Hi, beautiful WEPOteers!! My name is Danielle Roethlein. I’m
a senior in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering with a minor in Energy
Business and Finance, and I actually cannot count how many times I’ve sang the
lyrics that you just read in order to make it through my week. I’m sure
everyone has told you that college “isn’t like high school,” and “it’s going to
be challenging.” Unfortunately, these words-of-wisdom aren’t very helpful
because if you’re reacting the way I did, you’re both terrified and a little
defensive. When I was given all these warnings, they made me think two things:
1.
What if I can’t be an engineer?! What if I’m not
smart enough and everyone is right that I’ll have to face…failure???
2.
They’re totally wrong. I’m a straight-A student,
and I’ve already got multiple college credits, I’m super involved; there’s no
way college can bring me down.
Much to my surprise, neither of my thoughts was right or
wrong. While college (engineering in particular) is difficult, it’s not
impossible. I did face failure on multiple occasions, and I promise that every
Rover and Mentor on the leadership team can say the same. That being said, most
of my growth during college (that “finding yourself” journey that you’re
supposed to take) is thanks to those failures. If someone were to walk up to me
today and warn me that the next step I’m planning to take in life is incredibly
difficult and like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, I wouldn’t be scared
or defensive. I would accept that I will likely have difficulties, and I would
plan to face those head-on. So how can you let your failures build you up
instead of tear you down? Everything that I’ve done to accomplish that can be
summarized into 3 tips:
1.
Make
friends. Good, solid, lean-on friends who you can turn to when you’re
feeling down. These friends will be people you can study with and hang out
with. You can be serious or silly together, and you have similar goals, morals,
and aspirations. It sounds like you’re picking a person to marry; I know, but
the people you surround yourself with can completely make or break you. I’ve
had friends who brought me down as I constantly tried to help bring them up,
and I’ve also had friends who were as hard-working as I was with a positive
attitude. Those are the friends who I still have to this day because we bring
each other up. True friends really make your entire college experience the best
it can be.
2.
Be organized. When I started college, my
mother warned me not to be very involved
in activities at school because I
needed to have enough time to do my work. For some people,
that might have been good advice, but it actually made my grades worse. My freshman year, I wasn’t involved in much at all. I went to class, went to work, and went home. This meant I had quite a bit of time to get my work done, and, inevitably, I became the queen of procrastination. This also meant that when I got a bad grade, I didn’t have any plans to get my mind off of it. It’s good to learn from failures, but not to wallow in them. Being involved keeps you busy, so you move on from that negativity and start thinking about the next thing you can successfully accomplish.
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| Danielle reading to kids at Hershey Med |
that might have been good advice, but it actually made my grades worse. My freshman year, I wasn’t involved in much at all. I went to class, went to work, and went home. This meant I had quite a bit of time to get my work done, and, inevitably, I became the queen of procrastination. This also meant that when I got a bad grade, I didn’t have any plans to get my mind off of it. It’s good to learn from failures, but not to wallow in them. Being involved keeps you busy, so you move on from that negativity and start thinking about the next thing you can successfully accomplish.
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| Danielle standing to start dancing in THON 2013 |
By sophomore year, I became so involved in
clubs and activities that I needed to organize my day in my calendar each
morning when I woke up, and I still do this every semester. Before I go to
class each morning, I put my classes, club meetings, and gym time (going to the
gym is one of the BIGGEST stress relievers) in my calendar. Then I fill in my
homework and study time in any hours that haven’t already been filled. If my
homework doesn’t fit in that time, I start cutting out anything that isn’t a
priority. Planning this in the morning helps so that I don’t realize AFTER I’ve
spent 4 hours in meetings that I needed that time for homework. Being involved
is great, but the main reason we’re all in school is to learn, so that needs to
be the main priority in your daily schedule.
3.
Be
confident. It sounds obvious, but it’s really not the easiest thing to do
in such a competitive major. Whether it’s the first month of school or not
until your junior year, at some point you’ll get a grade that you aren’t happy
with. The worst thing you can do is compare yourself to others. It doesn’t
matter if you’re doing worse or better than your classmates; your biggest
competition is yourself. When you get a bad grade, remind yourself that you can
and will do better.
When it comes to failures, you will face them, but the way
you react to them and learn from them will determine your success in college.
Be confident in your abilities, be organized, and surround yourself with
supportive friends. This will allow those little bumps in the road to help you
grow instead of bring you down.
Danielle Roethlein is a senior in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, and she is a Mentor for WEPO '14!
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