For those of you who will be starting your freshman year of college soon, having to leave what is familiar and starting over can be a bit startling and overwhelming. Leaving the friends you made during your high school years and starting over can be intimidating and scary.
Even though you will be leaving the friends you made behind, you will have a huge opportunity to make new friends from the very start. There will be several other students in the same situation you are in so you will definitely not be alone.
While getting out of your dorm room and getting involved with campus activities is a great way to make friends in college, some of your best friends may be made in the most unexpectedly places.
During the first weekend I was at Otterbein, I met my two best friends, Hallie and Doug, in the most random spots. On the Saturday morning of that weekend, I met Hallie while doing a community service project (called the Community Plunge) during the early hours of that morning. The two of us started talking and the rest is history. Hours later, a bunch of guys were sitting in the lounge of Mayne Hall (my residence at the time on Otterbein's campus) watching the Ohio State vs Marshall game. I started talking with one of the kids watching the game and found out he was from the next town over. Not too long after that initial conversation, the two of us hit it off and that is how I met my friend Doug. It was in two random areas I met both Doug and Hallie but I made two of my best friends that day alone.
During winter quarter of my freshman year at Otterbein, I made some of my best friends simply because they took the time to show an interest in me. As a broadcast major, I was assigned to do play-by-play for the Otterbein women's basketball team and had fun calling the games from the very start. I had called games in high school but this experience ended up being a bit different. After calling a couple of the games, more of the players from the team started to approach me in the Cardinal's Nest (the cafeteria) and took the time to ask me how my day was going and learn more about me. I'll admit that I was surprised (in a pleasant way) these girls were taking the time to talk to me and they would always ask if I was coming to the next game to do play-by-play. I will never forget the kindness these girls showed me and by the time my senior year rolled around, some of these girls had become some of the best friends I had made on campus.
While a student at Otterbein, I didn't get a chance to meet many of the graduate students, however, one I met randomly became one of my best friends. During the fall and part of the winter quarter of my junior year at Otterbein, I had seen this one gentleman who was always in the library tutoring other students and riding his bike around campus. I had seen him often but never had the chance to introduce myself or cross paths with him long enough to do so. It wasn't until I was walking into Roush Hall on campus (which houses classrooms) that we finally got to cross paths. Mike and I hit it off at that point and I am still in touch and friends with him to this day.
Even though there are numerous stories I have on how I made friends at Otterbein, these always stick out in my mind for positive reasons. I did make some of my best friends in the most unexpectedly places during my college tenure and don't be afraid to let your friendships grow from similar opportunities as well.
Showing posts with label how to survive in college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to survive in college. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
One of the First Steps To Succeeding is Having a Postive Attitude!
During your college career and beyond, the attitude you show towards your work and projects is noticeable to those around you. It might not be as easy for you to see but how you treat your work, treat others or different situations can be noticed by those around you. Having the right attitude and a positive approach is also noticeable and those who practice it often can stand out for positive reasons.
When you are in certain places, how often do you notice someone with a bad attitude versus a positive attitude? For example, how many times have you gone to a restaurant where your server didn't say much to you, didn't want to talk to you or didn't care that he or she made a mistake? When that happens, you are left with the impression that the person had a bad attitude, didn't care and didn't want to be there.
When turning it around, how many times have you been at a restaurant where the server took time to talk to you, carefully took time to get your order correct and cared whether or not the food was prepared well and was served on time? Chances are, you were left with the impression that this person had a positive attitude, cared about his or her guests and wanted to do a good job. By being positive and showing care and concern, you were probably left that this person has a positive attitude.
Not all situations are positive but going in with the right attitude can help you get through them. For example, if you are a college student with a 25 page paper to write, the task is not an easy one but how you approach it can make a difference. If you keep saying to yourself that writing it is impossible, you won't get a good grade no matter what and it's too much time, chances are, that will show up in your work and hinder your grade. If you look at it the other way and think that you will learn the material better by writing the paper, you will create a strategy to outline your paper so it is organized and believe you can get a good grade, it will help you believe in yourself and get through the process. How you look at the situation can help determine the path you will go towards reaching your goal.
