Mehrshad Goes To UMBC – Part 2

Upon entering UMBC, Mehrshad struggled to make friends until he joined his current fraternity, and his social circle exploded.

Part 1 is here

Transcription

Mershad
I can tell you that I also hate it. Oh, yeah, full disclosure, the worst human being I’ve ever met.

Kamila
Okay, so let’s move on to the actual college experience and what you did there. And since you are a commuter student, not someone who like, went 3000 miles away from their house or stuff. So that’s interesting to me. So let’s talk about before that before the actual college experience the summer before So, what did you do to prepare for college? Did you know what you were doing? Registering? Did you pick a dorm mate? Or do you even have to pick a dorm a for UMBC? So can you tell me a little bit about that?

Mershad
Sure. So actually, the preparation was pretty. For me, it was really confusing just because I you know, it was it was new things that I had to do that I didn’t have to do in high school, like, you know, apply to financial aid, make sure my financial aid is okay, make sure my tuition is okay. Um, select your classes on select your dorms like your roommate, it was just a lot. And you know, we got through it, I actually ended up having a random student with me, for my dorm and freshman year. And, um, it was a gender inclusive, inclusive, um, you know, dorm room just because I’m part of the LGBTQ community, and I wanted to, you know, have that safety with me. So it was like a gender inclusive dorm? And, um, yeah, so the classes, you know, the process for the summer was not that hard. Um, we had a few orientations. And we also had a book that we had to read, just so we’re, you know, caught up for Welcome Week. And, you know, the those early freshmen activities were the preparation wasn’t all that hard. They gave us they also gave us a list of everything that we needed for our dorms from all the schools do that. So,

Kamila
so did you have to rely heavily on UMBC staff, like advisors? Or maybe you had a friend or two who’s going to UMBC? Because I’m completely new to the court process? I don’t have a single parent who went here. So we don’t know how any of this work. So were you kind of doing the same thing? Like, did you rely on a lot of people?

Mershad
So I relied on first, you know, my friends that I was going to UMBC with me that had, you know, more experience with the college field than I did, and also UBC staff and advisors themselves. Um, they’re really, really extremely helpful. There’s a lot of things for incoming freshmen, there’s a lot of resources for incoming freshmen to get acclimated. Um, and you know, those I utilize those resources, and it really helped me get acclimated.

Kamila
Okay, and let’s say you’ve picked a random, like, random person or people to dorm with for your first year. So how did that work out? Because I’ve heard a bunch of like, stories of I hated my first year roommate, or my first year Hall, I was so lonely. I didn’t like this at all. So how did it work out for you?

Mershad
I could tell you that I also hated my roommate. Yeah, full disclosure, the worst human being I’ve ever met. I do hope that he’s okay. And, you know, living and fine, but he was just not very nice to me. And I, you know, is I do wish that I, you know, had the, you know, the chances select a roommate that, you know, I knew, but I didn’t know anyone from a lot of my friends are going to be short girls. And you know, they already had their own roommates. So I didn’t know a lot of my girlfriends are going to UBC, so that was kind of like, you know, so my, actually, my freshman year moved out three weeks, into into, you know, into, into the year just because we had so many quarrels, and it was not getting solved. So he just moved out. And I had a single for the remainder of the year for the price that I paid for a double. So that was kind of nice, but um, but yeah, wouldn’t. My advice I guess is that if you can find someone that you vibe with, or you know, there’s there’s usually websites and questionnaires and match you with, you know, your specific person, and make sure that you write down the type of person that you’re looking for. Because just that’s going to be you know, the person you’re going to be living with for a year. And if it’s a horrible person, you’re just gonna have a horrible time.

Kamila
Three weeks, I think that’s a world record. Wow. Yeah. So you ended up moving into a single you said for at least the rest of the year. So and I know a lot of people make friends through their dorms and stuff. So how did you end up socializing and like spreading out and hanging out with people?

