Irene Angela Chang

College 1
Math Jam Reflection

Prior to Math Jam, I felt as if attending Math Jam would be tedious and a waste
of my time, but to my dismay, it was more than what I had expected. I had expected
long hours of reviewing or math skills from high school and learning simply just that. But
on the first day of Math Jam, we went over some basic math skills and proceeded to a
campus tour, which was extremely helpful because they went through our schedules,
showed us and explained which building was which extremely helpful for when school
started. They set the expectations to that of a UC or a Cal State student, explaining that
there is no difference between the three and that attending college itself, is a choice we
all made to further ourselves and our education. It lessened the stress I originally had
about school and the initial dissatisfaction I had about attending a CC. It helped also
because our tutors were also former Pathway students, as well as students that attend
PCC which helped because it gave us an outlook on how college life really is and how
much effort and what it is to be expected of us. Although college and high school are
relatively different, the drive going into college is a lot more intense than it was in high
school, and a lot more independent. However, during Math Jam, we made some
friendships within the people that were in our classes and it made it easier going into
college without feeling completely alone and lost. There were always people to help us
and guide us through Math Jam.
Throughout Math Jam the person I found most helpful was our Tutor. He always
emphasized the importance of homework, studying, and asking for help. He even told
us to put all social life aside for a year or two to just work hard and diligently in our
classes to be able to get enough credits and to further ourselves. To not get stuck in the
Community College Stereotype and that the only way we would be stuck in that
stereotype, is if we were to give up on ourselves. He told us to take advantage of the
TLC and that there are so many people inside that would be more than happier to help
us and answer any questions we needed. The TLC is probably the place I would engulf
most of my downtime at. Another useful resource on campus was the Library, because
they hold workshops that help students and also the tutoring center if the TLC is busy
and or closed. Over all I think Math Jam helped a lot by creating friendships,
connections, and a good inside look on how college expectations would be before
attending.