Freshman year is filled with advisers for everything. There are people telling you where to go, who to talk to and what classes to take. But once the handholding stops it can be easy to get lost. Three years can go by in a flash, and for those of you who are entering their final year at Oswego, being lost is no longer an option.
If you are going into your senior year, chances are that you are thinking one of two things: “Man, I cannot wait to get out of here and get a job!” or “What the hell am I going to do when I graduate?”
If you know what you want to do when you leave Oswego, great, do whatever it takes to make that happen. Stockpile internships and extracurricular activities. However, if you are one of the many who are reading this (while panicking), then time is not on your side.
Hope is not lost just yet; you still have time to beef up your resume and score that dream job that awaits you in the very near future.
If you’re completely lost, like many students might just be, then the best place to start would be to plan out what exactly it is that you want to do. Once you have a goal in mind, then you can start putting it into motion.
Go check out The Compass. They have plenty of resources to help you with this vital part of your life. There are a great deal of internships in Oswego and its surrounding areas just waiting for eager students to apply.
Don’t be afraid to send out emails to EVERYONE. Network, network, network. LinkedIn is your friend. Maybe not your best friend, but definitely that one friend that you call when you’re lonely on a Friday night.
If internships aren’t your thing (they should be), get involved with something on campus that could help you in the future. If you want to be the next Al Roker or Steve Levy, then join WTOP. Make your own TV show, become an anchor or cover the hockey games.
If you want to be a writer, then join The Oswegonian or one of the creative writing clubs. For all you know you could be the next Adam Wolfe or Oswego’s very own Carl Bernstein.
If you are dying to become the next big thing in the music industry, then go check out Open Mic Night on Thursday nights in the Lake Effect Café. People play music, read poetry or even tell stand-up. You can even just go and get hyped up on caffeine (free coffee, woooooo).
It is never too late to get involved on campus or in the community. Even if you are in your final year, or maybe even in your final semester, clubs are always looking for interested members and internship opportunities are still available.
The moral of the story is this: now is your time to shine, so don’t miss out on the opportunity. Remember to have fun, but don’t ignore your future. Your future self will be very upset with you if you can’t afford to pay for your car, house or any of the numerous bills that will no doubt be flooding your mailbox.
It’s not too late to get involved in Oswego, so get out there and find something that suits your interests (after you’re finished reading the paper, of course). Oswego is your oyster, go find your pearl (sorry, had to be said).
