What do you wish you had known when starting college?

[Richard Wallace]

College was the best twenty years of my life.

I started as a dual-enrolled HS student because there was no calculus at my school back in 1975. I have credits from six colleges, all my degrees (BS'83, MS'85, PhD'90) are from Georgia Tech, and I spent four years as an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Missouri. I finally left college for the 'real world' in 1995, and thankfully discovered FIRST a year after that.

The most important thing I can tell anyone about college is to enjoy it as much as you can and follow your imagination wherever it leads you. If your goal is to be a professional, then your education will never be complete. Keeping your imaginative fire burning should be your top priority. The knowledge and skills you can acquire are (like the money you can earn) just fuel to keep you moving toward the larger goals you set for yourself by constantly exercising your imagination.