Mershad
Sure. So first semester, my freshman year, I actually just hung out only hung out with my two friends that I knew from high school. The A lot of people on my Florida and actually, you know, talk to me just because I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if it was homophobia or something else or just didn’t vibe with me or whatever. Um, you know, it, it was just like, not a good it was it was not fun, and I brought it up to the RA and they talked about it and after that They’re being okay. But, um, you know, that just prompted me to not hang out with my floor mates a lot, I actually just kind of spread out and find my own friends within my classes. And, you know, through association with the friends that I already knew beforehand. Um, so that’s a lot of where my initial social circles began. And in second semester, I actually rushed for my social fraternity, you can actually see the flag in the background. I actually rushed from my social fraternity and that completely exploded my social life completely exploded my social life.

Kamila
Okay, so we’ll talk about a fraternity. We’ll talk about it in just a second. But oh, yeah, so I have, I’ve, with the people I’ve interviewed, they’ve kind of said, you know, it was so lonely. being by myself freshman year for specifically first semester, that seemed like the worst year of college for everybody. So, it was so bad. I had no friends. I didn’t know anybody. And these people have been like, far away from home. So did you feel the same? Or Did you at least find like comfort like, Oh, my parents, my siblings, at least friends that I had in high school are in the same state as me. Did you have that kind of comfort? Or were you still like very lonely and like, this is the worst, worse, like time of my life?

Mershad
So yeah, no, freshman year, first semester was extremely lonely. I didn’t have a roommate, I went to class and I went back to my room alone, and I played video games. Um, you know, I wasn’t I wasn’t yet all that plugged in into the community yet. So I just, you know, I was just playing video games. And it was just not a fun time. But I did rely a lot. I went back home on a weekend just because my home is like, 15 minutes away from UMBC. So I went back home every weekend, and during the week, you know, some days of the week, I would just hang out with the two friends that I have from high school. And that was the first semester but yeah, it was pretty lonely to begin.

Kamila
So okay. And then can you tell me a little bit about your fraternity? Because I don’t think I’ve interviewed someone who’s had like any Greek life. So take me through. When did you decide to go in? How did you go in whatever? And how did it change your life?

Mershad
Oh, sure. Oh, wow. Okay, so um, then I can confidently say that the moment I joined my social fraternity, my undergraduate career completely flipped, completely flipped, it just opened a myriad of different opportunities for me to grow not on the academic sense only, but in a social sense and professional sense as well. Um, I actually never thought I would join a fraternity but the Greek Life at UMBC is nothing like other schools. You know, it’s basically a collection of, you know, the hardworking, ambitious student leaders that want to do better and their campus communities. And so you know, that that really resonated with me, and I wanted to join that and I actually met, you know, my big brother from my fraternity, and one of our SGA meetings on freshman year. Um, you know, to give you a little bit of context, I was part of the first year ambassador program for UMBC, which is, you know, a program for freshmen to acclimate and learn about the SGA program at UMBC. And through that, I learned, I talked to my I became friends with my big brother from my fraternity, and he suggested that I would brush my fraternity and that it would open a myriad of different opportunities for me. And I did that. And it was an amazing experience. And it has always been an amazing experience. I learned, I met a lot of friends, I immense amount of friends. Um, you know, beside the 50 brothers that I had and paternity that I was friends with, on there’s also sorties that we had social with other fraternities that we have socials with. And you know, I met some of my closest lifelong friends that my fraternity

Kamila
and what is rush mean, like rushing?

Mershad
Sure. So Rush is basically on a week, at the beginning of each semester, where you go check out the, you know, the fraternities and authorities that you’re interested in, and you pick one out, and then you rush them. And then once you rush them, you go through the process of initiation, pledging, and you know, all

Kamila
that. And don’t those don’t those sororities and fraternities need to like select the people that they want? Is it like that? Or? Oh, yes, selective as you interesting. So you’ve made a lot of friends there. And do you still, like keep the same friends that you have?

Mershad
Oh, yes, I’m actually I live in my fraternity house right now. With you know, I’m with you, five of my brothers. Um, all of the friends that I met in Greek life are so my friends, they’ve been my biggest supporters when it came to my SEO presidential campaign. You know, um, it was it was it’s been a really fruitful experience.

