Getting Involved in College: Thoughts & Benefits

There is something out there for everyone.  It just takes a little research (stay tuned for a post next week about helpful resources!)  There are organizations for professional interests, personal interests, and everything in between.  Most upper education facilities even give power to students to start-up their own group.

Some examples are: student government, volunteer groups, academic groups, fraternities and sororities, intramural sports, theater and art groups, religious groups, honors groups, and etc!  The list and possibility of involvement can seem endless depending on the size of your education facility.

Students gathered on campus lawn at The University of Iowa 

 A few things to keep in mind when deciding to join a group:

1. Never let fear of the unknown keep you from deciding to pursue something new.
2. Don’t be afraid to join alone.  If you don’t know anyone in the group already, just be brave, be independent, and join anyway.  You can do it! 
3. It’s never too late.  So what, you missed the first meeting or maybe it’s your last year of college, it’s not too late.  The worst feeling is regret of not trying. 
4. Other people are in the same boat.  If you’re ever feeling hesitant, just remember that you are not the only one who may have mixed feelings.

Students at the University of Northern Iowa at
a Relay for Life meeting 

Making the final decision to be a part of a group brings a lot of benefits.  It creates a community of people full of common interests.  This community not only accomplishes and serves the organization’s cause, but can also act as a support group relating to any aspect of life.  Lifelong friends often originate from group involvement, as well as professional connections that can help in the future.  Practicing and expanding skills is also an important feature not to be overlooked; As well as learning from others in fun and innovative ways. And don’t forget, group involvement is quite the resume booster!

I encourage everyone to be a part of an organization and form relationships with those who have similar interests.  You won’t regret it!  

Don’t forget, next week I’ll be posting some general resources you can use to help with your organization search. 

Why College?

There comes a time, in this modern era, when young adults contemplate attending a higher education facility of some sort.  Some pose the question, “Why go to college?”  The truth is, there is not one definite answer to suit every situation.  My best convincing argument is that college gives each person the chance to enhance opportunities and experiences for themselves not only to aid in a successful future, but also a successful present.

University of Northern Iowa

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2014, young adults ages 20-24 with a bachelor's degree or higher had an employment rate of 88.1% in the United States. Therefore, going to college does help in job marketability, giving each person the chance to pick a career path that they can see themselves pursuing for the rest of their working life.

Aside from going to college for job benefits and academics, I think there are other areas of the college experience that are sometimes overshadowed:

The social aspect is huge. Heading off to a place full of new people is difficult, no matter how sociable any one person seems! College makes individuals step out of their comfort zone to make new friends and connections. Developing relationships with peers, professors, advisers, etc. will help get through the best of times, and maybe the worst of times, during college.

Juggling social events, studying, organizations, jobs, meetings, exercising, projects, financial situations, family (and much, much more!) help in the development of time management skills. Time is a precious commodity in college. Figuring out how to utilize time to its fullest will help in being successful not only during college, but after college when entering the “real world” as well!

Workloads and to-do lists pile up from time-to-time. At first this could get the best of some, but it’s important to keep in mind that college is, in part, meant to test mentality and ability to handle stress. Because of these testing workloads, young adults are able to develop a mental toughness and confidence (especially through the gratifying feeling of accomplishing tasks!)

These are just a few features, in addition to job marketability, that I personally feel are valid reasons to pursue a higher education. There are countless more explanations out there! I encourage you, or anyone you know, who is contemplating a higher education to take the leap and stride it out!