Everyone tells you it’s important to get involved in college. Well, guess what? I wholeheartedly agree. It’s crucial.
If you go to a big school you have to get involved just to stay afloat. If you go to a school, it’s to your advantage to get involved. You may not have to, but trust me; it’s in your best interest.
I’m in a nostalgic mood so I decided to think back over the last three years at what I was able to accomplish as a result of being involved. Now this list will vary per person—I’m from Kansas, so just moving to Pennsylvania required me to become involved or else I would be all alone.
* Phillies games (lots)
* 3 President’s receptions
* Student Body President (2 years)
* 4 years on Student Government
* Internship in London
* Business class trip to China
* Internship in Salt Lake City
* Two years in “upper classmen” townhouses
* Met the Mayor of Philadelphia
* Competed in Miss Philadelphia pageant
* Spoke to the incoming Freshmen class (twice)
* Helped plan/run homecoming events
* Presented a check during Homecoming Basketball game
* “Besties” with the University President
* Sat on committees with all the Deans
* Made our mascot out of cupcakes—let’s go explorers!
* Voted on a “smoke-free campus” proposal
* Chatting about the upcoming Bball season with the Athletic Director
* Joked with the Dean of the business school to find me a job—no seriously, I did that.
* Got a blogging internship
* Started a co-ed fraternity
* Met my future roommates—this is by far the most important!
So like I said, this list only applies to me, but I bet you could make your own. If you get involved, AWESOME things can happen. The list of “involvement perks” is random—some things are huge, Hello, Mayor Nutter!! But others are subtle, but could have never happened if I didn’t put myself out there—like meeting my roommates, or my boyfriend for that matter. (Cute story alert—he moved me into my freshmen dorm. He was in the same community service hall as me!)
When you get involved you create awesome opportunities for yourself, and frankly, you have a lot more fun than you would otherwise. Get involved and see how your “list” pans out. I bet you’ll be impressed!