Even though we still will have bad days from time to time (or bad weeks), how you look at the situation surrounding you can determine the outcome later on. Making mistakes can be frustrating but taking a positive approach can help you learn in the future. For example, let's say you work for your campus radio station and you are in charge of making sure the playlists for each hour are in order and you forgot to organize them one evening. The mistake may have caused a headache for people trying to do their airshifts, however, you can look at the mistake two ways.
One way would be to look at yourself as a total failure who doesn't deserve the job and should quit.
Another way to look at it would be to realize you made an error, that mistakes do happen and find a positive way to make sure it happens again like creating checklists, writing a reminder to organize the playlists or setting a designated time each week to put it all together.
If you look at the glass being half full, you can take a mistake and learn from it.
By taking a positive approach to your daily tasks and big projects, you can find different ways to look at the positive outcome of a situation versus a negative one. It's noticeable when someone has a positive attitude and how you approach a project, mistake or situation can help determine the course of action you can take and the outcome. If you have a positive attitude, it will be contagious.
When you are in certain places, how often do you notice someone with a bad attitude versus a positive attitude? For example, how many times have you gone to a restaurant where your server didn't say much to you, didn't want to talk to you or didn't care that he or she made a mistake? When that happens, you are left with the impression that the person had a bad attitude, didn't care and didn't want to be there.
When turning it around, how many times have you been at a restaurant where the server took time to talk to you, carefully took time to get your order correct and cared whether or not the food was prepared well and was served on time? Chances are, you were left with the impression that this person had a positive attitude, cared about his or her guests and wanted to do a good job. By being positive and showing care and concern, you were probably left that this person has a positive attitude.
Not all situations are positive but going in with the right attitude can help you get through them. For example, if you are a college student with a 25 page paper to write, the task is not an easy one but how you approach it can make a difference. If you keep saying to yourself that writing it is impossible, you won't get a good grade no matter what and it's too much time, chances are, that will show up in your work and hinder your grade. If you look at it the other way and think that you will learn the material better by writing the paper, you will create a strategy to outline your paper so it is organized and believe you can get a good grade, it will help you believe in yourself and get through the process. How you look at the situation can help determine the path you will go towards reaching your goal.
Even though we still will have bad days from time to time (or bad weeks), how you look at the situation surrounding you can determine the outcome later on. Making mistakes can be frustrating but taking a positive approach can help you learn in the future. For example, let's say you work for your campus radio station and you are in charge of making sure the playlists for each hour are in order and you forgot to organize them one evening. The mistake may have caused a headache for people trying to do their airshifts, however, you can look at the mistake two ways.
One way would be to look at yourself as a total failure who doesn't deserve the job and should quit.
Another way to look at it would be to realize you made an error, that mistakes do happen and find a positive way to make sure it happens again like creating checklists, writing a reminder to organize the playlists or setting a designated time each week to put it all together.
If you look at the glass being half full, you can take a mistake and learn from it.
By taking a positive approach to your daily tasks and big projects, you can find different ways to look at the positive outcome of a situation versus a negative one. It's noticeable when someone has a positive attitude and how you approach a project, mistake or situation can help determine the course of action you can take and the outcome. If you have a positive attitude, it will be contagious.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
College Students: Be Aware of Opportunities that Present Themselves!
During your college years, getting internship experience will be valuable for getting an entry level position when you graduate. Being able to get enough professional experience through your internships will help boost your resume and give employers a reason to bring you in for an interview.
Whenever you are interning for a company or even working part time, be aware of other opportunities to explore and take advantage of. These opportunities may be out of the ordinary for you, however, the experience can lead to more possibilities down the road. These experiences can help pave the path for more career options and give you more opportunities.
For example, during my senior year of college, one of the best opportunities I took advantage of happened when I was hired in as a part-time producer at a local radio station. My job description was to help run the shows the station aired on Saturday morning but another opportunity presented itself a week after I had been hired.
