Timothy J. Hulme Jr.
The Second Goal
Starting college is a lot like diving into a new pool. You have swum before; you
know the only real difference is the size and depth. You may even have some friends
along with you and you have already dipped a toe in. So any fears you have are probably
unfounded, but you still have them, after all people drown in pools like this every year. It
is a great comfort to know that you have a lifeguard standing by just in case. At Kean my
lifeguard was the T2K Freshman program.
At the freshman opening-day seminar I was more than a little nervous. The
speakers and presenters offered me some reassurance but it was not until meeting my
professor for the T2K program, Mrs. Castillo, that I knew my start in college would not
go unguided. I knew I would have a friend, a leader, and a safeguard against failure.
“Mrs. C,” as I called her, helped me to adjust to a new world that is Kean University. We
learned our physical way around campus. We learned how to use the library, how to write
a paper, and how to work our new E-mail accounts. Most important were the lessons on
how to function with a new diverse peer-group and how to handle the obligations of
serious academic activities.
Every Tuesday that our class met I found more and more in common with my
peers. Every meeting was packed with new, creative, and fun methods to become
accustomed to Kean. One week we had a scavenger hunt, another we had an enlightening
discussion on bias. The paper I wrote allowed me to gain prospective in my chosen field
of education. At the end of the term we each got to present something to the class in the
form of a small oration.
Occasionally during the semester, before a hard test or after a bewildering lecture
in some other course, I began to doubt my own abilities. I kept picturing having to sign
myself out of Kean and having to tell my family and friends I didn’t have what it took to
carve out a niche in the realm higher learning; the T2K program, thankfully helped keep
these visions from becoming realities. It showed me that stress was a normal part of
college life, and more importantly it showed me how to cope with that stress.
My first test in Math 1000 came back with a grade of seventy-two out of a
hundred. Disheartened, I shared my concern with my T2K instructor who insisted I get
tutoring. With reservation I went to the Center for Academic Success and singed up for a
single session before the next test. That exam came back a ninety out of a hundred.
Needless to say I ended the course with a B plus as a finale mark, due at least in part to
my freshman studies professor and the T2K program.
At the beginning of the semester Mrs. Castillo had my peers and I all write down
two goals that we wanted to fulfill with help of the program. My goals were to get better
grades than I had in High School and win some recognition for my writing. The prior was
realized in December thanks in no small part to the lifeguard that was T2K program. As
for the latter goal the semester was over and I had made not received any recognition.
Then a letter came in the mail asking me to submit this essay and I thought “Maybe, even
here the T2K program will not fail to provide for me.”