Name: Bruce Babcock

Official title at Iowa State: Professor of economics and director of the center for agricultural and rural development.

As a student, what was your favorite part about your first year in college?: I have two favorites. During the first week of class, I saw a flyer for an organizational meeting of the UC-San Diego rugby club. I had never played rugby, but it sounded interesting. So, I went to the classroom for the meeting, and as soon as I walked in the door a can of beer was thrown to me from across the room. I caught it, opened it, and enjoyed it, thinking that this is the club for me! I ended up playing rugby for five years and made a lot of new friends. The second favorite was getting a grade of C in calculus. I entered the final with far less than a C but studied like crazy and did well on the final. Now I use calculus all the time and wonder why I had such trouble with it.

As a student, what were some challenges you faced in your first year in college?:

I worried about what I should major in, how many credits I should take and whether UC San Diego was the right school for me. It turned out that I never could find a major (I designed my own) and I switched schools two times before finding what I needed.

What is some advice you would offer new ISU students?:

1. Take classes from professors who have the best research reputation on campus. They might not be the best teachers but they have a whole lot more insight into how the world works than new assistant professors or grad students.

2. Go to class.

3. Drink less and study more.

4. Hand in all your assignments.

5. Take classes that interest you. Life is too short to study boring subjects.