All of my academic life I am used to there being certain people I can count on to make me feel “at home” in my curriculum. I was worried that I wouldn’t find this at UNCC after last semester, but I am now begining to find my niche and fit in with certain people and breaking down my own walls of fear about things. I am at UNCC for 3 – 5 years (or 6 if you ask the registrar; Degree/Decree Expected Date: May 2010). This isn’t a small part of my academic life, this is just the begining of phase 2. During Fall 2004 I was very concerned and almost alarmed about the fact that I didn’t really know any instructors or how to properly get to know them (or any of the students for that matter). The answer to how to get to know them… simply let it happen naturally. It doesn’t take a small class to get to know an instructor, and small classes don’t really help with it at all. This semester I commited myself to a minor in philosophy (because I like the way it makes me feel), with that commitment comes the acceptance of a limited set of instructors to complete it with. I have sort of accidentally selected Dr. Presler as my instructor of choice. Dr. Presler seems to understand me and I like her teaching style.
When I am in an academic environment I seem to attach myself to certain people, not sure why, but what I do know is that I get this feeling of belonging once that attachment is made. I have that attachment now for my minor, just days after it being declared and confirmed.
As for my major, I have selected Mrs. Sara Scott. I will likely only have her for another course or two at most, so I can’t become too attached, but I am also getting along well with my advisor/director, Dr. Bruce Long. In the past 2 weeks I have began talking to Mrs. Scott more and more. She isn’t as much of an air-head as believed during day 1.
I can’t say for certain if my isolation felt previously was because of the department I was attached to or not, but what I do know is that I feel right at home in the College Of Information Technology.
Recently I have been feeling particularly isolated from my fellow students, and im finding that this is making me quite uncomfortable. I am trying to make contact with people, specificly Robert in Calculus, Kent and Chuck in Accounting, and Waseem in Business Programming.
Off I go into my world of academics and people who will likely disperese before I get up the courage to really get to know them.