain to what we’re, what we’re learning in class.

Like have you seen it? It’s even better if they’ve actually seen it. Cause then you can continue the conversation, but then you could say, Hey, well it’s on Amazon prime or it’s on Hulu and maybe they’ll take time to watch it. Maybe they won’t, but then, you

Phil: know, you’re watching it in class.

Shannon: And so it really.

Um, like more of like a personal relationship. Yeah. You can talk about things that you do outside of the classroom. And another thing is just being a attentive, but responsive. They send out an email. If they send out a survey, if they send out questions, making sure that you’re responding to those is I think just great ways to really, um, make relationships with your teachers.

So that again, like Casey was saying in the future, That letter of rec could really come in handy and they’ll be like, oh yeah, of course. I know Shannon. Of course I know Casey, like great students ask great questions came in early, stayed late, you know, and that’s, that’s what they want. So,

Casey: yeah. And if you’re the type of student that you have back to back classes, and so staying five to 10 minutes before or after class is then accessible to you.

Office hours, office hours, office hours, even if you don’t have any questions, just go check in with the professor. I try to make it a point every year to go to the first office hours and introduce myself and ask the professor any questions I have about the class. Like, Hey, what are some tips that you have?

To succeed in your class, students that have succeeded in the past. What have you noticed that they do? And what are exams going to look like? Should I start thinking about exams now? Because I know that sounds a little silly. Like, it’d be like, Sam hasn’t even come up yet. Why are you already preparing for it?

I don’t know. I personally, I personally find it really helpful to know, like, is it multiple choice? Is there essays like, should I watch out for X and Y things are readings import, is it like 50 50 with readings and lecture? Or are your exams more lecture lecture-based than reading space. Okay.

Shannon: Taking mental notes.

Casey,

Christina: this was fantastic. I really liked that question of, you know, Former students who did really well on this clause. What did you notice that they did? I liked that a lot. I’ve always been like a really big proponent of proponent. Is that the word you got it? Okay. Sounds good. I’ve been out of school too long.

Apparently. I’ve always been really big fan of attending office hours. I try to go to office hours. Well, I tried, I graduated.

Shannon: I tried to go to office hours at

Christina: least. Once or twice a semester for each professor. And you know, a lot of the times you might not have a question that’s okay. Make it up, make

Phil: it up, or just get to know them, get to know them.

I tell students all the time, if you really want to get in your professor’s good side, like find some of their research, read it a little bit and ask them about it. They are super excited to talk about their work. Yeah.

Casey: Yeah. And if they’re like, um, in a field that you’re interested in, for example, psychology students, if you find that there is a professor, that’s a clinical psychologist, like they have a PhD in clinical psychology, and you might be interested in that, ask them about it, ask them.

Getting your PhD, like I’m kind of interested in this. Can you tell me more about it? And with that, you

Shannon: could also have resource TA position or research positions that they’re looking to fill. And exactly. And so not only are you looking like you’re engaged and caring, but you might even get a future career or position out of it just because.

You cared just because you went to office

Phil: hours,

Christina: because believe it or not, not that many people go to office hours

Shannon: at all. And I

Christina: had a friend who she had gone to a professor’s office hour, like towards the end of the semester. And he was so exotic that she came because he said she was first person from that class to come to office hours all semester long.

Professors are people too. He said that he was. Dad and everything. And, um, when she came in, you know, she only had one or two questions, he answered them and then he ordered pizza, the pizza and played board games. That’s adorable. Yeah. And he, I’m pretty sure he wrote her the best letter of rec I’m sure.

You know.

Casey: Yeah. Yeah. That’s happened to me too, professor. Yeah. So excited and there’ll be like, I have Starbucks in my fridge. Do you want like a little like the little Starbucks? And I’ll be like, oh my God, yes,

Christina: you should go and talk to them. And I think that a lot of times when you’re in college, you hear a lot about, you know, networking, networking, you’re going to go network and everything, but nobody really knows what networking is.

I feel like networking a lot of the times sounds a lot more overwhelming than it really is networking. Forming relationships with people and, um, your professors or people in you should form relationships with them. Not just because they can get you something like around. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But just because this is someone who.

