DarrenTheDad's Advice for College-Bound Students

As the end of the school year draws near, I was invited to speak to an economics class at about college preparation, business trends, and life. The response from the students in class and since then has inspired me to share the experience and take-aways.

If you ever get the chance to speak with high school seniors to give them advice, please take the opportunity. On the one hand, the students get the wisdom of your experiences. And for the speaker, you get revitalized by the energy of youth and fresh perspective. Sometimes they are a little slow to engage, but as I tell them about my personal successes and failures, they open up and share more about their curiosities and fears.

With regards to college preparation, there were five main points I wish someone would have told me before I earned my undergraduate degree from Marquette:

1. Friendships/Networking – Getting the most out of college means meeting new people and sharing a common bond. Take time to develop relationships that can span a lifetime and provide opportunities when you’re in the real world.
2. Be Prepared- The summer is great time to get prepared for your transition. If possible, take a summer class to get acclimated
3. Work Hard – Getting good to great grades is a snapshot of what you learned in college. Getting the best grades you can
4. Internships- Internships are great in so many ways. Not only can they provide valuable working experience and a great way to meet people in a chosen profession, they also afford you the opportunity to learn what you don’t like. If after interning at a tech company you find out you don’t like sitting in a cubicle programming for twelve hours straight, you can move on next year into another profession.
5. Fail- Failing is one of the biggest fears for most people, but provides the greatest opportunity for success. By failing, we overcome our fear of taking chances and discover who we are and what we are most capable. Experiment to expand your boundaries because many historical failures turned out to be colossal successes!

Admittedly, this list is not comprehensive, but it does provide a basis for engaging in college and preparing for life after college.

Look forward to future blogs from DarrenTheDad’s Mailbag. I’ve been receiving follow-up questions from the visit I’m sure other parents and students would like answered. If you have a question, please feel free to send me an email at darrenthedad@gmail.com.