A senior’s final words of advice: Get involved

Given his involvement with The Hawks’ Herald, Kyle was eligible to attend the College Media Association Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. He was able to add this experience to his resume.

Kyle Gravel, Herald Contributor

Since my sophomore year, I have been an editor for The Hawks’ Herald and I have enjoyed it throughout my college career. One thing that this paper has done for me is help to put something on my resume – gained experience, worked with others, managed a staff, etc.

Was it extra work that I had to do, work that I didn’t get paid for and work that caused me a bit of extra stress each week? Yes. But I would do it all again in order to get that little extra edge over other applicants that apply for the same job as I will in the future.

As an editor, I had to recruit writers each week, as did the other section editors, in order to fill our respective pages. But why was it so difficult for us? The reason being is because involvement is so hard to acquire.

As a senior who will be graduating in a few weeks, let me tell you that you need to get involved. Not only will you gain experience and have a better shot at scoring your dream job, but you will make great friends in doing so. Before taking advantage of the opportunities that this university and my professors have given me, the only thing on my resume was “Bike’s Associate at Dick’s Sporting Goods,” and that is it. This would not attract my future employers.

Through my involvement, the experiences I gained and the contacts I made, I managed to fill my resume and thereon score a great job after graduation. I would not have been able to achieve this if I decided to play video games in my room all day.

The point to take away from this is to get involved, find your interests, and pursue a club, organization or job that will help you gain experience and skills for the future. Talk with your professors; utilize them as much possible, because the opportunities they can help you achieve are immeasurable – they are just people after all. Build your resume and do things that may be a lot of work. It may be horrible at times, but do it knowing that you will be bettering yourself for the future and making everything easier for yourself down the road.