Is in charge of the material that you’re learning in charge of the class that you’re taking. This is somebody who can really help you get through that and get the most out of the education that you were paying a lot of money

Shannon: for. And I also think with this past year, a lot of professors they’re teaching because they love teaching.

They didn’t just come to teaching on a whim and they really, really liked their students and they love having relationships with them. So I’m sure as hard as it’s been for us as students, it’s been incredibly hard for them as well, because they’re not seeing our faces. A lot of our computer screens cameras are off.

And so if we do have in-person classes, fingers crossed maybe. I know, first three weeks are kind of up in the air, but they will even more so appreciate now that we’re taking that initiative to just say hi.

Phil: Yeah. As someone who teaches class, nothing is like more. Soul killing than teaching to a screen full of blank.

Black box. Yeah.

Christina: It’s so sad. That’s why in the FSP. Sorry, dive speed. In the pace classes, we make them mentors keep their cameras on. So that way of all of the students turn their cameras off. At least I have some

Shannon: I’ll always smile back.

Christina: Exactly. Got you.

Casey: Thank you. And I just want to say, like, to the students who are listening, that it’s going to be your first year.

Like I promise the first office hours is going to be the hardest one, because you’re going to be a little intimidated. You’re going to be a little scared. You’re going to be like, this person has a doctor in front of their name. I cured, but like I promise you’re going to go to the first office hours and you’d be like, oh, that’s not that bad.

A person they’re very normal. You’re going to like, be so much more confident in going to office hours in the

Shannon: future.

Christina: Definitely. Yeah. I agree. I think just introducing yourself and getting the ball rolling is the hardest step. But after that it is

Shannon: very easy. Yeah. Yeah. And you learn as you go and practice only makes

Christina: perfect.

Exactly. Oh, wait another tip. Speaking of office hours. I think that, um, if you ever find a professor that you really like, you should check in on them once every semester. So for me, I had an IRG professor my spring semester of freshman year, and I really enjoyed his class. It was my major. I also knew that he was the head of the department.

He did the study abroad, he did the thesis program, all of that. And so I made a point of every single semester. I would come in to see him at least. Because, you know, they post their syllabus online. You can just go and see when their office hours are and where it is and you just show up. And I think that professors really do remember you, even though you’re no longer in their class, they’ll be like, oh wait, this student isn’t even taking my class and they’re coming by to talk like they’re really interested.

And they have a lot of initiative and energy and they’ll remember that. And so your freshman year, Follow your spring semester, pick your favorite professor and continue visiting that professor for the next few semesters. And

Shannon: they’ll definitely just never say no. Yeah. Like they’ll never say we’ll always

Christina: welcome that if the is open walk in.

Phil: Definitely. Well, y’all, uh, we’re, we’re getting a little short on time here, but I wanted to see if there’s any other advice you have for, you know, getting your school year started off on the right foot. I haven’t had a

Christina: chance.

Shannon: A lot has to do with mindset. I know this past year, especially coming into junior year, having those tough first two years, first year of not really having the social aspect really only prioritizing grades.

And then that second. Yeah. Everyone’s struggling. Yeah. I think the mindset has a lot to do with it coming into junior year. I was very nervous, very scared. And I’m trying to shift that mentality to be excited for growth and to learn more than scared of making past mistakes. So there’s of course physical things that you can always do, you know, doing the planning, do the organization, going to class, getting sleep, hanging with friends, but there’s also just that huge part.

I mean, Focusing law on mental health, because that’s so important, is that do what you think is best for you as well as be open, try and be as positive as you can try and have that mindset. That this is exciting. This is, this is an exciting point in your life. It’s overwhelming and sometimes stressful, even though there’s not allowed any stress, no stress, um, pace rule.

Exactly. But I think there’s a lot that goes into the mentality of it. Just do your best and try to keep an open mind and be positive. Cause you can do it. Yeah,

Christina: I agree. I like that a lot. You know, you can plan as much as you want. You can go to class as much as you want, but if your head’s not in it, it’s gonna be hard.

Phil: Yeah. How about you, Casey? You final words for our friends.

Casey: Yeah. Always remembered that at the end of the day, take some time to take care of yourself in whatever way. Will be helpful for you. So for some people self-care might be different, but if that means just curling up in your little twin XL bed and watch your laptop do it, it means going to weekly org meetings with one social org that you join, just to talk to people and have connections.

