Outside the Walls by Faina

Outside the Walls by Faina - November 2025 Scholarship Essay

My biochemistry class seats one hundred fifty eager, enthusiastic students– aspiring doctors, researchers, and professors. In the sprawling lecture hall, we gather in clusters with friends from other classes and clubs, or we sit alone in the front to vie for the professor’s attention. It is quiet for the entire period, except for the scratch of a pen writing notes or the occasional picture of the presentation. At the end, we all file out to continue our day, and then the texts start.

Did anyone catch what Dr. R said about enantiomers?

Can I see someone’s last exam to see what I got wrong?

Is anyone else coming to office hours today so I can join?

For my classroom, the collaboration does not end within its walls.

College students are notoriously busy. We balance jobs, classes, extracurriculars, leadership positions, and personal lives, and sometimes, it is unfeasible for us all to study together at the same time or attend every exam review and tutoring session. With the phone in my pocket, I can easily message the entire class to clarify a talking point in class. With my laptop, I can create my own study guide and share it to everyone, and they can all contribute to it.

Where we are limited by physical distance, technology closes the gaps. It makes our knowledge plentiful. It opens our access to resources and promotes engagement, and it connects me to the same classmate who sits across the lecture hall. Digital collaboration enhances students’ learning environments and networks, increasing inclusivity by allowing us to be one click or notification away from each other.

In the days before an exam, our class’s group chat is always active. We ask others to explain certain topics. We provide feedback to each other. We share study methods and materials. With technology, our education is student-centered; we learn to interact with and build off of each other for both instruction and discussion, mirroring what we will later do in adulthood and our future careers. The aspirations of my classmates and I are in medicine, dentistry, and academia. In these fields, we will need to ask another doctor for their perspective of a diagnosis or ask a peer to collaborate on a thesis in research. Before stepping into these careers, we have already become familiar with establishing communication and expressing ideas due to technology.

Technology has undoubtedly prepared us to adapt and collaborate, fostering interaction and connection between us all. The benefit of technology is its outreach; our classroom is not contained by physical walls. Wherever we are– home, work, or even states away– the classroom is too, as long as we stay connected.