Next month I will graduate from the University of Washington with a degree in communication, political science and entrepreneurship. While I had to learn remotely for the last year of my undergraduate degree due to the coronavirus pandemic, there has been so much to take away from being a college student. College is a formative time in many ways. Over these last four years I have grown as a person, as an academic, and as a future member of the workforce.
In preparing for my first “adult job” post-grad, I wanted to reflect on the biggest learnings from my time in college. These are the lessons, skills and mindsets I have learned over the last four years that I will take with me beyond my courses.
Make time to follow your interests outside of work
I loved taking courses on topics completely unrelated to my majors. One of my favorite electives was a class on underworlds in Russian folklore and literature. I found that not only was this class interesting, but it helped me to better understand my more important courses in communication and political science.
Building this broad base of knowledge across many disciplines encouraged me to think more creatively and explore ideas outside of what was taught within my majors. As I begin my career, I’ll build time into my weeks to allow my brain to wander and explore new ideas and experiences. These diverse inputs will strengthen my creativity and perspective on problem-solving when I return to work.
Keep your own standards exclusive of others
In some of my classes the professors or teaching assistants would have a standard of helping all students to pass the class, or to achieve a 3.5 GPA. I would be frustrated to visit office hours for help only to hear that I was doing a great job in the class because I had a passing grade. I had a higher standard for myself than simply passing and wanted to achieve those goals. Grades and other standardized measurements are helpful to manage success or mastery of concepts but only you know how well you are actually performing.
When working in the future, I’ll be sure to create goals for myself and set standards for my own work. These standards helped me to succeed in college and they will likewise help me succeed in future jobs.
Listen and learn from your peers
College classrooms are a place for students to absorb new ideas and listen to each other. My most profound learnings were not during lectures by my professors but were during the small group discussions with my peers. This openness to new ideas from people who may not be an established expert will serve me well in the future.
Be Open to New Opportunities
At the beginning of my freshman year I attended as many clubs as I could stomach and talked to new people until I was exhausted. Saying yes to every club invitation or social event became my way of meeting new people and trying new things. In retrospect, I don’t know where I would be if I turned down these new opportunities.
Starting a new job, I will likewise agree to every new opportunity. Not all of them will be promising or something that I find enjoyment doing, but a handful will open doors to new experiences and teach me more about myself.
Know your limits
Knowing my limits was (and still is) a hard lesson for me to learn. There will always be ways to get ahead in a class, or more hours you can spend studying for an exam or editing a paper. At some point, I have to learn where to draw the line and recognize when I have worked on something for long enough. For my own sanity, I have to know when to stop working and begin living life. In the future I will continuously remind myself that I must set limits to allow for time to recharge.
I am excited to begin this new chapter of my life and to start working full-time in the future. I will use this reflection of my last four years in college as a guide to help navigate my next job and lead me to success in the workplace.