by Jacob Fuhrer |
Nihat Cem Inan
Senior, electrical engineering and music major
What study tips do you have for students?
You have to be interested in the material. You have to enjoy what you learn. I majored in electrical engineering and music. With every class, I’ve taken it as if I was in that discipline. For classes that require memorizing, it’s important not to just blindly memorize but also understand what you do. When you go over a list of topics and you understand all the material that you’re learning, you’ll find it actually takes less time to keep all of them in your head.
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
It’ll be challenging at first. It’s not as difficult as they may think. There are more distractions and more independent responsibilities. In high school everyone tells you what to do … in college, you still have to maintain that rigorous schedule. As they say in “Spider-Man,” with great power comes with great responsibility.
What motivated you to keep going when things seemed difficult?
My interest in both the majors that I studied. A lot of people may think, for example, that I would do the double major to have it look better on my resume, but really the reason I did it is that I could not decide between the two subjects. I really had a great desire to learn and become knowledgeable in those fields. That was the driving force behind everything.
What do you do to relax and decompress from school?
I sometimes play music as a hobby. In school, I played the piano and saxophone for most of my performances. I play some Turkish musical instruments too. My family is originally from Turkey. Music gave me a good activity to do in my free time. Besides that, I like to do a variety of sports. I love going skiing, biking, swimming, hiking and other things too.
What has been your favorite part of your time at UP? Because of my two majors, I like to say I had two favorite parts. In engineering, my favorite part was when we had the presentations on Founder’s Day. I got to present the knowledge I got from my senior design project. I felt like a real engineer dealing with real problems. In music, I placed in a competition that allowed me to play in Carnegie Hall. That was perhaps one of my most exciting times being a music major.
Where are you headed next?
I haven’t completely decided but what I want to do is possibly work for a couple of years and then eventually do graduate school. Right now my plan is to go all the way to a doctorate, but this could change. For now, I want to continue with engineering but I want to continue music on the side as well.
Final thoughts about UP?
My favorite part about the UP community is that I’ve seen so many people care so much and help each other out. Every single student I’ve seen here tries to be kind and listen to you if you have a problem. The amount I’ve seen this at UP is incredible, more than any other environment I’ve been in. I think that’s the most important thing.
Nathan Seppi
Senior, philosophy and French
What study tips do you have?
Time management is the biggest thing. Have a planner, divide up your tasks into different steps and then plan specific times when you’ll do each of those steps.
What advice would you give to incoming freshman?
Take advantage of the resources here at the university. There’s a lot of things that are offered. It takes minimal effort to step outside your comfort zone … and jump into those things. I’ve used tutors along the way for checking papers … and now I’m a tutor for French.
What motivated you to keep going when things seemed difficult?
My whole approach to learning and grades and all wasn’t for the grades specifically. It was much more for taking advantage of the opportunity and the class. A lot of it was relationship based. I feel like I had a relationship with the professor and if I didn’t do the work, I felt like I was letting them down.
What do you do to relax and decompress from school?
I climb a lot. I like rock climbing down at The Circuit or Planet Granite. Also, physical activity and hanging out with friends. But climbing is a big one right now.
What was the most challenging part of your time here at UP?
It’s all been so good. I guess the transition into it from freshman year and kind of coming into my own self. That was a challenging time.
Where are you headed next?
I’m going into environmental work. I am an intern with the Forest Park Conservancy. I’ll probably be looking at Americorp programs. For the immediate future, I’m doing Christian ministry at the national parks.
Anything you wish you could have done differently?
I would seek community more in my freshman year. I think that’s one of the reasons the transition was more challenging. In high school all your communities and friends just fall on you. In university, you have to seek them out.
Jacob Fuhrer is a staff writer for The Beacon. He can be reached at fuhrer17@up.edu.
