Embrace the time you have here. The years fliy by you quickly, and at the end of it you will need more than just your degree to be competitive in today’s tough employment market. You will need to know how to think, you will need to know how to challenge ideas you disagree with, and you won’t find out how to do these by reading textbooks.
University is about an experience, and a brilliant one at that! You should see it an opportunity to grow, to learn and to develop as a person. If you truly want to succeed at university, if you truly want to come out on your graduation day having made the most of your time here, then you need to be proactive!
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing
would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.”
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Get involved in everything that’s available to you! If you study Journalism, then write for the student paper, and maybe look at taking on an editorial role; If you’re studying a Sports course, then save up and get on the discounted coaching courses that are on offer; Pad out your CV and try out career ideas by getting involved with the vast range of volunteering opportunities available to you; If you’re a Business student, then join the Enterprise society, use the support from the careers service and have a go at starting your own business! Do everything there is to do!!!
There are sports teams, there are societies, there are opportunities to start your own teams and societies if you can’t find something you want. There are volunteering opportunities. There are facilities you can use for free as a student: IT Rooms, Recording Studios, a TV studio, Psychology labs, lecture rooms, a live music venue, all on campus… take advantage of them! There’s a sports centre, a fitness suite, a library of books, journals, videos and DVDs, sports pitches and a running track, use them! Get involved, embrace it all, because there is no finer example of ‘you get out what you put in’ than here and now. Get involved!
If you leave here able to look back with pride and fond memories, then your future will be magnificent!