When I joined the Women in Business club at my school, I had no idea that I would be the future president. I was just excited to get free food and meet some new people! Eventually, I began to look forward to the weekly meetings and to get more involved. Once I made the decision to run for president and won, I was nervous to fill the shoes of the impressive women who led the organization before me. On top of the normal nerves, I was intimidated by running a club during a pandemic with no in-person meetings. A school year later, I can confidently say that the experience has been invaluable.
- Embrace Your Inner Optimist
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The challenge of planning online meetings turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Instead of being limited to hosting speakers from the local area, I now had the entire world at my disposal. Although this was an overwhelming realization at first, I narrowed down my search by reaching out to Tulane alumni who would be more likely to agree to a meeting anyways. The success of that idea taught me a lesson that I will definitely use in my future professional life: when things don’t go as planned, find a way to create an even better opportunity.
- Don’t Doubt Yourself
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When meeting with professional women with much more experience than my college student self, it is easy to let impostor syndrome get to me. I always want our speakers to have a positive-enough experience to want to come back in the future. My mind fills with what-ifs: what if no one shows up, what if I forget to send the Zoom link, the list could go on for ten minutes. What has helped me most in those moments is reminding myself that I am capable and that my guests are not perfect either.
- It’s Okay To Make Mistakes
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Getting involved in a leadership position in college is an amazing way to learn a lot about yourself professionally. The stakes are not as high as a real job, which makes me comfortable taking risks. As a bonus, the skills and lessons I learn along the way are experiences that I can actually use when I am looking for a real job.
- Burnout Is Normal
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After one semester of mixed results in my club, I was not feeling motivated to do the same thing all over again. I was not surprised to be feeling this way running an organization during such an unusual time, but I was surprised how easily I got back on track. After getting some advice from friends and family, I was excited to make my second semester even better than the first.
If you’re considering getting involved in a campus organization, I cannot recommend it enough. Even though there are definitely ups and downs, you get so much real world experience working with others. If I can do it in a pandemic, you can too!
