Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, and Unicorns?? ... Oh My! Happiness After Her Undergrad - Cierra Gaudet

Undergraduate Degree = COMPLETE!!!

Euphoria, unicorns, rainbows, sunshine, dancing, happiness, laughter, the “warm fuzzies” are all a mixture of feelings that I am experiencing at the moment. I’ve dreamed about this moment so many times in the last few weeks. For a while, it seemed like I’d be stuck in university forever, but after Christmas I began to see the end of the tunnel and I knew that victory was near. I wish I could say that I did something drastic after my last exam. You know, like I threw down my pencil and stormed out of the room like I owned the place (or something along those lines). I ended up doing the same thing I always do. Checking and re-checking all of my work, making sure my name and student number were written on the front page and as I walked down to give my exam to my professor, I did take the time to smile a bit. I handed in my last exam, still smiling, and said “thank you” to the professor. It was only when I was in the comfort of my own room that my happy dance began!

It’s been 2 hours since I finished writing and it still hasn’t really sunk in that I’m done. I keep expecting someone to jump out of nowhere and be like, “JUST KIDDING! YOU HAVE A PAPER DUE TOMORROW!” or something else that’s just as scary. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking about all that’s gone on in the last four years. I’ve mentioned previously that I am originally from Summerside, PEI and during my senior year of high school, I made the decision to attend the University of Ottawa in the fall. At first it seemed like a brilliant idea! I felt so excited to be heading to a big city and experiencing all the hustle and bustle of being in the nation’s capital. The night before I left, all of those feelings went away and were replaced with such terror I wanted to honestly slap myself in the face and be like, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU INSANE? YOU’LL NEVER SURVIVE!”

But, I did! Somehow I managed to fall in love with the city of Ottawa and while I still can’t say some words properly and my love for headbands hasn’t died, I can honestly say that it’s been an unreal journey. (So unreal that I’m staying here again ;)). I won’t say that it was an easy 4 years because an undergraduate degree is NOT easy. In fact, it was a lot of hard work, dedication and wasn’t done

without complaining, griping and arguing. However, what I’ve managed to learn (aside from what I was supposed to learn) was that good company, great friends and family are all you need to survive in life, no matter what the challenge is…ok, and well yes, you also need food, water and oxygen, but let’s just keep it simple. :P What made this undergrad memorable was all of the wonderful people that I had the chance to get to know over the course of the degree. It’s pretty neat when you’re in a classroom that’s so diverse in culture, energy, and talent. I’m excited to see what the future holds in store for my classmates and myself.

In terms of the future, I plan on working here for the next year, finding some time to relax for once and perhaps going back to school later on. I’ve always enjoyed learning, and I’m only 21, so who knows? However, right now all I can think about is celebrating!!!! Because, well, why not?? :D I definitely have a sense of pride in what I’ve accomplished, but that goes without saying that I’ve been very fortunate to have such an amazing support team who I want to take the time to recognize for always being there for me (you guys know who you are!). I think sometimes as students we are so focused on grades that we forget the most important things in life (and no, sleep isn’t one of them in case you were wondering), but rather our family and friends. Always make sure they come first above everything else. With that, congrats to the HK graduates of 2014! We did it (thank god).

I Am Officially Done... My Undergrad - A Few Thoughts For University Students

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success.  ~Robert Orben

This could not be any more true. 

So often we are forced to toe the line. Especially as students, often in the prime of our learning potential - still young enough to learn new things and not quite jaded by "reality," while also being old enough to start critically and independently think. This should be the time to debate popular discourse, push the boundaries, challenge authority (in a complete peaceful and diplomatic way, of course :P)

However.

This is typically what happens...

Nick Gibbs - British Conservative Party Politician

... and it is wrong...

More and more individuals are realizing that we cannot teach in manner that is one-directional. I am not here to start preaching a Platonic way of learning, whereby texts would be eliminated and all discourse would run through discussion and open debate. Nor am I saying we need to follow the tenants of Locke or Aristotle and that we are all blank slates (tabula rasa). What I am saying is that we need to figure things out for ourselves on an individual basis.

I can't tell you how many times I have known fellow students to stress out endlessly because they feel they were slighted by a single mark.

Is it frustrating - absolutely!

Does it matter - probably not.

Sure, there are certainly exceptions. If you need to get into Med school, you probably need much higher marks and every little bit counts. Should it necessarily be this way - no. But it is. However, for the majority of university students getting decent grades is all that is necessary. No one will ask to see your transcript. Albeit, you still need to know your field and important material, but university courses are often very specific and specialized. Or, extremely general and non specific.

Use university as a guide. Let it help you find your direction, but ultimately find your own way.

Use university as a tool, not as the end-all and be-all. It is a great time to learn to time manage. 

What does that mean exactly?

Often in life you will not have the time to do everything you want to do, and to do it perfectly. "Sacrifices" often need to be made. Parents often know this all too well. Do you really think you are going to be as productive at work after three months of a newborn not sleeping more than one or two hours a night... nope. And frankly, there is nothing wrong with that.

Graduating university without ever doing extra curricular activities, sports, volunteering, etc... is a shame. Not to mention, once you have "fairly good" grades, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself.

To end off - you don't need university to learn. Many are able to self teach or autodiadact. Not to mention, when you look at the work of 2013 TED prize winner Sugata Mitra, you can see that perhaps learning and education can occur spontaneously and in the absence of "teaching":

Educational researcher Dr. Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” experiments have shown that, in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity and peer interest. In 1999, Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in a wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi, installed an Internet-connected PC, and left it there (with a hidden camera filming the area). What they saw was kids from the slum playing around with the computer and in the process learning how to use it and how to go online, and then teaching each other.

The "Hole in the Wall" project demonstrates that, even in the absence of any direct input from a teacher, an environment that stimulates curiosity can cause learning through self-instruction and peer-shared knowledge. Mitra, who's now a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University (UK), calls it "minimally invasive education."

At TED2013, Sugata Mitra made a bold TED Prize wish: Help me build a place where children can explore and learn on their own -- and teach one another -- using resouces from the worldwide cloud.