Last week, I wrote about how over testing and high-pressure environments during grade school left me feeling burned out in college. Now, I feel the need to balance out all the doom and gloom with something a little more uplifting. This week, I will be talking about my most positive experiences in education.

At the end of my last article, I talked about how the Scandinavians get a lot of things right when it comes to education. They understand the importance of collaboration. They encourage both creativity and logical thinking. They get students out of the classroom and into the real world.

After publishing that article, something dawned on me. I wrote that I wished I could have experienced that kind of education myself, but the truth is, I have. Not as an elementary student, but interestingly, in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Coming into University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I was already burned out. Yikes. Not the best way to kick off my college career. I was academically successful, of course, because I associated my whole value as a person with academic success. I didn’t enjoy being in the classroom, though. It was the Hussman School of Journalism and Media that taught me to be excited about learning again.

The curriculum at Hussman is not easy. It is a professional school at UNC after all, and work is taken seriously. But there is something in the air at the J-School, as we call it. There is kindness, there is mutual respect, and there is understanding.

The moment you walk in the doors to Carroll Hall or Curtis Media Center, you can feel the positivity. Students are — for the most part — excited to be there. Every single one of my professors at the journalism school has taken the time to get to know me, not just as a student, but as a human.

I will always remember Deb Aikat‘s laugh and Marshele Carter‘s kindness. I will always remember Gary Kayye💜 CTS holding class outside when there was beautiful weather, even though the technological aspects were trickier out there. I will always remember Livis Freeman’s office, which is packed floor to ceiling with Star Wars and Harry Potter collectibles. I have never doubted that all of these people care about me, and for that, I am grateful.

Before entering the Hussman School, I had never asked for an extension on a deadline. My freshman year at UNC, I became very sick and quite literally didn’t leave my bed for weeks. I had a 106 degree fever, but I still propped my laptop up in bed and emailed my work to my professors on time. I was willing to work myself to the bone to “be the best.” The culture at Hussman does not subscribe to that thinking, though. There are high expectations, but there is also grace.

Every professor I have had at the J-School has encouraged students to be honest when they are overwhelmed academically. They don’t just throw the required blurb about wellness in the back of the syllabus; they have a hands-on approach. Every professor I have had at the J-School has spoken about mental health. In 2021, when a shocking number of students at UNC committed suicide, we talked about it. We talked about the impacts of COVID-19, and the subsequent mental health crisis. Last week, in the wake of the Michigan State shooting, we talked about mass shootings at colleges, and how many of us are scared to sit in a classroom. We talk about real life.

Some might say all this talking is a waste of time. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It is the best use of our time, and the standards at Hussman remain sky high. I will never forget getting a 50% on a midterm because I spelled a name wrong on a journalism report by a single letter. That’s the standard at the J-School. But I also remember walking into office hours, crying, and being met with kindness. The standards weren’t lowered, and my grade wasn’t changed. My perspective was.

The Hussman School has taught me that there is room for both academic rigor and humanity. Slowly, I learned that academics do not have to be sterile or emotionless. Collaboration helps everyone; not everything has to be a competition. There is room for joy in learning. I have learned important things in every one of my classes, but these are the lessons I will hold with me forever.