My marvelous midterms -
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My marvelous midterms

By: Adam Porterie

As a high schooler I always heard from college students how midterms and finals were the most stressful part of college. So, when the time came and my first midterm exam was posted, I felt a rush of anxiety and was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to do enough. To combat this, I sat down and re-examined all my syllabi, defining for myself what exactly was expected of me and how I needed to go about doing it.

Small black desk lampMaking short-term goals and seeing them through is a skill my success coach, Nadia Hall, has really helped me develop this semester. I was able to apply this in setting goals for each day and seeing what I needed to progress in so that I could manage my schedule and have my exams done to my fullest ability. I have even started to use the sticky notes app on my laptop to keep up with my day-to-day assignments. This is something that I have found to be incredibly useful in organizing exams.

Two men in a restaurant smiling at the camera
Taking a break from studying

My midterms stretched out for the entire month of October, starting with what is now the longest essay I have ever written, which was only three pages, to frantic Fridays attempting to recollect two months of knowledge. However, I only had to spend a couple of late nights studying and writing.

I had a feeling of preparedness from my professors, as they all were very open to questions and detailed in what they expected. This almost came as a shock to me as I was under the impression that most professors would be more focused on their own activities than having dedicated time to help us through even our first online midterms. That’s a feeling that is now long gone and well written off. The accommodating feeling I’ve had really solidified my choice in The University of Tulsa.

Collection of packaged Italian food
Deliziosi: All the ingredients for a great Itailan meal

Taking time off from my exams, I took part in some retail therapy, going out thrift shopping with my friends, going out to eat with my family or just cooking with authentic Italian ingredients sent to me from Italy by my girlfriend. Finding this balance of work and fun greatly helped me to not feel overwhelmed with my own academic challenges this semester.

The people in my life make me feel like I have a great amount of support. This semester, my family has been regularly checking in on me and I feel blessed to have the people around me that I do. I attribute my success so far in many ways to them as online school gets tougher.


Adam Porterie smiling, wearing a blue and white open-collar shirt and standing in front of the seaAdam Porterie is from Forney, Texas. He is majoring in business management with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Adam loves making music and exploring new hobbies.