In high school, my one true ambition was to go to college. In college, I thought I would find like-minded individuals. Truthfully, I put higher education on such a pedestal that I don’t think it would have ever lived up to my expectations. However, that does not mean I did not learn anything throughout the four years I spent getting my bachelor’s degree.
Beyond learning real-life skills, such as getting a crash course in discerning people and developing the emotional maturity to support a work-life balance, college has given me the opportunity to learn technical and relational skills that are important for mature life. As a soon-to-be college graduate, here is a list of the top educational skills I developed during my collegiate education.
1. How to write an email
When I started college, I didn’t know how to write an email; honestly, it was terrifying to write emails to professors. In my first emails to the professor who would become my closest mentor, I vividly remember rethinking every word I wrote. I even called my older brother to ask how to begin and end the email.
This skill is something that becomes easier with repetition. Overall, writing emails became easier the moment that I stopped thinking that professors perceived me by the quality of my email alone. Most professors actually treat emails like texting, except they occasionally sign off with their last name or initials. Getting comfortable with sending an email is critical moving forward into adulthood and getting a career. Use your time in college to get used to writing emails and learning the common vernacular to include because there is a small amount of email etiquette.
2. speaking to professors as peers
Remember how I wanted to meet mature and like-minded individuals? I met these individuals primarily as my undergraduate faculty mentors. Professors are your greatest asset in college. These individuals are classified as experts in their field and qualified to teach the next generation of experts. Utilize them. There is a level of respect that professors are due. However, there is also merit in developing a peer relationship with professors as you approach graduation.
One of my greatest relationships with a professor is within my major. To give you a glimpse at this relationship, this professor wrote a stellar letter of recommendation when I was applying to medical school and then went out for lunch with me to give me career advice. On the other end of the relationship, this same professor was very excited when the biomedical engineers planned a bar crawl and invited him to attend. Professors are excellent sources of information and advice for career planning. However, they are also human and want to form lasting relationships with students. Take advantage of this opportunity to form a relationship with an expert in your field so you can ask them for advice in the future.
3. taking criticism with a straight face
There is something to be said about having thick skin, and I learned that from my college experience. Especially as a student that was interested in pursuing graduate studies in a highly competitive field, I have learned that taking criticism and making essential changes are the qualities that will elevate a student from mediocrity to extraordinary. The extraordinary people you hear about in graduate school are not born; they are made. And the only way to make those people is to have devoted mentors and willing students.
I have learned in my four years of college that you have to be willing to sacrifice your pride to elevate yourself to new heights. For example, when I was writing my first abstract to submit for a research presentation, I sent my first draft to my mentor. That first draft was returned to me with enough red ink that it could reasonably be compared to Julius Caesar’s robe on the Ides of March. In that situation, I had a choice: to feel embarrassed and let my failure determine my trajectory or take the criticism and grow from it to write better scientific abstracts. For the sake of clarity, I chose the second option, and my abstract writing is now remarkably better.
4. being comfortable setting boundaries
Setting boundaries goes hand in hand with taking criticism. The people that set boundaries will have to take the criticism that comes with it from the individuals that do not understand how to do so yet. In the future, there will always be one person that will spend more time in the office than you do. However, it is also important to remember that you will not return to that office one day, and your position will be filled within a week to a month. Setting boundaries is a necessary way to benefit your mental health.
Instead of avoiding this responsibility, I used my time in college to develop emotional maturity and comfort with setting my boundaries. While I still stay busy on most days, I also make time to prioritize the three most important things to me: faith, family and sleep. While everyone does not have the same important factors in their life, the logic still applies. Life is a confined amount of time, and work or school will be all a person remembers if boundaries are not set.
5. talking myself off the ledge
There comes a time in each person’s life when their imposter syndrome appears so quickly and dramatically that it can derail their entire life. This happened three times in my undergraduate career, and I had to develop the skill of talking myself off the ledge each time that I thought I was not smart or hard-working enough to achieve my goals.
One time that this happened was when I was taking organic chemistry. My first exam in that class did not go well, and I got the lowest grade that I had ever received on an exam. I vividly remember calling one of my good friends from high school and asking her how I was supposed to be a doctor if I was doing so terribly in organic chemistry. She told me that these small failures are all part of the journey to teach me something that a textbook could not. That small bit of wisdom has stuck with me since that night in my sophomore year of college. It has been a life preserver to hold on to when I did not get into research positions I wanted or did not do as well as I hoped in classes.
College is the most beautiful four years of young individuals’ lives because it is a mosaic of failures and successes that will shape the character of that person for years to come. While these lessons have nothing to do with my major specifically or are not the subject matter of a pre-med class, these tough experiences taught me the value of small technical or personal communication skills. College is meant for this individual exploration and growth, which is why I had to be gentle and patient with myself as I learned all of these things.