Personal Understanding of Academic Expectations

As a new student in the US educational system, it is important to know the academic expectation. What I am supposed to do in order to achieve my academic goal? What are some difficulties I may face? What kind of relationship must I have with my professors? These are among many others, questions the answers of which are significant in completing a graduate program.
Last week, our class was honored to received Tim Mackin, PhD, Director of the Writing Center of Saint Michael's College. According to him, we are expected to be to school on time, to participate fully in all the class projects, to ask question what we don't understand inside or outside the class. He also told us that we must really be confident. We all went through a challenging competition to get our scholarships. So, according to him, being selected means that we can overcome any challenge we 'll face as long as we remain confident and hard-working. We also discussed about may aspects of the American culture, among them befriending with people. I really enjoyed the conversation with him. His relaxed style, his simplicity attracted me so much that i paid him a visit in his office to ask him further questions about group works in the graduate program.
I hope that the remaining guest speakers will further help us know more about the US culture and our academic needs.
I am really enjoying my classes and it incredible all the things I learned from my arrival up to now.