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Coming into Speed School, my mind was filled with horror stories and statements such as "calculus is impossible," or "say goodbye to any semblance of social life," you know, the typical "you're going to hate your major" sort of anecdotes. Most of all, so I was told, the first three semesters were the most crucial, as the GPA obtained from those semesters will be the GPA I would use to apply for my co-op. Because of this, I was extremely cautious when it came to choosing my activities during my first semester. No joining organizations, no extracurriculars, no real social activities, just school and McConnell activities. I didn't want to over-commit myself and ruin the GPA I was going to need for a co-op and a potential full-time job after graduation.
The resultant semester was as expected, filled with academics and very little time for anything personal or character enriching, or in other words, dull and stressful. Coming out of the first semester, I knew I had to do something different, or this was going to be a short bout in Speed. The classes were hard, and I learned quite quickly that a 4.0 was unrealistic to keep up. While I pulled that off in my first semester of classes, it required me to be focused entirely on academics. I studied upwards of six to eight hours a day on top of a full course load, and most of all, I wasn't allowed any mistakes. I placed an immense pressure on myself to maintain a 4.0 standard and studied endlessly to do so. At the end of the semester, when final grades posted, I was expecting some magical moment, a feeling of accomplishment, but instead felt disappointed. I was exhausted and thought that I was missing out on a fundamental part of the college experience.
Heading into the Spring semester, I decided I needed to take on some more activities to balance the monotony of calculus, physics, and programming classes. I joined a fraternity, started flight school, and started to interact with friends more. I diverted that time that I usually spent exclusively on studying to these activities instead, and I saw the quality of my life quickly improve. I was able to form new friendships, gain new experiences, and be overall happier.
With this, however, for the first time, I reached the limit of my time. I could only be in so many places at once, and it is merely impossible to devote enough time to academics, fraternity, flight school, and social endeavors to both appear and be fully committed to all of them.
At the end of my first year, I not only knew how to calculate floating speeds and angles of astronauts throwing hammers in space, but I had also mastered moving mats in UofL's volleyball court with leaf blowers. I had traveled with friends, dealt with non-responsive landlords and Airbnb hosts, and learned how to navigate varying weather conditions and mechanical issues in different planes. Still, I felt I was not able to give 100% to any single activity I was involved in. This turned into another source of disappointment, but a source I have come to accept and manage as inevitable and which is easily outweighed. It is crucial for one to gain experience outside of the textbook and classroom, whether that's through a student organization or a hobby outside of academics. Doing well in class is, without a doubt important, but doing perfectly in class is not. Taking on new things and adding them to the list of things you already have committed to can be stressful, and it can quickly feel like your trying to do everything - yet are distant from everything that you do. That being said, the value gained from these experiences is incalculable and they have greatly enriched my college experience.
College is a perfect place to develop soft skills, It is a time to make friends, mature and learn about yourself. However, the standard track of doing well in engineering school does not necessarily offer many opportunities to develop these skills.
Throughout my search for a co-op, from seminars to interviews, it was consistently stated by recruiters that they are looking for candidates with excellent communication skills and with life experiences, primarily experiences outside the classroom that helped them develop leadership experience and critical thinking skills. I believe, while a high GPA might have caught the attention of recruiters, the final job offer was sealed by the stories I was able to share.
My advice to all the prospective or new students, especially in Engineering school, would be to make sure you build life experiences as well as academic knowledge, as the answers to questions like "When have you taken a risk?", "When have you had to be flexible?" or "Give me an example of a situation where you had to bend the rules" cannot be found in textbooks. And most of all - be forgiving to yourself when you are less than perfect.
Kieran Waigel is a McConnell Scholar in the Class of 2022. He is studying computer engineering, computer science, and political science at the University of Louisville.