While doing some training in the main studio during my first week there, the sales manager walked in with a copy of my resume and asked to see me in his office afterwards. I'll admit I was a little baffled as to why this sales manager wanted to talk to someone whose job was to push the buttons on the board, screen phone calls, air the commercials and keep the station on the air. I couldn't quite see the fit at first but eventually found out.
When I went into his office, the sales manager brought out a copy of my resume and asked me about some of the other internships I had done. He saw that I had done a sales internship at another station and a marketing/promotions internship at another. The Program Director (who hired me as a part-time producer) had told him I was really personable during the interview and that caught his attention.
After a few minutes, the sales manager asked me a question I didn't quite expect:
"Jeff, have you ever thought about learning how to do sales?"
I mentioned I had briefly and agreed to come in an extra day or two a week to learn under his wing. This sales manager taught me how to cold call, handle objections, listen to the customer and several other skills that paid off later on. There was a bit of a learning curve involved with this transition but this experience eventually paved the way for my first job out of college and opened up more doors and opportunities after that.
Had I not taken advantage of this opportunity to learn sales, I would not have had more options available to me after college and beyond that. Taking a couple days a week from someone who was willing to teach me how to do sales helped open other career opportunities for me and find my career path. This experience helped open up more opportunities for me and it was worth taking extra time to learn.
If another opportunity presents itself, take to explore it and let it grow. You never know where it might take you in the end.
Whenever you are interning for a company or even working part time, be aware of other opportunities to explore and take advantage of. These opportunities may be out of the ordinary for you, however, the experience can lead to more possibilities down the road. These experiences can help pave the path for more career options and give you more opportunities.
For example, during my senior year of college, one of the best opportunities I took advantage of happened when I was hired in as a part-time producer at a local radio station. My job description was to help run the shows the station aired on Saturday morning but another opportunity presented itself a week after I had been hired.
While doing some training in the main studio during my first week there, the sales manager walked in with a copy of my resume and asked to see me in his office afterwards. I'll admit I was a little baffled as to why this sales manager wanted to talk to someone whose job was to push the buttons on the board, screen phone calls, air the commercials and keep the station on the air. I couldn't quite see the fit at first but eventually found out.
When I went into his office, the sales manager brought out a copy of my resume and asked me about some of the other internships I had done. He saw that I had done a sales internship at another station and a marketing/promotions internship at another. The Program Director (who hired me as a part-time producer) had told him I was really personable during the interview and that caught his attention.
After a few minutes, the sales manager asked me a question I didn't quite expect:
"Jeff, have you ever thought about learning how to do sales?"
I mentioned I had briefly and agreed to come in an extra day or two a week to learn under his wing. This sales manager taught me how to cold call, handle objections, listen to the customer and several other skills that paid off later on. There was a bit of a learning curve involved with this transition but this experience eventually paved the way for my first job out of college and opened up more doors and opportunities after that.
Had I not taken advantage of this opportunity to learn sales, I would not have had more options available to me after college and beyond that. Taking a couple days a week from someone who was willing to teach me how to do sales helped open other career opportunities for me and find my career path. This experience helped open up more opportunities for me and it was worth taking extra time to learn.
If another opportunity presents itself, take to explore it and let it grow. You never know where it might take you in the end.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
College Students: Take Time To Socialize
During your college years, there will be moments where you will be busy with classwork, projects, and other commitments and it can be stressful. Budgeting your time is key and taking care of your schoolwork is a must. Getting bogged down can happen but taking time to socialize with others on a regular basis can help relieve some of that stress. Finding different ways to socialize with your friends can help relieve some of the stress you are feeling and help bring a bit more balance to your college experience.