Kamila
That’s good. And are there any activities or commitments that come with being in Greek life do you have do you have like a certain responsibility? Are you guys part of a certain organization that does stuff so what is it due to, you know, the kind of the extracurriculars and stuff?

Mershad
Sure, so aside from the social aspect of it, we actually have a lot of plans or plans for pick From charity work that we do on each each Greek organization has philanthropy that they donate to, and they advocate for. And, um, you know, the you have to do service for this required service that you have to do for each chapter. Aside from that. It’s also a lot of leadership. It’s an amazing amount of leadership, especially for the Greek Life at UMBC. Um, just because everyone in Greek life is also in leadership positions, other organizations.

Kamila
Okay, that’s, that’s amazing. Yeah, I didn’t know anything about Greek life until now. Thank you. Okay, so let’s move on to the extracurriculars that you did, and particularly SGA. So you told me that you were on like, the, you were a stem student, and you were kind of basically sat on the track to become a pre med student in UMBC, and then eventually pursue like a doctorate later on. So what led you to do SGA versus like other maybe biology majors United or something like what was what drew you to SGA?

Mershad
Sure. So you know, you have those clubs that you take, as you know, I don’t I hate this word, or resume boosters, some organizations that you do as resume research, so you can gain some experience for the field of the career field that you’re going into, on, but you also have that clubs that you’re actually like, personally passionate in. And for me, as she was just clubs that I was actually really, really, I don’t want to say club, because it’s not a club, it’s an organization was 60, plus officers at UMBC. And we’re getting paid for the work that we do. So that should like, tell you that the work that we do is actually like, you know, legit work that we do. Um, it was, that was the passion that I had, you know, in high school, I wanted to do SGA, but the structure of high school SGA is more popularity based, you know, it’s not merit based and non qualification based. And so I was not able to do that. But, you know, coming into UMBC, I learned that we have an amazing shared governance structure that’s unmatched in any other school, just because, you know, students, faculty, staff administration work hand in hand together to face issues that a community, you know, faces. And that was really, really appealing to me, because I’ve never seen students empowered like that before. You know, like, I actually, like, you know, I’m running. I’m a vice chair of a university Steering Committee, which oversees all faculty, staff, and Senate, like all faculty, staff, students and graduate students. So that should tell you how, what opportunities there are for, you know, students to empower and grow in a professional setting at UMBC. And that was just really, really appealing to me. So I’m going into that I actually remember my summer of, you know, summer of freshman year, I actually reached out to the President, I was like, hey, like, how can I run for president I want? Yeah. And she was like, Okay, relax, you know, check out the first year Ambassador Program, which is basically like an internship for, you know, for freshman year, they’re interested in taking SGA positions. And it was amazing, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It taught me how to make different events. They taught me how to pass resolutions and legislation. They taught me how to make valuable change on my campus. And the following year, I decided to run for a position within SGA. And I’m within that position. My sophomore year, I did a lot of community relations work on if you didn’t know, UMBC doesn’t have an official college town, we do have a college town, but it’s not official, what’s called a college town is a town close to your university, where you are, you know, can go they have businesses like different like, you know, food and restaurants and services that you can use, but it’s really, really, really close to your university and they associate with your university.

Kamila
So it’s like you get discounts at those places, because your students stuff.

Mershad
Yes, yes, basically. Yes. So that was actually my initiative. Right. So I actually worked with a lot of businesses and our college town to get business for to get discounts for UBC students, I actually, like made a pamphlet of all the discounts provided by UBC students. And I gave that to the student body. And that was really, really, really fruitful because it was like, the first time in my life where I made a valuable top project where 11,000 Students can use, you know, and that just made me want to do more in SGA. I actually did a lot more community work. I was actually sitting with, you know, the greater RBTs Business Association, and I was having weekly meetings with them. I was having weekly meetings with university admin, even the UBC president, you know, I have his phone number am I am I am I am I phone? It’s amazing. Um, you know, and I did a lot of vlogs for that. It was fun. My Senate my second my sophomore year was fun. The following year, I decided to run for you know, SGA president. It was a lot of work. It’s still a lot of work. It’s almost a full time job. It’s upwards of 20 hours a week, but it’s really fruitful. It’s, you know, something that I’m passionate about. I oversee, you know, the 60 Plus officers, I hire my own officers from the student body, I work with university and admin to face you know, issues like for example, I worked this whole summer diligently with, you know, faculty and staff to make sure to transition back to campus as safe as possible during COVID. And, um, you know, I loved it, I absolutely love it just because I’ve never been empowered like this in any other institution.

