Quit Worrying About the Grades & Meet People

Today’s college students will be tomorrow’s global leaders, and today's college students are in the prime marketplace to network themselves as competent employees. The familiar faces at the cheapest happy hour hot spots will soon graduate, maybe mature a bit, and be a familiar face in a professional career.

A good friend of mine from our very own Sacramento State University’s Government department recently obtained a position with a state legislator. In today’s tough economic times, the proverb “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is ringing especially true. As an expectant graduate this year hoping to work with legislation, having a friend in the field can be a great asset.

Forget the academics. With the exception of a few essential major requirement courses, students can barely remember who their academic professors were, let alone the details about a subject they are forced to take in order to graduate.

A roommate of mine, who is a rather studious civil engineer student, was recently explaining how the beginning of the semester is a review of previous course material but it still felt new and foreign. The frank reality is that most students will forget the bulk of what they learn. Of course college students will develop the fundamentals in a particular skill set, but the four years one spends in college offers opportunities far greater than facts and figures.

College is the natural residence of numerous social and academic groups that can often equip students with further networking opportunities and valuable experiences that can make an individual more competitive. Numerous industry-related clubs have brought local professionals and entrepreneurs of their trade to speak and share advice to students.

Although tedious and, even worse, for no pay; many students are able to intern at various institutions and establishments. From observing videotapes of sewer pipes for cracks to entering data on excel files and volunteering at Mercy Hospital, there are numerous Sacramento State students who are currently taking advantage of college internships.

What is the benefit of completing tedious tasks for free?

Besides the obvious answer of having another item to fill up the white on a resume and networking for jobs; it gives students the chance to observe working people (hopefully in their area of interest) on a daily basis. As a student intern myself, I have been able to observe and analyze the difficulties of the full-time staff, the challenges they face and more importantly the skill sets they utilize to overcome those challenges. It can shed light into a career path that cultivates enthusiasm or provide a realistic portrait of an idealistic dream.

Another roommate of mine is currently a master graduate student working on his thesis. During this time, his advisers and professors have been able to give him personalized advise of where to job hunt and has even been introduced to potential employers because of his instructors assistance. College professors and advisers can play key component of aiding students in finding volunteer and job opportunities. There are multiple professors’ college departments that were successful in their careers prior to teaching and are often too eager to share their knowledge of the industry.

The greatest aspect of college is the series of opportunities it provides. It’s about the extracurricular that makes a graduate both competitive and competent in a rough economic market. Facts can be learned and skills developed, but college provides the opportunities to obtain experience in an educational atmosphere while opening doors into the offices of current, leading individuals in a variety of industries. The networking and extracurricular activities a college can offer gives a major advantage to those fortunate enough to pursue higher education.

I am often told by professionals through my internship that its not what you know, its about who you can trust. Students can quit worrying about the A, and use these four years to harvest relationships.