The primary reason people go to college is to continue their education, but what some students don't realize is that opportunities to learn don't stop after the class day is through. Since the semester is about to be over, there are many student organizations trying to establish order for the newcomers. SGA (Student Government Association), Delta Mu Delta, BES (Business and Economic Society) and the University's Miss JCSU are looking for new candidates who can take on the role of representing each organization. Being involved on campus is a big deal, especially for those who possess leadership skills.

I'm a graduating senior and I'm involved with many student organizations. It is so important to be involved on campus that some jobs may not hire you if there are none on your resume. Extracurricular activities are important to your education, because they help you apply what you've learned in the classroom, the abstract theories, and the philosophies; to a real-world example.

The other thing that's really important about being involved in extracurricular activities is, after you graduate, you've gained a lot of practical experience on the job.  Experience with other people, interacting and creating programs and budgets, and promoting your ideas. It is important to consider that there are a lot of people who graduate from college every year. Many of them will have majored in the same thing you did. They may have gotten the same grades that you did, so what are you going to do to make yourself stand out?

It is the extracurricular involvements that you have that will be the added value on your resume that will make you stand out and hopefully get you the job. Being involved expresses that you have an outgoing personality, you are a team player, and that you have the potential of being a leader. Whether you're on a sports team, in a dance troupe, or a representative in your student government, any college activity you pursue will offer you a lot to learn.

By pursuing college activities outside of your curriculum, you will learn a lot about the activity itself, and more importantly, a lot about yourself. Being able to interact with other people outside the classroom setting is a very important quality that one should have. Once you graduate from college, you will need to work with other people to some extent regardless of what you end up doing, and all of that work will take place outside of the classroom.

Posted By: Chelsie Revis, Senior