Kamila
And so you the COVID-19 issues, like a huge thing for colleges as well. And if you’re an SGA president that most, and I know, you don’t like this resume building word, but do you see it as like a big part? Because you’ve made an impact in your part, and you’re in a time where you’re, you have to take control of the situation, and you have to figure things out? So do you find that, like, you handled it well, and it may help you in the future? Like was maybe jobs and stuff? I don’t know, if it’s a big impact on jobs, but do you think it could?

Mershad
Um, I think, like, like, yeah, like, No, I definitely think it’s, it’s really, really big, like, the position of the position that I’m in is extremely big, just because of the responsibilities that come with it, especially during COVID. But um, you know, unlike my other organizations that I’m part of right now, I can confidently say that I’m doing I like them I’m doing but I’m doing it for resume. Like, for example, I’m in my, I’m in another fraternity, I’m in a pre medical fraternity, the Phi Delta Epsilon pre medical fraternity. And that teaches me a lot about, you know, just how to get prepared for medical school, if your MCAT your essays, and your interviews and stuff like that. I’m also doing Model UN and some other things. But you know, for me, SGA was my home, it was my passion. It was not something that I was doing, just because I wanted to, you know, add a resume, or something, it was something that I look forward to, you know, doing after I finished my homework, like, I like, finished my homework, and I just sat down Oh, happy, like, Hey, let me do some SGA work. So that was, you know, that was my experience with it. And yes, it was really, really big on, you know, especially planning for it, just because I had to represent 11,000 students when it came to the decisions making decision making for, you know, for, for on COVID and fall return. So, yes, it was pretty huge.

Kamila
Okay, so let’s move on to I love how much you gave me about SJ, and how much you love it. So let’s move on to kind of your major, because you knew you were on like, the pre med track and whatever. But you didn’t know exactly where there’s a lot of things that you can do on the pre med track. So you didn’t know exactly what you wanted to do. So how did you go through college and then eventually come on to biology? Was it and then something else? The biology and physics physics? So how did you like navigate your way and then eventually choose biology and physics?

Mershad
Sure. So um, you know, I knew that in order, like biology is just a given, you know, medical school, you need you need biology courses, you need those courses to do good on your MCAT and to get into medical schools, and you credits are needed for medical schools. So, um, it’s not required to be a bio major, it’s not required, but a lot of the pre med requirements overlap, like 99% of the pre med requirements overlap with a bio major. So that was a given from the start. Um, you know, I was also like, like I mentioned before, I was coming in with, you know, a hefty amount of credits. So, I had all this extra extra gaps in my schedule that I need to fill in with a minor and major, or you know, something fun, and to me in high school physics was my favorite subject. Um, you know, I got five on all my AP Physics. That was a that was like one of the only APS like that I got fives on my AP Physics. Like, I got fives on all of them. Physics is just make sense to me. And that’s, that’s, you know, the second major I decided to choose just because, you know, I love physics so much.

Kamila
Oh, that’s that’s much different from a lot of students I hear it’s like,

Mershad
no, but you put me in a chemistry class and I wouldn’t be able to tell you what anatomist.

Kamila
Okay, so you were kind of it was like, okay, biology, I need to meet the requirements anyway. So just make it my major in physics. Okay. And let’s talk more about like preparing for medical school and such. So, you know, you’re on the pre med track, when did you start preparing for the MCAT? And if you’ve already taken it, like, what’s the structure? What are you expecting out of it, and just tell me how it works and stuff?

