Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, your sophomore year of college can be one of heightened uncertainty and lower motivation, as many students start to second guess choices and paths that were chosen during their first year. In fact, this time frame has a name – The Sophomore Slump.

Fear not, this is a very normal experience for a lot of students!

If you currently find yourself in the midst of the slump, we’ve laid out some ideas for how to cure any “symptoms” you might be experiencing. 

COUNTERING THE SLUMP SYMPTOMS 

Social Symptoms may include no longer feeling that “click” with some friends made in freshman year or feeling like you don’t quite belong in a certain friend group. 

Solutions:  It’s okay to gradually move away from the friends you no longer feel close to and create situations in which you will naturally meet new people. Start trying to form connections with other students in your classes, in your residence hall, or even in a student org you’ve recently joined. 

Academic Symptoms may include lack of motivation to attend class and study, sometimes accompanied by second guessing the major you are pursuing. 

Solutions:  Find some ways to bring novelty and excitement to your academic life.  Change study groups, start using electronic flashcards and study tools (See Study Stack, for example), make a point of speaking in class, etc. And start planning now to take something really intriguing or outside your comfort zone during Winter session. (Winter 2020 registration in now live and you do not need registration clearance!) With respect to the major, talk to your academic advisor, visit the Career Center to take an interest inventory, and network with students in majors that appeal to you.  

Life Direction Symptoms may include guilt about the cost of college given your indecision about the future, or general boredom alternating with feeling overwhelmed and anxious.  

Solutions:  Plan some very positive next steps!  Plan to study abroad. Plan an internship in a field related to your current major or a potential major.  And sign up for new recreational and extracurricular activities like intramural sports, taking up a musical instrument, or joining new clubs or campus organizations.  

GENERALLY SPEAKING 

Sophomore slump tendencies are a reflection of your “middle child” status on campus—no longer new and not yet in the big leagues of academic work. You are no longer eligible for the extra attention given to freshmen, but you are starting to take some challenging upper level courses along with juniors and perhaps even seniors.  

The solution to the malaise of sophomore-hood is almost always action. This would be action to make changes in social habit patterns, action to try new courses, join new organizations, and plan new enriching activities. Sometimes the action you need to take is to collect additional information – about majors and careers, about internships and study abroad programs. Less stewing and more motion will help you beat the slump and stay on course toward graduation and all around success.  

Name: Kulsoom Rizvi

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Discover Financial Services

Position Title: Business Technology Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Science

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

This summer I interned at Discover Financial Services where I was placed on the web platform team. Every day I worked with my mentor and the rest of the team to learn how to design the backend web systems using newly adapted technologies. I spent a lot of time learning the different frameworks and technology needed to create secure code to ensure the financial institution is protecting user credentials and sensitive information. I also worked with security applications to incorporate tools needed to encrypt and tightly control access to sensitive information.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I obtained my internship through the UMBC Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) sponsorship which enabled me to attend the WE18 Conference and Career Fair in Minneapolis!

During the 3 day conference, I got the chance to interview with many innovative companies, and in the end I decided to accept Discover’s offer.

Leading up to the Career Fair in Minneapolis, I practiced my behavioral and technical interview skills through online resources and by attending on-campus Career Center events with various companies.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization? 

I really enjoyed Discover’s culture of enthusiasm for mentoring and especially how approachable everyone is. As a group and individually, the interns got to speak to the CEO, CIO, as well as VP’s and directors. I took full advantage of this by reaching out to executives and other engineers  to improve my networking skills and develop my career path. The best part was learning technology that I would otherwise not have been exposed to and apply that knowledge to projects that the team is working on! But, the biggest takeaway from the summer has been learning that I am able to overcome self-doubt and fear of failure, an issue among women in technology!

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

The projects I worked on helped the company adopt and transition to new technology to help improve customer experience and security.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

If you want to work for a company that leads in innovation, you have to first believe in yourself, practice and prepare, and then put yourself out there (it’s scary but totally worth it!). Get your resume reviewed by professionals and take advantage of recruiters on-campus to seek career advice - they’re in the industry and have plenty insight! Lastly, join an engineering/STEM organization to learn more about the field and network with engineers who will help you develop your career and advocate for you!

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

Name: Bianca Monge

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Leidos

Position Title: Cybersecurity Analyst Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Information Systems

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

During my internship, I worked within the Cyber & SIGINT department of the Intel group as a Cybersecurity Analyst Intern. My project over the summer was to research a product pitched to our company that would be able to prevent software memory corruption attacks. My team and I researched, analyzed, and tested the product to document its effectiveness and faults. Not only did we test its functionality as a cyber hardening product, but we also looked at if and how it could be misused in the wrong hands. The areas of cybersecurity that my day-to-day responsibilities entailed were buffer overflow attacks, reverse engineering, binary analysis, vulnerability/exploit testing, and malware analysis.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I found the internship position listing on Glassdoor, which linked me to the Leidos website in October of last year. I was contacted shortly after applying to come in for an interview, and not long after that I was told that I got the internship.

Although I found and obtained my position outside of UMBC, I would highly recommend going to the Career Fair and attending recruiter workshops to get your name and face out there. I did, and it definitely gave me a chance to practice interviews and become more comfortable interacting with recruiters. 

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization? 

The people and work that I get to do. The people I met were all so intelligent and had so much knowledge, experience, and advice to share. I felt like I always learned something new by saying hi to someone new everyday. Having that great environment around me, and finally getting the chance to do real work in the field I love, was a dream come true.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

The documentation of all the research my team and I did on the product was actually going to be sent to higher ups in order to help them make their final decision on whether or not Leidos should use the product within their systems and/or relay the product to Leidos customers.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Take advantage of the Career Fair and technical/recruiter workshops. Even if you do not get any responses back, it is networking experience to prepare for the day when you do land that interview.

During interviews, don't shy away from telling the interviewer what you aren't the most well-versed in. It's important for both you and them so that they place you in a position they think you'll enjoy and be good at. Also, if you're passionate about a certain subject, express it!

Like the Career Center on Facebook

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#UMBCintern

Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!