Do that take care of yourself because at the end of the day, you’re human and you can work as hard as you want and spend as much time as you want on classes and trying to succeed. But if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re going to burn out very quickly and you are so important and you should treat yourself with the love that you

Shannon: deserve.

There’s also great resources that UT has. If trying to help yourself and you need someone else to help as well. Just going off of that, I think that’s a great point, Casey.

Phil: Well, I can’t. Thank you all enough for taking the time out to speak with us. I know there’s a lot going on school starts next week. So y’all gave us some audio gold today.

I can’t, uh, I’m excited. Yeah. Out there in the world. That was

Shannon: awesome. That was fun. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Thank

Casey: you.

Christina: Yeah, they really enjoy having two psychology majors.

Phil: Another amazing interview with amazing students programs love them to death.

Christina: And I really liked what they brought to the table, especially at the very end. You know, I feel like a lot of the times, Shannon. I really enjoy emphasizing mental health. And I can see that Casey is also very good at that as well.

And I think that hearing from someone who was, um, a freshman very, very recently telling you that, you know, you can try your hardest and you can do all of these things, but at the end of the day, you still need to take care of yourself is I think very important. I feel like mental health is a huge issue, especially in the us.

First-year college students. And especially in that

Phil: fall semester. Yeah. I don’t think a lot of students, um, are kind of forced to talk about their mistakes like this. Right. And you know, when we have guests on the podcasts, it’s really cool to hear like students tell their stories, man, I really messed up in this way.

But I learned for it from it. And here’s the changes that I’ve made from that learning. And hopefully dear listeners, you’re learning a little bit from them in the hopes that you don’t make some of the same mistakes that they do, you know, it’s true. You can’t just grind all the time. Um, and, and enjoy college.

You kinda got to do a little bit of both play hard and

Christina: work hard. I also think it’s very comforting. You know, that even if you do mess up like Casey and Shannon, both admitted that they did things freshman year, that they regret that they wish they would’ve done differently. Clearly they have learned from those things.

And I think that gives me hope for freshmen who are coming into campus y’all are moving into campus right now as we’re recording and you know what? You’re not going to have a perfect first semester. You’re going to make some sense. But the good thing is you’re going to learn from them because everybody does.

Phil: And you know, these students learn from their mistakes and now they’re all stars, their lead mentors and our programs are teeing for class. They have great relationships with faculty members and all those things weren’t built in a day or a semester. You know, those things happen over the course of two or three years.

They’re just really great examples of how you name, you can stumble at the beginning and still end up. Okay. Yeah.

Christina: Yeah. I remember when I was outlining the kind of draft for this episode, I was trying to take it more of an academic approach and it felt like, it felt like. Um, a little bit of a wake-up call that what we did end up talking about was more of here’s how you make friends outside of the classroom.

Here’s how you talk to professors. Here’s how you do everything outside of the class, rather than just study tips and time management tips, which I feel like students get a lot of that. So I think it was very refreshing to hear. Tips on college that is not in a

Phil: classroom. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and you know, and just be talking about the classroom again, just kind of, kind of nice.

Um, one of our colleagues, uh, uh, Ben Burnett, who works with our youth. Students, he always talks about, you know, if you go to a concert, you want to be front and center, like that’s where you want to be. Same thing for classes. You just pretend that your professor is whoever for you. I guess Megan, these styles.

Yeah,

Christina: for me, I just got her back. Tell you that it’s Megan

Phil: or whoever you’re into, but you know, if you had that same mentality going into. Uh, maybe you’ll pick up a finger too, more than you would have otherwise,

Christina: which like, you know, your professors are rock stars of their fields, so maybe you should be treating it like a really cool exclusive concert.

Hmm.

Phil: Well, uh, it’s been really great to be in the studio today with you. I’m excited to get started with a new year of episodes for the podcast

Christina: in studio recordings. So we just want to give. Too late for doing this for us late has been helping us with recording our podcast episodes virtually since the very first episode, we’ve done eight episodes, completely virtual.

And this is our very first episode in the studio in person. And they have just been amazing. So thank you all so much. Yes. Thank

Phil: you. And to all of you out there, we hope that until next time, all of your endeavors are a success.