It is sad to say this (and the freshman year version of myself would hate to admit this), but being a senior in college is more than experiencing everything college has to offer for the last time. It’s a time to be nostalgic about some of the greatest years of your life while attempting to figure out what you will be doing post-grad. As I come increasingly closer to starting my senior year, I’ve realized it is time to cut back on prancing around downtown Tampa, and focus more on my professional endeavors and LinkedIn profile.
"Your education is something that can never be taken away from you." I can hear my parents’ voices over and over in my head as I write this. There is no argument that this statement holds truth because it is becoming increasingly more important to have a higher level of education. Yes, the education you obtain from spending countless hours studying for courses that you might not understand is important. However, the education you get from spending some time in professional settings to learn more about your desired future is equally important. While having the stellar GPA is perfectly desirable. I would rather spend my days interning, mentoring, and shadowing professionals to have something you cannot learn perfectly in a classroom: a better understanding of the real world.
Internships, externships, and shadowing professionals all provide the opportunity to learn a great deal on professionalism, effective communication, ethics, among other important skills to possess in the professional environment. Taking advantage of opportunities as they arise will sound like a burden, or irrelevant in your sophomore and junior years, but they will help you land bigger and more impressive internships that can lead to a career, post-graduation, or a more impressive application for grad school. My personal grand epiphany is that you can study all you want and work really hard for those As, but it will not mean as much if you do not have the real life experience to pair nicely with your academics.
Your senior year of college is the time to get a tighter grasp on adulthood while soaking in what you have left of college. As I am gearing up to start my senior year (eight classes left, this is insane) I have found the balance between my professional endeavors, my studies, and trying to relive my freshman year of college. Here's to making the most of it.