Mershad
Sure. So for medical school, there is a lot of things that you have to do in your undergraduate career in order to be eligible. Um, of course, your GPA and your MCAT scores are, you know, your biggest ones where you also have to have clinical hours and research hours and on, you know, extracurricular activities, on Hobbies, hobbies that actually like, you know, give you some sort of knowledge about something. Um, yeah, so there’s a lot in terms of MCAT studying, I’m actually not studying for the MCAT this year. I’m excited for the MCAT the following year, just because I’m taking a gap year to focus on my research and my arm You know, clinical hours, um, but I’m choosing to, and this might not be the smartest move, but I’m taking a leap of faith, I’m choosing to invest most of my time and energy into SGA. Just because that’s something that I’m truly passionate about, like other people say that they’re passionate about something. But I’m actually like, I’ve made my whole life’s work about SGA this year. And, you know, I’m going to write my college essays about that. And, you know, I want to, I want to have some concrete things to back back my college essays. So that’s why I’m, I’m taking, you know, I’m preparing for the MCAT this summer and taking it sometime next year, and hopefully applying to medical school the following year, year after.

Kamila
So you said you’re going to take a gap year to do your clinical research and stuff. So when did you decide to do that? Is that like, oh, a lot of people do it, or some people choose to do it, like later. So how did you come to that decision to take a gap year,

Mershad
so, um, a lot of the resources that I get from my own, you know, for my path, the medical schools through my medical fraternity, and we have like, weekly seminars, and different doctors come in and tell us about their experiences, things like that. But um, from what I’ve heard, is that for medical school, the, the, the normal pathway right now is to do take a gap here to increase to build up your resume even further before applying, you know, I know a lot of students that went to medical school straight from undergrad, and you know, they got in, but um, for me, I just want to take that breather personally, to focus on myself, you know, I just finished 16 years old school, I’m just gonna, you know, like, just relax a little bit before going into for more.

Kamila
Okay, and then what is this, like, research about? Does medical school require you to do something specific? Or is it kind of just like a free for all, you know, find something that you’re interested in? And just research about it? Like, what, how does that work?

Mershad
Sure. So, so nothing in medical school is required, right. So besides the MCAT, and a high GPA, you know, all the other things are not required, but highly, highly encouraged, in order for you to stay competitive with the other applicants, right. So, um, you know, you can, you can have zero clinical hours and apply and if you, if you’re super strong, and other aspects of your, of your, you know, resume, you’re probably going to get it but just keep in mind that there’s probably a student that is, you know, strong in those aspects as well, but also has those clinical hours. So that’s why you have to do you know, all that just to stay more competitive, just because it’s a lot of competition, like, medical school is probably the most competitive that you can get. But um, especially like, the big ones that I’m trying to apply to, like John Hopkins, or like, you know, a UMD, med school and stuff like that. But, um, in terms of research on again, not required, but highly encouraged. And that’s up to you to find, you know, who to research, right. There’s professors, there’s on tenured professors, and faculty members within your respective schools that follow their own research, if your school is very stem heavy. And, you know, just reach out to them Be like, Hey, I’m pre medical students, I, you know, I’m hoping to go to medical school, but I’m looking for some research experience. Um, you know, I’ve heard about your lab, I’ve read up on your lab, I’ve actually read up on your publications as well. And I’m interested in the research that you do. And I was wondering if there’s any space in your team for, you know, a student like me, and you know, they’ll, they’ll probably either say no, or say yes. And if they say no, then you try again, and try with another professor, and none of the research. But um, yeah, research is really, really important. And also, it’s fun. It’s fun work.

Kamila
School. Okay, so let’s move on to the schools that you’re thinking about, and how did you like, again, come to that college list and stuff? So are you looking at like, more prestigious schools now? Or are you still like, because you know, Harvard, you go to Harvard Medical School, it’s like, very well known and stuff. So is that how are you approaching that? Because now like graduate and doctorate years are the ones that people mostly invest their money into, or like, time into if they’re if they consider that path?

