My undergraduate experience in materials science and engineering might be best described as one of survival. The course load in any engineering degree is always demanding, and each year students such as myself do battle with the tides the seasons bring: September’s new courses, seemingly unlike any others taken before; the eruption of flu in early October; the onslaught of midterms through November; and, finally, December’s final examinations. Repeat this schedule for second term and fill in any extracurricular activities per your desire. It is easy to get swept up in the passing of seasons, to simply focus on “getting by.”