Even though taking time to study and do your homework is a must, there are several different ways in which you can budget some time a week to socialize and hang out with others. Below are some suggestions:
Even though taking time to study and do your homework is a must, there are several different ways in which you can budget some time a week to socialize and hang out with others. Below are some suggestions:
- Get Involved With Different Campus Organizations- Whether it's Greek Life, the campus radio or television station, a community service group, etc. getting involved with the different groups on campus will help you budget your time and give you something to look forward to on a weekly basis. It will also help get you out of your dorm room or apartment and meet others
- Start a Weekly Event With People Who Share Common Interests- During my freshmen year at Otterbein, Sunday evening became Ultimate Frisbee night where a bunch of my friends and I would gather for a weekly frisbee game. For some of my other friends, it was a weekly get together to play Magic The Gathering, Poker, Halo or Nintendo Wii. These weekly events provided a way to relax during the week, enjoy the company of others who shared the same interests and relax. Find a way to start a weekly event such as these and it will help you socialize with people on a regular basis
- Take Time To Hang Out With Others When Invited and When You Can Go With Them- If a bunch of your friends are going to go to the theater to see a play and you can go, go with them! If they are going to a sporting event on campus and you can go, go with them! Taking time to enjoy these opportunities will help take you away from your stresses and help you relax a bit. It will also get you to socialize with the people you are hanging out with too!
Monday, October 25, 2010
College Students: Take Time To Say Hello
"Hello, how are you doing?"
When you are in line waiting to get your food from the cafeteria, getting your coffee from the shop, or getting your books from the bookstore, how often do you take the time to ask the people working in these places that question? These people are taking time out of their day to serve you the food or provide you help with finding the right study materials but how often do you take the time to ask how they are doing?
By taking a few moments to say hello to others, it will help you stand out from the crowd. Not many people take time to say hello to people in different departments on campus so taking just a few minutes to ask how someone's day is going will help set you apart.
College campuses vary in size but there are different ways in which you can get to know more then the professors and your classmates. For example, when you go into the cafeteria to get your lunch or dinner, take a couple of minutes to see if you can strike a conversation with the person serving the food. You can ask him or her how the day is going, if a lot of people have come through or find ask a simple question to get a small conversation going. It will probably mean a lot to this person that you are taking time out of your day to get to know him or her and it will set you apart from others in a positive way.
Doing this can take a little bit of practice, however, getting to know others will not be as hard. You might be amazed how easy it is to strike up a conversation with someone with a little ice breaker and how much that person might appreciate you taking the time to do so.
During my time at Otterbein, I took time to practice this skill early on and it benefited me along the way. It meant a lot when I took time to say hello to the people working in the bookstore, the people up in the cafeteria (aka the Cardinal's Nest), the coffee shop on campus, the people working in the library, the admissions staff, the alumni relations staff and several others. Taking a few minutes to say hello to these people each day made it easier for me to have a conversation with them later on and helped me develop relationships with several different people on campus. By being friendly to these people and taking time to learn how their days were going, it made it easier for me to say hello to these people on a daily basis and become friends with them.
Whenever you are running errands on campus, don't forget that taking a few minutes to say hello to someone can help develop a relationship and make you a friendlier face on campus.
When you are in line waiting to get your food from the cafeteria, getting your coffee from the shop, or getting your books from the bookstore, how often do you take the time to ask the people working in these places that question? These people are taking time out of their day to serve you the food or provide you help with finding the right study materials but how often do you take the time to ask how they are doing?
By taking a few moments to say hello to others, it will help you stand out from the crowd. Not many people take time to say hello to people in different departments on campus so taking just a few minutes to ask how someone's day is going will help set you apart.
College campuses vary in size but there are different ways in which you can get to know more then the professors and your classmates. For example, when you go into the cafeteria to get your lunch or dinner, take a couple of minutes to see if you can strike a conversation with the person serving the food. You can ask him or her how the day is going, if a lot of people have come through or find ask a simple question to get a small conversation going. It will probably mean a lot to this person that you are taking time out of your day to get to know him or her and it will set you apart from others in a positive way.
