All posts in Making Change

I’ve been meaning to write a post about graduation for a while now. I got caught up in the joys of full time employment, relocation, and friend making so much that I almost forgot that I have this sexy blog.

I’m have no doubt that you’ve all be desperately awaiting my tidbits of post college wisdom. I feel bad to have held out for so long. Now you know what the girls I date feel like.

For those of you still in college (and I’m hoping that some of you are, so that this post is not completely devoid of value) here is my sage wisdom… some of which can be found in my Senior Spotlight in the UVU Review.

• Don’t sit in the same chair every day. We are creatures of habit. We do what’s comfortable to us. Instead of sitting in the same chair every day, take the chance to move around as the semester rolls along. I met some of my best college friends this way. Plus, if you creep someone out sitting next to them one day, or a new hottie adds the class late,  it won’t look suspicious if you move seats…
• High five your professors. Professors like ambitious students who are nice to them… at least the professors who are worth knowing. When you are friends with your professors, doors of opportunity will open for you during school, and after graduation. I’ve only been graduated for a month, and I’ve already seen the perks of having professors as friends. I mean, they let me pass my classes, didn’t they?
• Don’t take classes early in the morning. Taking early morning classes is just a foolish thing to do. It’s likely that you’ll fail your early classes because you won’t want to wake up in the mornings. Sure, at the beginning of the semester you’re excited to get up early and rush off to campus, but trust me, thing change. Friends are made. Parties are attended. Sometimes you get lost in Walmart or Ikea while playing hide and seek. Crazy stuff happens. And trust me, after a night of hiding behind a Hemnes for 3 hours, 8:00 tends to lose its appeal.
• Never buy text books... especially for upper division classes. (Science and Math are the exceptions.) You won’t read them anyway. Spend the money on something cool, like gum.
• Work for free. Find someone in your field, preferably someone with influence, and help them. Bend over backwards to do free stuff for them… as long as that stuff doesn’t involve a goat, a dwarf and a jar of peanut butter.  When you graduate, their referral will go a long way.
• Build your own personal brand. I’m not talking about your own “musk,” I’m talking about making sure that people can find you if they look for you.  Make sure you write things worth reading.. Make yourself findable on the Googles. Trust me, it pays off to have a Twitter account that links to a blog that has a contact page that connects with your email address… just in case someone wants to offer you a job that way… which has happened more than once.
• Be different. Lots of people want to be the same as everyone else in college. They all want to get A’s. They want to suck up to professors. They want to graduate with jobs… and most of the time they fake it the whole way, expecting it to pay off. Just be you. Be nice. Be thoughtful. Work hard. Smile a lot. Then, things will work out.

I can’t tell you how good it feels to be done with school. I currently have my dream job. I have my fair share of autonomy, I’m allowed to master the things I’m passionate about, and I have purpose as a huge contributor.  I plan to make an impact here, just as I left an impact at UVU.