The Importance of Office Hours

Going to college and coming to the realization that I really was on my own was rough. I come from a small town and graduated in a class of about 250 people (I know, to some of you that may seem huge while to others it seems insignificant). I had teachers who I grew close to and felt completely comfortable approaching if I had questions or needed advice. Needless to say, sitting in lecture halls of 400+ people with professors who all have doctorates was more than scary—it was flat out terrifying. I’m sure you’ve heard that college professors aren’t like high school teachers and that they could care less about how you’re doing in class, but this isn’t always true! Professors are people, too; if you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice back.

You’re going to hear it right from the start: GO TO OFFICE HOURS. Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ll know that admitting defeat and asking for help isn’t always the easiest thing to do. That in itself is a whole other challenge. I’m not going to lie, Engineering is not the easiest major, and you’re going to need help sometimes. And that is 100% okay. Ask any upperclassmen woman engineer and I can guarantee she’ll tell you she asked for help at some point.

There’s another challenge you may have to overcome before you set foot in a prof’s office—facing the fear of talking to the professor. When I first came to Penn State, I was petrified to approach my professors; it’s really intimidating to talk to someone who teaches a class of hundreds and has a PhD and uses words you’ve never heard and blah blah blah, you get my point. I didn’t go to any of my professors’ office hours my first semester and I can’t tell you how much I regret it. (Hindsight is 20/20, I know.)

I didn’t start going to office hours until after my first Math 141 exam. I was so nervous about series and sequences and the second exam, so I started to go to my math professor’s office hours twice a week, every week. (If you haven’t heard the horror stories about Math 141 and the second exam, you will soon.) I pretty much built those hours into my schedule and went religiously. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I took those steps. Not only did I do really well in a class most people say is one of the most difficult, but I also was offered a job because I saw my professor so frequently! I mentioned to her once that I loved math and I wanted to minor in it, and a week later she asked me if I would be her grader this coming school year. I now have a job that pays more than minimum wage and has flexible hours, and I didn’t have to apply or go through an interview, all because of office hours.

I know it’s scary, and I know that admitting defeat and asking for help isn’t always the easiest thing to do. I still have yet to approach a professor who teaches a lecture, but I’m working on it. Trust me, office hours really do help. Don’t wait like I did!

Kaylyn Hannon is a sophomore in Bioengineering. She is a rover for WEPO 2012.