my.CSMD
Real Story: Kaleb Bennett
Kaleb Bennett
Class of 2026, Engineering
Transfer Institution: University of Maryland
Accolades, Accomplishments, and Highlights: Class of 2026 student speaker for the School of STEM and Professional Studies
I am a big fan of philosophy, and I use it to navigate the uncertainties of life and the sometimes-turbulent waters of my own mind.
I started at CSM in fall of 2023. I questioned whether I was capable enough to acquire an engineering degree. Engineering requires a substantial understanding of mathematics in order to solve the types of problems you are presented with in this field. And I believed that “I wasn’t good at math.”
However, something attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius rang in my ears and inspired me to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering: “The person that says they can, and the person that says they can’t, are both correct.”
This quote, to me, communicates the unrealized power that we as humans possess over our own minds and capabilities.
My own resolve was tested when I decided to take Calculus I online in seven weeks while balancing three other classes. Needless to say, I did not do the best in that class and, for the first time in my entire academic career, I received an F. It was devastating.
But something this experience revealed to me was that every adversity is an opportunity to grow stronger, and it is essential to roll with the punches of life instead of complaining about how much they hurt.
I decided to retake Calc I the following summer in person. During that class, I was able to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and understand the fundamental concepts of calculus on a much more profound level. This led to me receiving an A in the class.
The foundation I developed after retaking calculus allowed me to build a base that became essential when taking higher-level classes like Calc II and III and Differential Equations. One crucial lesson I acquired from this episode of life is that you can learn more from your failures than you do from your successes.
This experience gave me the confidence to begin tutoring at the Math Resource Center on the La Plata Campus later that year. Being a tutor was an extremely enriching and humbling experience. There were times fellow students came in looking for help and asked me questions that I didn’t know the answer to.
As you can imagine, those situations were not always the most comfortable. As a tutor, if a student comes to you with a problem, you should be able to solve it. But it must be said that you learn the most when you are uncomfortable.
These interactions gave me the opportunity to brush up on knowledge that may have grown foggy over time and deepen my understanding of the content, while working with the student to find a solution to their problem.
One thing I have noticed about life is that, if you do not use the skills you’ve acquired, they can deteriorate over time, like a type of mental muscle atrophy.
You should also not be afraid to ask the questions that make you feel stupid. It’s never enjoyable to be in a state of discomfort. However, if you are always getting rid of discomfort, you never know when it’s useful. If you are constantly trying to avoid and escape uncomfortable situations, it can compromise your ability to grow as a person.
I would like to end with a saying from a branch of philosophy known as stoicism: You can’t always control what happens to you in life, but you can control how you react to it.
You may already be familiar with this perspective. You might be faced with deadlines, long nights of studying, and uncertainty about what lies ahead. But you can choose to keep learning, to get better day after day, and to smile in the face of the challenges presented to you. The circumstances put before us in life are often out of our control, but our power lies in how we choose to react.
Your determination to keep pushing forward despite the obstacles placed in front of you will help shape the future you’re working to build. So good luck… and may your journey be rough but rewarding.
Last updated: 5/27/26