Chancellor’s Convocation

Ask for help before you need it — or at least before you get in too deep. Get involved. Try a new organization or sport. Make friends and create memories. Keep an open mind. Think for yourself. Manage the peer pressure.

— Lori Berquam, dean of students

When your teacher is working hard with you to convey a difficult concept or issue, don’t ask, “Will it be on the exam?”

— Robert Skloot, professor of theatre and drama

This vast university is a wonderful and wonderfully varied resource for students — socially, culturally and intellectually. My first piece of advice is to use that resource to the fullest. That means take courses in subjects not available to you previously. Join clubs, take part in scheduled activities, attend some performances and lectures. Make an effort to get to know people not like those you grew up with. My second piece of advice is to remember that you are here to go to school. Keep your job hours to the minimum you can afford financially. Even while enjoying the social and cultural and athletic resources of the UW and Madison, stay focused on your responsibility to your formal education: Attend your classes, keep up with your assignments, and reach out to individual faculty members. They are eager to help you succeed and to help you identify the course of study that will prove most rewarding for you.

— Lynn Keller, professor of English

Sit up front.

— Michael Hinden, professor of English

Think through more carefully now what you expect of a university education; don’t wait until you are a senior to do that. Be your own person; develop your own system of ideals. You will be, should be, influenced by others, by your reading, your conversations, classroom lectures. But you’re not an automaton; it’s not necessary to think the way everyone else thinks. Bask in that myriad of influences, but in the end your view of the world should be a unique one. It doesn’t have to be the cookie-cutter template: You’ve got your own identity, and there will be a lot of pressure to mesh that identity with the received “wisdom” of what a university student is. A university student thinks independently, is in the process of developing not simply a gregarious personality but the complexity of character. There will be as lot of pressure, both within you and from outside, to measure yourself according to everyone else. You can learn from everyone else, but it is the unique blend of all of these influences that should be the essential goal here. Be wholly involved at times, ironically detached at others, as you move through the welter of people, words, images; as you deepen your ideas, expand your ideals. And read, read, read.

— Harold Scheub, professor of African languages and literature

1. Go to class: There is no substitute for the learning that derives from instructor and classmate interaction.
2. Go to office hours: Even if you are not having problem in the course, get to know your professors and TAs — they want to help you succeed in the class and beyond. If they know you better, they can better help you.
3. Join a student group: Begin to build a support network outside of class. When you decide on a major, join the group related to your major.
4. Take care of yourself: Sleep well, eat well, and take advantage of the free “health clubs” on campus.

— Terry Warfield, professor of accounting

Smart students save time by scheduling tutoring. Use academic support services around campus. The writing center, for example, is a place to make friendships and to talk about your assignments or frustrations in addition to reading aloud your work, gaining a second reader’s perspective and learning more about the writing process. When you schedule a tutorial, you set your own deadline for a next product or revision. Tutoring can help with time management and pacing in addition to strengthening the work you do for classes and for your own learning. UW–Madison offers a range of tutoring services, which can help you save time, build relationships and learn in a social environment beyond class.

— Beth Godbee, English 100 teaching assistant

It is likely that you will look back on your freshman year as a major turning point in your life. Your relationships with parents, friends, professors and other mentors will all change during this year and take on more of an adult quality. You will probably meet people this year who will be significant to you for the rest of your life. Everyone is scared when they start college — no one admits it, but everyone is scared. Try not to let your fear prevent you from embracing the full experience of your freshman year. It is natural to want to retreat to old friends and old ways of doing things, but challenge yourself to step outside the comfort zone of family and high school and experience all that UW–Madison has to offer.

— Wren Singer, director, Center for the First-Year Experience

Take intellectual risks — explore new subjects and keep an open mind. You never know where it might lead you. Perhaps more importantly, if something sounds better at 1 a.m. than it did at 10 p.m., it’s probably not a good idea to begin with…

— Jon Pevehouse, professor of political science

Stay connected to those who help you be grounded. To get the most out of your college adventure, it is important to take good care of who you are culturally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually. Our campus offers support in all of those areas. There is no excuse not to expect the best from us as we are expecting the same from you.

— Ruttanatip Chonwerawong, Assistant Dean, School of Education

Athletes train before team tryouts. Musicians practice before an audition. Those who travel abroad brush up on their foreign language skills. Which course do you think will present the most challenges to you this fall? Think ahead and train for it. Practice the skills ahead of time. Brush up on any skills, especially those relating to communication and computation. This tip is good not only for your first year on campus but also for every year you are in study. Working ahead is your insurance policy, allowing you more intellectual (and social) wiggle room during the semester itself. When everybody else is bogged down reading the novels you have read ahead of time or learning the Spanish verbs you already are fluent in, you can sit back and say “Hey, no problem.”

— Cathy Middlecamp, Chemistry and Integrated Liberal Studies

In addition to your interactions in the classroom, I encourage you to get involved in any of the numerous activities and organizations on campus. UW is home to the more than 750 student organizations that populate the campus. You can join clubs and organizations, participate in community service programs, and attend educational and cultural events. It's up to each of you to discover all that the campus has to offer. I am are sure you'll like what you find and have a great time in the process!

— Laurie Cox, Director, International Student Services