I emigrated from Guyana (South America) at the end of 1987 and was unsure whether I would immediately attend college or start working full time. It was not long before I realized that I would need a college degree if I expected to gain respectable employment which would also provide a decent salary. I obtained my General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and, after consulting with counselors at the City University of New York headquarters in Manhattan, I decided to attend the City College of New York (CCNY).

My freshman year at CCNY made a significant impression on me. I was taken aback by how different things were from high school. College meant taking more personal responsibility for seeing things through. It began with registration. Although helpful academic counselors were available, they only acted as guides. Ultimately, I had to make my own decisions about issues like how many classes to take, which classes to take, how much time I could dedicate to each class, and so on. Once registration was over, I was faced with the workload of the average freshman courses. It seemed like an insurmountable mountain of work. How could I possibly study 30 pages for Psychology, another 10 for Calculus, prepare an essay for English and read about ancient Mesopotamia for World Civilizations. Not to mention the readings from the 12 books of the dreaded World Humanities 101, or that it was all due in one week! The answer was to take personal responsibility for how I was using my time. I had to arrange some of my life around my college schedule. A responsible person realizes that readings have to be done, parties could wait....usually.

The difference between college and high school was also evident in the high expectations educators had of students. I vividly recall walking up to a professor at the end of the first day of class and asking, "What homework should we be looking at for next time?" "Why do you think I handed out a syllabus?" was the response. I looked down at my syllabus and there it was as clear as day, we were to begin reading chapter one. Although embarrassing, the response taught me a lesson which still holds importance for me today. The lesson was that answers to questions would not be hand fed to me; I would be expected to make a reasonable effort to seek answers for myself first. And that did not necessarily mean struggling with research on my own. In fact, working with quality groups was surprisingly helpful. The point was to develop an inquisitive mind which first tried to discover answers to questions for itself -- using all pertinent resources. Successful students tend to do that more often than others. The philosophy made research for the countless college papers and preparation for the equally countless college exams easier.

Once I realized what I was in for in college, I was able to appreciate all of the resources CCNY provides for developing students. Foremost among these is probably CCNY’s professors’ tendency to be readily accessible to students. All professors have office hours and are usually available by other means, e-mail for example. In my experience, CCNY professors often go beyond the call of duty. Dr. Coates, head of the Teaching Thinking Project is one of those professors. I visited Dr. Coates to inquire about signing up for independent studies. During my visit I mentioned that I was conducting a study on memory but needed more subjects. Dr. Coates, although having met me briefly just once before, offered to help me find subjects. It was an unexpected but extremely helpful gesture. Dr. Coates kindness reminded me of other similar offers by other professors. It reinforced my belief that there was a definite commitment by CCNY’s professors to students’ academic growth.

This is probably my last semester as an undergraduate, but the lessons learned in college have long begun to pay off in my life outside of college. I may have become more personally responsible to fulfill my obligations as a freshman, but I have already found that others tend to have a certain sense of confidence in me because of my responsible nature. Similarly, I developed a resourceful mentality to ensure academic success but it has been an enormous advantage in my work career. And finally, I benefited from the kind assistance of professors like Dr. Coates, but I learned through doing the same for newer students that the feeling derived from assisting others is where the true reward lies. I have college to thank for these and countless other lessons (not mentioned here) that ensure that I will continue to have a rewarding life outside of college. I would be the first in line to encourage anyone contemplating attending college to do so. College provides for a richly fulfilling personal experience and at the same time it places you on track for a rewarding and successful career in your chosen field.