Zachary Wald
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About
Junior, Class of 2025
Hometown: Newton, MA
Major(s): Biology
I am currently a Junior majoring in Biology in the College of Natural Sciences. I come from Newton Massachusetts and attended Gann Academy, a small high school in Waltham. Coming to UMass from a small high school, I was at first nervous to be stepping into a large University. However, I was able to make UMass feel a little smaller by getting involved in clubs, joining a Residential Academic Program (RAP), and taking advantage of the CHC's opportunities to meet and network with different students at different events. Outside of academics, I am treasurer of the Jewish Students Union, and I enjoy going swimming, taking walks in nature, and finding the different coffee shops around Amherst.
Are Honors classes harder than the regular version? Are they just smaller?
The short answer is that it depends. During my first semester at UMass, I was engaged in two honors courses. The first was Biology, and the second was College Writing. I found that the College Writing course was no more difficult than any other writing course I might have taken. I truly felt that the course was designed to help me hone my writing skills to the college level and that the big difference between this course and a non-honors writing course was the class size. Honors College Writing is capped at 15 people, so I really had the opportunity to engage with the professor, interact with my peers, and get comprehensive feedback. At the same time, I felt that Biology was intense. We dug deep into the topics, far beyond the details I had learned in high school, and we took on some very difficult topics. However, I felt that this course gave me a great advantage because it offered me the opportunity to participate more, engage with my professor, and understand the content on a deep level. Now, I feel that I have the tools and knowledge to digest the content in future biology courses at a higher level.