As we approach the end of the semester, we should take a moment to reflect on the past and look to the future. What did you learn this semester? Where will you be next semester?
The answers to the latter may cause excitement or doubt. Transition can often be frightening thanks to the uncertainty of it all.
If you are transitioning, you aren’t alone. Almost all of the editorial staff at this paper won’t be with the paper next semester, and several of us are transferring to four year universities.
However, even if you aren’t making a transition in your life right now, it is important to take control of what you can.
You, as a student spend a lot of money and time to attend this college. Make the most out of it.
Explore the many student clubs that we have on campus, attend DVC events and be an active member of the community college experience.
By making the right friends and connections on campus, you will only enrich your educational experience and expand your opportunities to places where degrees can‘t reach. By taking control of your own destiny, you will head towards your goals.
One thing you can do to assist in this is to think of any unexpected lessons you learned while at DVC. These aren’t obvious lessons like algebraic processes or historical facts for that easy A, but instead things that you can apply to other fields, such as critical thinking, professionalism, self-discipline or just simply your life.
These are the true lessons of college, ones that go far beyond job prospects. In fact, it’s very likely that you won’t get a job within your major. Researchers from Northeastern University in Boston estimate that in 2011, about 760,000 of the 2 million employed young graduates with bachelor’s degrees were working in jobs that only require a high school degree. In addition, another 700,000 graduates under 25 were unemployed.
We’re not here to give you a false sense of hope or a bleak picture, but just to tell you that what you experience in college is more valuable than the money you’ll earn from a degree.