There is no law requiring that University students be involved on campus, but there are many ways to enrich your time at school. Apart from solely taking classes, it’s important that students have a well-rounded college experience, other than solely taking classes.
While excelling in class is the most important priority of life on campus, it shouldn’t be the only one. College is a great place for students to pursue all their hobbies, talents and interests, and could possibly be the last chance to really attend to it. After graduation, many students have increased responsibilities, such as working full-time jobs in their desired career paths (hopefully), becoming financially independent and possibly starting families.
It’s critical that students be their own advocates. The reality is nobody is going to continuously push you to take advantage of your opportunities. It’s important to be proactive.
According to a study by The Ohio State University, involvement on campus improves grades, enhances brain development, improves psychological well-being, builds leadership skills and creates multicultural awareness. Being a part of an organization or team builds community. Personal experience has taught me that if you join something you are interested in or want to know more about, you will be engaged and it will be something you want to do rather than something that you have to do.
Participating in extracurriculars comes with additional tasks such as attending meetings, practice or completing projects. This may seem daunting but with the proper scheduling and efficient time management, it will be worthwhile.
The study also finds that involved students are more appealing to employers than their non-involved counterparts. The study also finds that highly-involved students are three times more likely to be considered for a position than anyone else including those who are moderately involved.
On-campus involvement also allows students to build both personal and professional contacts that may not occur if you just limit yourself to meeting people in class. It’s important that students remain responsible and attend to class but also to attend to their interests. College is a time to grow as a person, too.
The college experience is what you make it to be and the quality varies depending on your involvement. Students have a lot on their plates but they should always make time for themselves as people, not just as students.
