Good Morning Green Panda Friends. It’s time for the next post in our “Me, My College Education, and My Money” series. Today we are discussing how to make the most of our time at college. Every single year of college brings a new experience and a new opportunity; Green Panda is here to help you use your time at College wisely.
Our First Year at College
Our First Year at College is a social learning experience. For the first time in our lives we are probably out of our comfort zone; we may be away from our families for the first time and we have to make friends. The social aspect of our First Year at College may be the most important learning experience of all.
Our First Year at College is about making new friends who will become our support system throughout our College career. It is important to have a strong support system because being away from our family and friends as well as living in a brand new environment can be very overwhelming. I moved 800 miles away from my family to attend College and I was back at my parents’ house within 6 months. I wasn’t prepared for this turbulent emotional road otherwise known as my First Year at College, and therefore I went right back to my comfort zone…my parents’ house.
Our Second Year at College
A year later I tried again and I am happy to say that I successfully completed my Second Year of College. By our Second year at College we should have already made some great friends. There is nothing that brings people together more than sharing a new experience and trying to bear and unbearable situation. During our Second year at College it’s time to start getting our academic career on the right path.
Our Second Year at College should be used to make connections with our professors and other administrators in our program. We want to get noticed and we want to put ourselves on the scholastic map. Join a club, become the member of an organization, and schedule meetings with your professors during office hours; even if you don’t have something specific to discuss, find a topic to talk about.
Our Third Year at College
During our Third Year at College it’s time to step up as a leader. We have already made great friends, we have established a good support system, and we already got our feet in the door with the faculty in our program. Now we need to make sure that our hard work and dedication are noticed by the right people.
In our Third Year at College we should offer to help our Professor with administrative tasks such as grading papers of their first and second year students. A job as a Teacher’s Assistant is great experience. It also allows us to make a great connection with our Professors circle of friends who will hopefully become our potential employers after graduation. If we joined an association it is time to move up from being a contributing committee member to an event organizer or a member of the executive committee. We need to get our name published and we need people to start noticing us.
Our Fourth Year at College
Our fourth and final year in college is the home stretch. This is where we really want to shine. We have to put our previous three years of dedication and connections to work for us. We can ask about, and start applying for internships or other entry level positions.
Career Prospects should be our focus in our Fourth Year at College. We can ask for letters of recommendation from our Professors as well as the Administrators who oversee the committees that we joined. Use all connections and centers of influence to obtain any and all career prospects.
Don’t Forget to Check Out the previous posts in this series:
Trade School or College Diploma
Graduate From College Debt Free
Photo by Quen
Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.