Even though I am almost half way through my Junior year here at Virginia Tech, I still vividly remember walking around my first Gobblerfest. If you aren’t familiar with Gobblerfest or Virginia Tech, let me set the picture for you: Our giant quad (The Drillfield) filled with hundreds of tables, each representing a student organization trying to recruit new members, alongside a giant ferris wheel and other activities for new students to indulge in. When I went for the first time, I realized for the first time how big Virginia Tech really was. While this feeling was definitely overwhelming, having come from a small town in an entirely different state, I saw it as freeing.Â
That day, I joined several different clubs, some of which I am still a part of today. I’ve heard some say before that the clubs you join in college can really make or break your experience, and that is something I completely agree with. Without the student organizations I’ve joined throughout my time in college, I wouldn’t be as well-rounded (for the most part) as I am today. Joining student organizations in college has helped me make some of my closest friends, network with students in my major, and apply the work I’ve done in class to real-life scenarios. For example, writing and editing for Her Campus, a club I joined simply to give myself a creative outlet, has turned into a leadership where I get to use the data analytics that I use within my major to help bring traffic to our website. Furthermore, simply responding to a mutual friend’s Instagram story looking for help re-founding a club helped me land a position as treasurer, allowing me to apply my knowledge on preparing financial statements to real life. Â
As college students, we all came here with one end goal: to land a job after. For me, a business student, the bane of my sophomore year was landing an internship for after my junior year. When I tell you that I applied everywhere, I applied everywhere. From the Big 4 to small-town firms, the constant flow of rejection letters was nonetheless discouraging. As someone who already had a late start in the major, finding somewhere to work for felt hopeless. However, after countless emails back and forth with recruiters, constant interviews, and a seemingly never-ending flow of rejection letters, I finally landed my internship offer for next summer. Another freeing feeling, knowing that my hard work had finally paid off and that I was capable, despite starting late.Â
At the end of the day, some may see me as an overachiever. Instead, I see myself as an achiever. College is a privilege, and a privilege I refuse to take advantage of. The most important thing I’ve learned in life is that I am the one responsible for setting myself up for success, not anyone else. The biggest piece of advice I leave with you today is to take advantage of the opportunities life throws at you. It’s always worth a shot!Â