An Introverts Guide to Office Hours

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

“Office hours” is a popular phrase on college campuses. It is mentioned in almost every syllabus and always comes up during conversations about school with family members, alumni, or academic counselors. Office hours are times that professors or teaching assistants (T/A) set aside to be available to their students. A student may go to see a professor or a T/A during office hours because they don’t understand class material, want guidance in the course, or to pursue a topic in more depth than it was covered in class. Going to office hours seems like a pretty simple key to success, but if you’re an introvert or a shy person like myself meeting with your professor seems to be uncomfortable and scary. I’ll be honest, it was not until midterms of my first semester to feel 100% comfortable talking to my professors. I initially was very anxious and scared that I would have been disturbing the professor or asking “stupid questions.” However as time went on, I developed coping strategies that helped me to overcome my office hours jitters.