Things I Would've Done Differently During My Undergraduate Experience

By Adella Lewis

Now that I am a graduate student, I often see myself being a voice of reason to many undergraduates. Although I don't have many regrets throughout my undergraduate experience if there were some things that I would have done differently or earlier in my college experience these would be them.

1. Don't Procrastinate: I know starting school may seem simple at first, but before you know it you will have to learn how to juggle multiple assignments, tests, quizzes, and projects all at once. It is best to start off organized rather than waiting until everything gets hectic. Learn how to utilize things like canvas, Google calendar, and planners to help plan your work and personal life out.

2. Get a Job/ Internship Experience: Working in the real world has taught me a lot, but I could have started learning some of these life skills in college and over the summers. As if I didn't already have enough distractions, I'd always believed that working would keep me from studying. But over time, I discovered that many of my colleagues who had jobs were more adept at time management and spent less time putting things off.

3. Make Connections/ Find Mentors: The most effective way to learn is from those who have already gone through the experiences that are about to happen to you. Taking advantage of your teachers' office hours is a smart method to accomplish this. Try to develop a genuine relationship with your lecturers and classmates rather than viewing them as merely another item on your to-do list. Start by asking them questions about their class; after you feel comfortable, move the conversation to more personal topics, such as career planning.

4. Utilize Your School Resources: Many times, students do not know about all of the resources they have at their fingertips while in college. Students may miss out on getting internships, jobs, travel opportunities, and workshops if they are not proactive while in school. Even though it may seem intimidating, be sure to participate in school outside of the classroom.

5. Focus on the present: We learn early on how important it is to prepare ahead, and by the age of 17, our brains are built to think in the future tense. However, the more time you spend envisioning, acting out, and replaying all the situations that could possibly (note the word possibly) happen to you, the more you risk missing what is actually happening right in front of you. I'm by no means an expert, but one wonderful method to handle this is to do one thing each day that helps you stop thinking about the "what ifs." Find something that will keep your mental health in check, whether it be running or reading a book.

This is arguably the most fruitful piece of advice you may receive right now. Even though there are some times during my time at university when I wish I could go back if it weren't for the mistakes I made, I wouldn't have learned anything new. So, with that be at ease with the uncomfortable and failures, try again, and succeed.