Happy spring! I hope you all have enjoyed your Easter Holiday and are loving the warmer weather as much as I am. At UoM we have two weeks off for our holiday; I spent the first week of my break on a road trip to Tennessee with my best friend so we could visit the Smokey Mountains! I’ve wanted to visit the mountain range for years and am so happy I finally did. It was the most rejuvenating experience, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. I spent the rest of my holiday at home relaxing and getting ahead on some final assignments that have due dates coming up.
In this month’s blog, I’m going to talk about the professors! With the current online learning situation, we have not been able to meet our professors in person. Over the break, I had a question about an assignment, so I reached out to a professor to see if they had any office hours available to help. They were gracious enough to agree to meet with me over the break and help me. What I imagined would be only a 15-30-minute conversation that lasted over 2 hours! We talked about classes, how the semester was going, our backgrounds, my dissertation and future career goals, and so much more!
As an international student, the prospect of applying to jobs in the UK had me feeling very anxious, but I left that conversation genuinely feeling positive about the future and what I was accomplishing in my master’s program. In the conversation, my professor emphasized multiple times how much all of the professors enjoyed speaking to students and helping guide them, and also how hard the online learning format was on them because they weren’t speaking to students after class or on campus the way the usually would in a classroom setting. If you’re anything like me, I’m always hesitant to reach out to professors to ask for office hours because I feel like I’m bothering them – but that’s not the case at all! One of the reasons professors are in the line of work they are in is because they want to help students.
I learned so much invaluable information during my conversation and I am so happy I reached out. My professor even offered to help me prepare for interviews when I begin applying for jobs! I learned so much about the job market and how to stand out in the application process. Our professors are all professionals in their field and have real-life experience and wisdom to impart to the students. Having access to their professional knowledge is truly such an advantage that more students should take advantage of while studying. Professors want to talk with us!
I definitely plan to start reaching out to more of my professors - I’ve already set up hours with one of them for when we return from break! I am so excited to learn about not only their careers but also their backgrounds so I can learn and adapt their knowledge to my career path. Just reach out to your professors and set up a quick getting-to-know-you meeting - it will be worth it!
