Day in the Life of a UMD Freshman - Grace Herr

Accepted to UMD? Congrats! Not sure if it’s the right choice for you? Curious about how a typical day for a freshman might be? Well then, read on! This is part four of the Day in the Life series.

Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

Today Grace Herr, a computer science major and art history minor, will be sharing her day with us. She's an out-of-stater from Pennsylvania and in the College Park Scholars - Art program.

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Can you give us a breakdown of your day?

7:30 AM - Wake up

I woke up and got dressed. I skipped breakfast like usual.

8:00 AM - General Chemistry I (CHEM131)

I took my first chemistry exam. It was pushed back because of all the snow days; it was originally scheduled for two weeks ago. I think it went well. It was a pretty standard chemistry exam, I think. Professor Khachik doesn’t really go by the book; he’s very hands-on with calculations. He doesn't lecture in the traditional sense; instead, he does example problems the entire class. The exam format followed his teaching style/what was covered in lecture fairly closely.

9:30 - 10:45 AM - Calc 2 Discussion (MATH141)

We completed a graded worksheet, like we normally do in discussion. I have math discussion every Tuesday and Thursday. Since we had an exam the day before, we also discussed the exam, and the TA went over our exam-related questions. We also made up a lecture on trigonometric substitution in discussion due to a snow day.  

10:45 - 11:00 AM - Walk from Armory to Art/Sociology Building

The art/sociology building is far from the Armory, so I have to walk quickly to get there.

11:00 - 11:50 AM - ARTH200 Lecture

ARTH200 is an art history course which focuses on Mediterranean, Greek, and Roman art history. It was a standard lecture - we went over different pieces of artwork. We just finished ancient Egyptian art and now we're onto the art of ancient Greece. We went over the cultural significance of what’s going on in that time period and discussed the Trojan war. Basically, we looked into the history that influenced the art of that time. We also analyzed the marble pediment sculptures from the Parthenon.

11:50 AM - 12:30 PM

I'm done with my classes for the day. My classes are pretty compact in my schedule. I headed back to my dorm (Bel Air), and I took a shower. 

12:30 to 3:30 PM - Cleaning

I prepped for spring break/going home by going through my winter clothing. I decided what clothes I wanted to take home and what I wanted to leave in my dorm. I also washed the dishes, did the laundry, changed my sheets... that kind of thing.

3:30 - 6:00 PM - Homework
I did homework. I took an art history online quiz on ELMS. I also worked on a computer science project, worked on a chem lab report, and ate a snack.

6:00 - 8:00 PM - Scholars Colloquium (CPSA101)

I'm in the Arts Scholar Program, and today, we had a water color workshop. It was held in the Bel Air Study Lounge. I finished up the water color piece, a dream piece from the week before. I combined a couple of different things in my piece which is an interpretation of my dreams. I also made Indian mandalas with ink and water color. I like my scholars program overall. I’m a science major, and my scholars program allows me to do things outside of my major such as painting.

8:00 PM - Dinner

I ate a hummus sandwich from the convenience store. There are several vegetarian options, like vegan chicken or the falafel, but I like the hummus sandwich the most.

9:00 – 9:30 PM - More Work
I continued working on my art history essay. I proofread it.

9:30 – 10:30 PM - More Work
I worked on more computer science.

10:30 PM -- 12:30 PM - Downtime

I watched Netflix for about two hours.

12:30 AM - Sleep
I went to bed.

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Additional Questions

How busy are you?

Normally not that busy. I have a fair amount of free time, but yesterday was one of my busier days. I tried to get stuff done before spring break by consolidating my work. A lot of my exams were pushed back, so professors have been consolidating the workload too. So for the past 2 weeks it's been busier, but I still maintain a fairly open schedule. Classes end early which help too.

One thing you wish you knew before you started attending UMD?

I wish I knew the winter would be horrible. I thought Maryland weather would be more mild and not so cold. It just seems a lot more colder here than in Pennsylvania, and I would be freezing walking to class. It's just been a cold, cold experience!

Your favorite thing about UMD? 

I’m from Pennsylvania. People there aren't as friendly as they are here. Here in Maryland, even off campus, people make eye contact, smile, or say hi to you. Back where I live, near Philadelphia, we don’t really acknowledge people that way or talk to people we don’t know.

How is it like to be out of state? 

I’m three hours away from home. So that’s a pretty okay distance. My sister lives in Baltimore, Maryland, so once in a while I go visit her. My parents sometimes visit too. Because Pennsylvania is fairly close, it’s a lot easier. I talk to my parents everyday. I've been back home a couple of times on the weekends even when I’m not on break. It was an easy transition. Nothing too surprising.

What clubs are you part of? 
I'm not really part of clubs.

How are you involved on campus? 
I go to events at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and hang out with friends/grab dinner with them. I sleep, study, and practice the cello.

Do you like Maryland?

Yes, it’s a good fit for me. I didn't really decide to come here until last minute. Between NYU, Virginia Tech, and here. The computer science program here is a lot better. The program here accommodates what I want, and I can still take art history courses. At the other schools I was considering, I couldn't do anything else. The tuition is right too. I like the suburban atmosphere; I wasn't going for city life.

Any last words?

Bring a vacuum! It's the best thing ever, and I love mine. It makes cleaning so much easier!

Thank you Grace!