Given that this semester is already nearing the halfway point and my 5th year in Bloomington, Indiana is coming to a close, I saw it fitting to jot down some memories and helpful hints for those of you just starting either in undergrad or graduate school.
I am currently in the MSIS graduate program at IU. I majored in Economics as an undergrad and am originally from Fort Wayne. I am headed to Chicago this summer to start a new leg of my journey at Hitachi Consulting.
I want to reflect a little on my last (almost) 5 years. I started this journey on the doorsteps of Phi Gamma Delta, as freshman are inclined to live in the house in their freshman year. I then begin a spree of joining clubs and rushing to get involved before I really even knew what was out there. Luckily for me, I joined the right ones. But I suggest taking a little while to figure out what you enjoy and want to do in life before you starting showing up to call out meetings. From there, I spent the next several years enjoying fraternity life, dance marathons, and a Marine Corps Officer program. It wasn’t until towards the end of my junior year that life became a little derailed.
As mentioned above, I had been participating in a Marine Corps program where, upon graduation, you become an officer. However, this program ultimately did not work out the way I had hoped. I needed to make a course correction quick, due to the summer after junior year being the time most students receive an internship. I was fortunate to find one and then proceeded to be offered a full-time job. But I knew my heart wasn’t fully invested. Thus I found myself again somewhat in limbo throughout senior year as I began recruiting and trying to find out what I really wanted to do in life.
After speaking the proverbial “fam” and some industry professionals, I figured out that technology and more specifically, information systems, was the best course for me. This resulted in me calling Indiana University home for another year as I elected to substitute the working world for additional education. This turned out to be one of my best decisions I made at IU. For the first time, I now have my feet firmly planted in the right direction where I can finally see a clear future for myself.
Going to Graduate school may have been one of the best decisions I made for myself, but I have made many more horrible ones that I wish I could change. If you take away anything from this little rant, focus on this list of decisions that I wish I could back and change, so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
- Freshman and Sophomore year, I chose to place more emphasis on the social scene versus trying to actually graduate.
- All of my undergraduate career, I rarely ventured off campus or expanded my horizons in relation to people I met.
- Also throughout my undergraduate career, I should have figured out what I was going to actually do after college instead of focusing on where I wanted to go out that night.
- My senior year, I didn’t stop to a few glances around and appreciate this place I spent almost 1/5 of my life.
- Throughout my entire time at IU, I didn’t say yes to those random ideas that were outside of my comfort zone.
- I also wasn’t grateful enough for being able to attend a place like Indiana University.
Being at IU for nearly the past 5 years has allowed me to become the person I am today and I am forever grateful for that. I just ask you if you are blessed with this opportunity, that you learn from some of the mistakes I listed above and try to find your own way throughout your journey at IU. Even though you may have a few hiccups along the way just stay focused on whatever your true priorities are while taking time here and there to really appreciate this place you call home.
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