When you think of college, school and social life comes to mind. It’s engrained in the culture: the frat parties, the 8 a.m. classes, the wild tailgates, the never-ending papers and exams and so on. You live it and love it (maybe not so much the school part). It’s easy to get wrapped up in the college lifestyle and forget that there is more to it than partying and studying.
In the midst of balancing it all, don’t take for granted the abundance of opportunities just on your campus’ radius. For instance: attending guest lectures and screenings, workshops, student fairs and networking events or joining clubs and organizations, landing an internship and volunteering. Exploring and taking on these different opportunities will be beneficial to you and your success at school, and importantly, post graduation as you head out into the *cringe* “real” world. Here’s why these opportunities are important and how to take advantage of them.
Build your resume
Having a resume stacked with experiences not only gets your foot in the door of that interview but proves credibility and valued experience to future employers, which will increase your chances of landing that dream job of yours. Because let’s face it, Social Chair of *insert sorority* won’t cut it. These days, it is more than your GPA and being an honors student. You need to show that you are passionate about it, and that is reflected through the opportunities you display.
Discover your interests
By attending different events and workshops, you start to discover what sparks your attention, interests and passions. This can help you get a clearer picture of what you want to do career wise, and therefore, steers your focus on what you need to do in college to get closer to that end goal (join certain clubs and orgs, internships, volunteer etc.)
Network
At most of these opportunities, you will be meeting people and making connections (aka: networking, even if it’s not a formal networking event). Building relationships and adding a diverse range of people to your network is crucial. These days, most applicants receive job offers primarily through “who you know.”
Learn
Apart from building your resume, getting in tune with yourself and expanding your network, you are growing and learning from these experiences at the same time. Some opportunities will open and challenge your mind to new and different perspectives on issues and concepts, others will leave you fascinated to explore more and may develop and equip you with life skills to excel in certain areas. College is a learning experience in and outside the lecture hall.
You’re only in college once, so take full advantage of it! Now is the time.
Photos: cover