Happy Friday! Although it has been a couple months since I graduated college, I wanted to finish off this fun series that I started my Freshman Year of college sharing things that I learned each year. I actually started my blog in my dorm room freshman year of college which makes finishing these “What I Learned This Year Of College” series even more bittersweet.
For those that do not know, this past May, I graduated from St. Mary’s University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing and a minor in Visual Communication Design. Go Rattlers! These past four years have been filled with great memories, great friends, amazing professors and endless opportunities.
1. Time Flies Fast
It did not hit me until the last semester of my senior year that in just a couple months I would be graduating college. Four years definitely go by fast when you are having fun! I remember placing the order for my cap and gown, shortly after midterms crept around the corner, and then in the blink of an eye, it was time to walk the stage. If you are a Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior reading this: be sure to make the most out of every moment until the time that you walk across the stage. One thing that I regret is not taking advantage of all the opportunities that you only get to experience once such as studying abroad.
2. Senioritis is Real
Some might find it a little silly that I am sharing this, but until you experience it yourself, Senioritis is a real thing and boy does it hit you fast! For me, I never became lazy; as that is not a word in my vocabulary. However, my mind and priorities were definitely elsewhere due to the fact that I was so enthusiastic about starting my new job upon graduation. Instead of giving my classes my full attention, I did what I had to do to collect B+/A and moved on to other things.
Granted that your G.P.A is pretty stationary at this point in your college career, one thing that I can not stress enough is still going above and beyond in all your classes. Besides, what better feeling than to end the last semester of your college career with all A’s and on the Honor Roll?!
3. Network, Network, Network!
While this is something that should be done from Day 1 of your Freshman Year, for myself during my Senior Year I definitely pushed myself to network with others more than I ever have during my entire college career. I would attend speaking engagements on campus, invite guest speakers to organizations that I was a member of and even reach out to some of my LinkedIn connections whom whom I hared a mutual connection through a family member or friend to just grab coffee and provide me insight on the industry that I would shortly be entering. Also, if done correctly it is another way that you potentially land your first job, it worked for me!
Something that I learned to never be afraid to reach out to professionals in your soon-to-be field, because worst comes to worst and they could say no. 9/10 they are more than willing to and can provide great advice with their many years of experience and most of them do a great job about staying in touch.
4. Job Hunting Is No Joke
It is so hard to not compare yourself and get caught up with what others are doing, especially when it comes to thinking about post-grad life such as finding a j-o-b!. Coming back from Summer Vacation just days before my Senior Year, a few of my classmates returned to school with a job already in place. It invoked so much anxiety in me that I would stay up until 1 AM looking for jobs and filling out applications.
First thing first, I learned that it was important to make sure that you have a solid resume and cover letter. I also learned that because a lot of business’ want individuals with a few years of work experience, so it is common to get rejected. Especially if the application was through an online portal! However, you should not let rejection discourage you. Being sure to stay true to yourself, stay on your path and understand what is destined for you is what helped me refocus and not be so hard on myself. As long as you are doing everything that you need to succeed, everything will fall into place in due time.
5. Do not Let Difficult Professors Weigh You Down
Everyone is bound to have at least one professor who makes it clear that they are not a fan of you. It sucks especially since you would think they would be there to help you. I used to take it personally because I have such an easy-going personality that gets along with everyone and would always do everything that I was supposed to do such as participate in class and always put forth effort on all their assignments.
I have always been a B+/A student and I had one professor for what was supposed to be a “fun” Videography that I signed up for as a fun elective purposely dislike me so much that she made sure that I only passed her class by one point. Please tell me how one almost fails a Videography class? Truly impossible unless you never do the work. I never let her know that I actually didn’t need the class to graduate, but the fact that she made it clear which students she preferred versus those whom she put forth effort to give a hard time was extremely disheartening.
Aside from having at least 2-3 difficult professors in my college career, what I have leaned in order to survive the class for the remainder of the semester is to show initiative, always show up to class, participate in class, complete your assignments, collect your grade and keep it moving.
6. Boys Will Be Boys, so Don’t Waste Your Pretty.
I usually refrain from talking about my “love life” only because I am an extremely private personal but in reality it really is not that eventful. LOL. Being completely honest, I didn’t date around that much in college. Yes I would go on dates, but 90% of the time they never got a second date because I simply wasn’t impressed. I am all for giving boys fair chances and meeting new people, but I am and have always been extremely cautious about who I spend my time and energy on. Essentially, I am very picky and it takes a lot to impress me as I am quick to pick up on vibes and can see right through people. Whew chile, you guys, I have some date horror stories!
With the exception of the multiple instances of being in the awkward “talking but this is not quite a relationship” and brief relationships here and there, I have never been in a “serious” relationship. When I was a Freshman, I used to pick myself a part and thought that something was wrong with me because of that, butt since then I have completely altered my mindset in a positive manner focusing less of what I believe is “wrong” and more of what is “right”. It is ok to be selfish with your time, letting someone know that the feeling isn’t mutual and focusing on yourself because guys will come and go, but eventually the right one will come along and he will stay.
7. Friends Will Come and Go
I keep my circle of friends small and many of us go way back to either elementary, high school and even my freshman year of college. Granted they do not all belonged to one big friend group, I did meet them all in different periods of my life, so in various ways we all essentially watched each other mature. However, while I am so thankful for each and every one of them, this past year I really had to focus on had to choosing my friendships wisely.
While we were all focused on school, graduating and hunting for jobs not all of us had our mind on the same path which definitely caused some friction between myself and a few of my friends. Mentally I have always been extremely focused on reaching my goals and this year in particular I feel as if I had to quickly shift my mindset into becoming an “adult” and entering the work force. Some of my friends were like me and on the same path and some had a few bumps in the road and were not quite ready to grow up as well, which lead to friction in our friendships.
People who are meant to be in your life will stay, but I had to remind myself that those who there are going to be a few who stop cheering you on, feel intimidated by your achievements and overall stop positively contributing to your life. Everything always happens for a reason!
8. Start Planning for Graduate School
While I have yet to start studying for the GRE/GMAT, I am definitely interested in going back to Graduate School to get my Masters of Business Administration. After speaking with a lot of my professors and mentors, I was able to weigh the pros and cons of applying to graduate school right after graduation or waiting a year or two to gain work experience. I decided to wait a year or two to gain some work experience, but the time in between is the perfect time to start doing your research.
I made an excel sheet with schools, their tuition prices and the different concentrations that they offered. I then narrowed down the list and requested information from the Graduate Admissions Office. Let me tell you guys, Graduate School Admission Recruiters are no joke, they will hunt you down and find you until you answer their call! All jokes aside, speaking with the admissions recruiters was extremely helpful as they were able to answer any questions that you may have. If you are about to start the process or requesting information, an extremely important question to ask is if the program has a required number of years of work experience. I had to cross a few schools off my list because of this.
