Podium Ranking My Three Years Of College
Editor Zachary Myers writes, “May 2, 2026 will conclude my third year at the University of Maine at Farmington.”
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May 1st, 2026
May 2, 2026 will conclude my third year at the University of Maine at Farmington. With this year coming to a close, I figured that I would give a ranking of each year that I have been at UMF. This ranking will be podium style, with each year getting a bronze, silver and gold medal based on a multitude of factors (which will become evident in my explanations of each year's events).
Bronze: Sophomore year
If I could give a color below bronze, I would sincerely choose something else to describe my sophomore year of college. For starters, this was the only semester I took a class that I hated both for the professor and the content of the class. The class was HTY 110, and it explored the history of the Earth from the beginning until the late fifteenth century. The class included topics like early agriculture, Genghis Khan, etc. Even though the class had a range of topics, it was boring and not engaging. The assignments we did in the class did not get me to actively think about the topics, and I didn’t like the professor. She had us play some in class games to represent the early agricultural and Genghis Khan eras, which I felt were very cheesy and corny. I also felt like she also called out students too much.
That would be enough to put my sophomore year at the bottom, but there are other factors that played into my choice. It was the year of college where I felt like I was in an in-between space in aspects of my life. I did not know how I felt or how to interact with people in social situations, and it was the period where I felt most awkward with strangers. It was also a period where I felt in between in certain situations, as I both felt I could not take a leadership role, but also felt like I needed to do more with my life. Overall, my sophomore year felt almost like a black mark in my college life in terms of not feeling comfortable in different aspects of my life, and I am glad I got it over with.
Silver: Freshman year
It is so crazy for me to look back on my freshman year and see how much has changed, which is why I put it in the middle. What gets me is that so many people I knew in my freshman year have all either graduated, left campus, or we drifted apart. I got to know some people who would be an integral part of my college experience in the future, including my academic advisor Dr. Mellisa Clawson, my first two honors professors Noelle Dubay and Rachel Hovel, and everyone involved in Rotaract and Journalism Club.
My only qualm with this year is how nervous I was. I fell victim to my perceived notion that any level of freshman in a school, such as a sixth grader or a high school freshman, are like kids and therefore must rely heavily on others. While I did have to rely on others, I wish I had taken more leadership roles in my freshman year. I have done so since, but when I have taken these roles, I did not feel as prepared as I would have liked. I think this boils down to the fact that I felt like a mouse at times in my freshman year. I am glad for the experiences I had in my first year of college, but I am glad I moved on from some of the regrettable aspects I had during that time.
Gold: Junior year
When I look back on this year of college, I will think of the Patrick Warburton quote from the 2000 film “The Emperor’s New Groove”, “Oh yeah, it’s all coming together.” This year has felt truly complete for me in all aspects of what I have looked for in college life. I finally made some great friends, whether it was through clubs, community events or sports games (mainly basketball). I even had a girlfriend for the first time in my life, and while it did not last, I am glad for the experience. I felt like it helped me grow as a person. I finally took leadership in more things this year, especially in Journalism Club, which I will take the helm of next year. I have taken all education classes, which makes me feel that everything I am learning will help me in my future career.
Continuing with me taking on more leadership roles, I became an education peer advisor, which involved helping underclassmen plan their schedules for the incoming fall semester and making sure they are taking classes that fit their major and schedule. I have started to become more faithful to God, and got the adult rite of acceptance to start being Catholic, which I can only thank Jesus for, as he led me to his presence which I am so grateful for. I can confidently say that this year of college was one of the best years of schooling I have ever had, and I am so grateful to God for it.
Something I considered in writing this is where my senior year would fit into this ranking. When I consider this, I look at what will happen throughout the year and not in specific semesters. In the fall, I will only have one in person class and three online classes, which I think will end up being a drag. However, they are the last classes I need, so I will have to deal with it. I will end up taking full leadership of a whole club on campus, which will hopefully be a worthwhile leadership experience for me. Almost all of my friends will stay on campus next year, which will definitely continue how much better I have been doing socially. In the spring of my senior year, I will almost exclusively be student teaching, which is going to be the most nerve wracking and rewarding thing I will do in my early adult life, so I am looking forward to that.
Overall, I think my senior year will slot right behind my junior year, if I were to update this ranking, though I can consider the possibility of it surpassing this year.
