Advice to @AUC Students

What I am writing below is a response to a student project. The project asked me, as an alumna of AUC, to share some advice with new AUC students.

I graduated from AUC February 2001 with a BSc in Computer science, but later got a PhD in Education from the University of Defined and currently work as an Associate professor of practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at AUC. So my discipline/field is education or academia 🙂

Here is my advice:

1. Make the most of your stay at AUC. Use your time outside classes to explore and expand your interests, join extracurricular activities, you may learn more about life in them than in most classes
2. Get to know people who are different from yourself. They may help you become a better person.
3. Choose courses outside your major that you can enjoy – they may shift your view of the world and make you rethink your future plans
4. Stay in touch with your professors and colleagues after classes are over and after you graduate. Those human relationships are the most valuable part of a college experience
5. Take it easy on yourself. College can be stressful, but it can also be a lot of fun. Learn to manage your time and prioritize what matters most.
6. Don’t be afraid to switch direction if you find your passion is elsewhere. If you can’t change your major while you’re enrolled, you can always shift careers after graduation. I’m sure there’s a statistic on % of AUCians who do this.
7. Be ambitious but stay kind to others.
8. Take care of yourself but be aware of your privilege and how you can use it to support others.
9. Remember that you have agency to control your life’s direction and the capacity to influence others, but remain aware of the complex world and all the ways it affects the consequences of your actions.
10. Question everything. Including what your professors tell you – including this advice! 🙂 But also be open to learning unfamiliar things or perspectives you wouldn’t normally learn – you may be missing out.