Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful tool you can use to change the
world.” In a time where people don’t seem to value attending college as much, I want to pat all
of the HerCampus family on the back and remind us the ways it is so beneficial.
The first reason is because it is better to know what the rules are before you decide how you
want to break them. Every profession out there has been happening in some way for centuries.
People have been doing it for longer than we’ve all been alive and there are already many
systems in place and history and back story and formal ways of doing things that already exist.
It shows a great respect to your profession, if you take the time to become completely literate
in what you do. There are people that have put a lot of time and effort in energy into paving the
way. There are official names of things that people currently working in that field already know
so you want to be able to recognize certain terms and etiquette and unspoken rules. So, I’m in a
sorority I have been a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority since April 14, 2007, so basically
the stone age. Before we got initiated, part of our process was learning about the founders and
why they started the organization and the things they had already done and the goals they
have for the organization. It would be crazy if I just came into the organization and just started
doing my thing with no idea what happened before me. Likewise, how could you know what
you want to do differently or change or improve in your own industry, if you don’t even know
what was going on before you got there.
The second reason is because it makes you well-rounded. when you are getting a formal
education in a topic. You learn about every aspect of it. Here at Savannah State, although I’m a
theatre concentration, we are fortunate to have a multidisciplinary visual and performing arts
program. Our program is specifically crafted for people that are multi-talented. We have our
main concentration, but we dabble in this and that, so we are able to take classes in those
additional areas as well and when we leave, we can create what we want to create because we
learned a little bit about everything. We also learn not just how become more proficient artists,
but we also learn the business end, we learn the marketing end and we learn the legal end. In
my concentration, we learn about the acting, the technical crew tasks, how to direct and how
to produce. What that means for me is when I’m out in the real world putting a theatrical show
together and someone drops the ball, or flakes on me, I may know enough to try to figure it out
and do that particular task myself. I also will know if someone is trying to overcharge me or tell
me that something takes longer to do than it actually does. Without this formal education I
probably would have been taken advantage of a few times or been stuck not being able to
finish a few projects because I only knew how to do my one piece of the puzzle.
Which leads me to my next reason a formal education is so beneficial. It saves time. So if you
have been reading my articles, you know that I am a nontraditional student. I’m 39. Although I
have been already creating and producing and directing before I came to Savannah State. When
I decided I wanted to do this for a living, I knew I needed to go back to school because time was
not on my side. But even if you are a non traditional student, you don’t have time to waste
either. What I mean is a formal education teaches certain things that you would have to learn
as you go. Or what they call on the job training. And some of those mistakes can be expensive.
It could take you longer to get to your goal or you can be wasting money learning things in
random ways that don’t work. You’re already going to make mistakes as it is, so no reason to
fumble around in the dark wasting time and money when you could have just gone to school
and learned some of what to do and not to do, off rip.
Reason number 4 is having that credential of a formal education on your resume can open so
many doors or can lead to potential opportunities, just ask Lizzo you wouldn’t even be
considered for otherwise. Having a formal degree allows you to negotiate for higher pay
because you are bringing value. You are coming in as someone that knows what they’re doing
and most likely can produce better results. In many cases, even if the degree isn’t even in the
field you are working in. My first degree was in Biology and I came into my job as a claims
examiner automatically making $3 more because of having the degree. Also, with any four-year
degree you can get a certification and you can become a teacher or professor, teaching any
where from A.A. Degrees down to kindergarten. In my industry it’s even more special because it
shows how seriously you take your art. You took the time to go to school for it. That sets a tone
when you walk into a room. Even if people don’t admit it, they respect that extra effort. A
perfect example is Lizzo. Although she’s known as a singer. She went to college for flute
performance. People may not like how she dresses or dances but when it was time to play that
flute in the National Library of Congress, people were able to defend her, and you know how
they did it? They said well, she’s a trained flutist. She has a degree in playing flute. She could
have been playing the flute for years and still been as talented but in that conversation it didn’t
matter. The only thing that mattered is that she was trained. It’s extra respect.
The last reason and probably the pettiest but it’s also my favorite, is the flex. There’s just
something about being a degreed person, especially a degreed black person, and especially a
degreed black WOMAN, that no one can ever take from YOU. They tried to keep our ancestors
from getting an education. Then when they were able to get the education, they tried to make
sure it was a poor education. Now when a person wants to question our intelligence, we can
just shove that degree in their face and say, “pay me what I’m worth, I’m trained in this field.”
My other personal favorite reason is when I am in conversation online or in person and I am
chiming in on a topic in my field. Or when someone trying to act like they know what they’re
talking about and when I correct them, they just assume I am a rambling person and try to
question my knowledge on the topic and I quickly let them know that I went to school for this. I
know what I’m talking about and please get out my face. Don’t play with me. And shame on you
for assuming, you’re loud and wrong.
So, a formal education is NOT a waste of time, and it does give you so many tools that you can
use to build whatever career you want. And anyone that has made the decision to gain a formal
education, I pray that if they ever doubt anything, it’s only that they maybe got that education
in the wrong field. But never regret that they took the time to get the knowledge.