Advice from Alumni: experiencing a full college life A lot of advice alumni give to current or future college students revolve around networking, gaining experience, choosing classes, setting yourself up for a job, and other very helpful, but (honestly) generic responses. The common goal: get ahead in life. I’ll touch on these topics as well, in case you never heard them before, but I’d rather devote most of my space towards experiencing an enjoyable and fulfilling college career.
Getting Ahead So let’s get the strategy out of the way. Networking – do it! Build good relationships with your professors, upperclassmen, and other classmates. You should also try to get an internship, or even two. These also are incredible opportunities to network and they will help you gain actual work experience, which is vital in today’s hiring market – especially in Business Administration and New Media Marketing. Do informational interviews, job shadow, volunteer, and join student societies. Take a wide variety of classes and do the best you can to understand your interests and goals. These are great tips and you will hear them from everyone. They are a sure way to get ahead in your career.
Balance But I think there is more to college than “getting head.” Students exposed to only the kind of advice given above, tend to think of college as a stepping stone. Truth is, if everything you do in college is about strategy, you’ll miss out on a lot of happiness and enjoyment of life. Don’t get so focused on “getting head” that you forget to live now. Find the balance between preparing for the future and living life now.
Enjoy If you want to both succeed in college and enjoy your time there, remember the following. Pick a major that you actually enjoy. Don’t chose majors based only on the job market. You will succeed in a major whose classes you naturally enjoy. Because when you enjoy what you are learning, you won’t skip classes, you’ll do your homework, you’ll remember what you learned, and you will be motivated to succeed by your own feelings, not outside pressures.
Explore Take as many enjoyable classes as your schedule allows. If your major includes electives, chose the ones that spark your interest, not just ones you hear are easy or scheduled most conveniently. If you have a couple credit hours take any class that seems interesting to you, no matter how relevant to your primary major or not. Learn a language, take an art class, take a music class, take an astronomy class, or join a club. Indulge your
childhood dreams and have a little fun.
Don’t Rush Most people that rush through college regret it. They regret not building strong relationships with professors and classmates. They regret overloading their schedules, sacrificing small everyday pleasures. They regret not going on a study abroad. They regret having no memories apart from late night Accounting homework. They regret sacrificing quality for speed. In sum, they regret not taking the time to enjoy college. Don’t let this happen to you. Prepare yourself now to succeed AND enjoy your time as a student! Photo Credit: anbra33, nazreth