Mershad
So I’m, I’m sorry, is your question. How am I going about selecting my Oh,

Kamila
yeah. And like, are you looking at more prestigious schools to like, do you know, the Johns Hopkins obviously, like, yeah, top and medical? So are you like looking at prestigious schools are you still kind of like, whatever, I just want to like a good medical program.

Mershad
So of course, I’m looking at, you know, prestigious schools, and, you know, trying to get into them. But you know, what I learned from my undergraduate career is that your school is, it’s important and education that you receive, but you know, the experience that you get in your school is completely up to you, you know, it’s completely up to you. You can go to John Hopkins, you can go to Harvard, you know, and if you don’t use your full potential, you’re just not going to like it and you’re not going to be competitive and you’re just not going to enjoy your time there. But um, if you went to a smaller school, and you know, you made it, you shaped it in your own vision and you you know, works to better yourself, then you’re going to enjoy that. So for me Personally, you know, the school that I’m in going to end up going to, you know, for medical school is going to be a school where I can see myself growing and excelling the most. And I’m, you know, I’m going to choose that path, whether that be you know, John Hopkins, or Harvard or UMD, or even though I say middle school, like whatever school is going to be, as long as they have the avenues for me to you know, keep continuing going, my professional, social and academic skills, I’m gonna choose that school.

Kamila
Okay, that’s, that’s good. That’s good insight. So we’re coming to an end here. And there’s a question I asked every student I interview. And that’s kind of two pieces of advice. So one would be advice to current high school students now and they can be anywhere they can be freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, whatever. give them advice, like one thing that you could give them, maybe something you regret regretted not doing in high school, so something that would help them and then same for people going into college? What advice would you give them going into college and to make the most of the experience?

Mershad
Sure, so for first one, I say that, just remember, especially for high school freshmen, just remember that High School Matters, what you do in high school, you know, the experiences that you learned in high school are going to set this you know, the foundation of how you’re going to be in college. And if you choose to, you know, not if you choose to Slack, if you choose to not do a lot, if you choose to, you know, not be active in your school community, that’s completely fine. But remember that you know, that transition to college, it’s going to be harder for you that, you know, as soon as more plugged into the school community. Um, and for the other one, what was the second advice? Question, it

Kamila
was like, kind of people who are going into college, maybe not like now cuz it’s virtual and stuff. Yeah, it’s all confusing, but just kind of in general, what advice would you give going into college or maybe people who are freshmen and don’t know what they’re doing. Um,

Mershad
I say that, um, going into college, just determine what you’re passionate about, and start working on it your freshman year. Um, so that way, by the time you know, you are your uni or sophomore year, or junior, you have something concrete to, you know, to work on to continue working on continuing growing. Um, but what I say is that, you know, I sound like a broken record, when I say this, I say to all my freshmen that comment, what you make of your college experience is up to you and you and in you, yourself, like no one else can give you that college experience except yourself. If you choose to, you know, not get school, you know, plug then your call, your undergrad career is not going to be fun if you don’t get plugged in. But um, if you if you just go to class and go back to your dorm and don’t do anything, then of course, you’re not going to have fun. But um, you know, if you plug yourself and, you know, be become a member of your community, and try to help your community and I think that’s going to, you know, be more fruitful for you. Well,

Kamila
thank you so much for coming. And being interviewed. You gave a lot of good insight and very interesting to see someone who packed everything junior senior year and like did really well in school. So that’s very interesting. Thank you very much for coming today.

Mershad
Thank you for having me. Yeah. Well, I

Kamila
wish you luck as the SGA president with COVID and stuff. I hope everything goes well with UMBC.

Mershad
So awesome. Thank you so much, Camilla.

Kamila
Thank you, too. Have a good day. Bye. Have a good day. That’s it for my interview with Miss Shaw. Next week, I’ll be releasing an interview with Jasmine from the University of Houston. Make sure to subscribe so you do not miss those episodes. But other than that, I hope to see you then