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Student Organizations: Eight Ways to Enhance Your College Experience
Career Development Denise Alexander May 14, 2024
Attending class as a student is important and so is completing homework and assignments. But is just attending class and doing your work all you should be doing? The answer is “no!” One way to enhance your student experience and get the most out of your time in college is to join student organizations.
By participating in student organizations, you’ll have opportunities to gain new friends, explore a variety of interests, and experience personal growth. Equally important, research has shown that college graduates who were involved in extracurricular activities as students were later almost two times more engaged as it related to their jobs and community after school.
Below are additional skills and benefits to participating in student organizations and clubs during your college experience:
Leadership
Student organizations can provide opportunities for students to develop leadership skills by taking on roles such as president, vice president, treasurer, or secretary. By participating in these roles, you can develop skills in problem-solving and professional communication which can be useful in your career.
Life and Work Management
Many organizations provide students with an opportunity to work on tasks and projects that help develop professional skills that may be useful in their careers. For instance, students may gain skills in project planning, budgeting, relationship management, and many more!
Networking
Participation in student organizations also provides access to events to connect with professionals in their industry. These events can give students a chance to learn more about their field and steps for getting started. These organizations also provide you with a chance to strengthen relationships with your classmates, many of whom may become lasting parts of your professional network.
Teamwork
Completing projects and tasks in a student organization involves teamwork and collaboration. Developing skills to work with others in a group to accomplish goals can be useful later in your career.
Communication
Participants in student organizations must communicate with several parties including staff, faculty, administrators and even their peers for various purposes. Successfully communicating with these individuals can help with the development of professional communication skills which can also be useful in your career.
Time Management
Participation in a student organization requires finding time to balance this activity alongside classes, homework, assignments, and even a full- or part-time job or family responsibilities. By learning how to do this, students learn valuable time management skills.
Resume Building 101
Joining student organizations can provide you with new skills and abilities to add to your resume. Specifically, tasks involved in many student organizations can help strengthen your skills as it relates to event planning and project management.
Community Service
Student organizations regularly participate in activities that give back to the community and perform acts of service. They may also host charity drives or raise money to support the community. These activities not only benefit the community but can be personally rewarding as well.
Types of Student Organizations to Consider Joining
- Academic Clubs
- Volunteer Clubs
- Cultural Organizations
- Political Organizations
- Athletic Clubs
Interested? Begin by researching the student organizations at your campus and local community, finding an organization that you are passionate about, and then jumping in with both feet. What are you waiting for?! Join today!
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Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2023 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.
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