Study groups pave way for building friendships

Throughout the semester, a select group of ASU freshmen will be blogging about their first year as Sun Devils. In the same way that graduation serves as a milestone marker for both students and the university, the freshman year experience is one of significant formation as it sets the foundation for academic excellence.

Priya's blog:

The college experience continues to be a great one for me. I've found a solid group of great friends and have now settled into a routine. Weekdays are busy as I'm running around to all my classes. I have a bike now and that helps a lot with getting to class faster. I've had my first couple of tests and major papers, which were very intimidating. Now that I have the first ones done, I know what to expect. My chemistry class is huge and taking a test in the lecture hall is something I have never done before.

There is a lot of group work involved, especially in my chemistry lab. I'm getting used to communicating with others and getting stuff done. Studying in groups isn't something I did very often in high school, but it definitely helps a lot with some of the harder classes because we can all help each other out.

My favorite class so far is English 102 because it's a hybrid class, meaning that it is very flexible according to my schedule. I only have to go to class once a week or less and it's up to me to finish everything and have it turned in on time.

Outside of class I spend a lot of time studying, but that doesn't mean I don't get to hang out with my friends. My favorite places to study are in the lounges in the dorms so that we can all study together. And when we are ready for a break, we just pop in a movie and relax on weekend nights. So far we have been having "Star Wars" movie nights every weekend, and we have a whole list of movies we think might take us the entire four years to get through.

In a couple of weeks I will be visiting home for the first time since I got here. I am excited to go back for a couple days. As much as I like it here, I do miss the cold weather and familiar surroundings back home, so it will be nice to be there for a bit and relax. Life here at ASU is a blast and I'm still glad that I decided to come here.

Priya Challa is an incoming freshman who is majoring in aerospace engineering. She is originally from Sandy, Utah.