Doing this can take a little bit of practice, however, getting to know others will not be as hard. You might be amazed how easy it is to strike up a conversation with someone with a little ice breaker and how much that person might appreciate you taking the time to do so.
During my time at Otterbein, I took time to practice this skill early on and it benefited me along the way. It meant a lot when I took time to say hello to the people working in the bookstore, the people up in the cafeteria (aka the Cardinal's Nest), the coffee shop on campus, the people working in the library, the admissions staff, the alumni relations staff and several others. Taking a few minutes to say hello to these people each day made it easier for me to have a conversation with them later on and helped me develop relationships with several different people on campus. By being friendly to these people and taking time to learn how their days were going, it made it easier for me to say hello to these people on a daily basis and become friends with them.
Whenever you are running errands on campus, don't forget that taking a few minutes to say hello to someone can help develop a relationship and make you a friendlier face on campus.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
College Students: Plan Your Four Years and What You Want To Accomplish
If you are a college student, your college career will bring you valuable experience not only in the classroom but with what you do outside of the classroom as well. You have four years ahead of you to build up real life experience for potential employers when you graduate and it's important you make the most of it at this time. The time you spend inside and outside of the classroom, the activities you are involved with and the relationships you build will set the foundation you need to succeed when your college career is over.
Even though it takes time, planning your four years of college and what you want to accomplish is important for success in the "real world." Taking time to determine where and how many internships to do, what activities to get involved in and the types of relationships you want to build will help you make the transition from college to the working world.
When making up your plan, consider the following:
1) What Organizations on Campus Can I Be Apart of That Can Provide Experience Related to my Major? - This will help you get experience and connections you will need when interviewing for internships and possibly a job later on. This will provide you with experience you can use to prove to others you have the skills necessary for a particular internship or job. Getting involved in these organizations can also put you in touch with classmates or other connections on campus.
2) What Types of Internships Can Help Me Get the Experience I Need? Not every major is the same but the purpose of getting an internship is to get real-life experience in a learning setting. Don't simply take an internship just to get a bullet point on the resume; get as much experience and knowledge from that internship so it can boost your skill set for later on. Take time to determine which types of internships would benefit you the most and figure out a way to apply for them.
3) How Can I Learn to Network With Professionals in My Field of Study? The relationships you build in college can help open the doors for internships and even jobs later on down the line. Learn to network and find different ways to connect with professionals in your field while you are a student. Not many students take the time to ask professionals for advice and the people you will want to build relationships have been in your shoes before.
4) What Do I Want My Resume to Look Like My Senior Year? This will help map out where you want to go and how to get there. It might seem like a bizarre question but this will help you plan where you want to go.
Even though it takes time, planning your four years of college and what you want to accomplish is important for success in the "real world." Taking time to determine where and how many internships to do, what activities to get involved in and the types of relationships you want to build will help you make the transition from college to the working world.
When making up your plan, consider the following:
1) What Organizations on Campus Can I Be Apart of That Can Provide Experience Related to my Major? - This will help you get experience and connections you will need when interviewing for internships and possibly a job later on. This will provide you with experience you can use to prove to others you have the skills necessary for a particular internship or job. Getting involved in these organizations can also put you in touch with classmates or other connections on campus.
2) What Types of Internships Can Help Me Get the Experience I Need? Not every major is the same but the purpose of getting an internship is to get real-life experience in a learning setting. Don't simply take an internship just to get a bullet point on the resume; get as much experience and knowledge from that internship so it can boost your skill set for later on. Take time to determine which types of internships would benefit you the most and figure out a way to apply for them.
3) How Can I Learn to Network With Professionals in My Field of Study? The relationships you build in college can help open the doors for internships and even jobs later on down the line. Learn to network and find different ways to connect with professionals in your field while you are a student. Not many students take the time to ask professionals for advice and the people you will want to build relationships have been in your shoes before.
4) What Do I Want My Resume to Look Like My Senior Year? This will help map out where you want to go and how to get there. It might seem like a bizarre question but this will help you plan where you want to go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)