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One of Michelle’s resolutions is to be more creative. What about you?
How do you want to improve yourself this year? The start of a new year and a new semester is the perfect time to set some goals for yourself to achieve. Here are a few resolutions that I had throughout my collegiate years, and I hope they can help inspire some new goals for you to set.
- Join as many student organizations as possible.
- Attend more student conferences.
- Learn how to delegate.
- Practice being an extrovert.
Compared to high school, I was spending much less time physically in class, and I wanted more things to do. I convinced myself that I should join as many clubs as possible, to explore any interests that I may have. By learning about all these different organizations, I was able to narrow down which clubs might be the most beneficial to me and which ones had leadership positions I would be interested in later.
You can join Jindal School student organizations or others on campus for your major, your school, or just something you have an interest in. I went to a wide variety of meetings that year, and ended up even starting my own club. Many clubs are open to new members throughout the semester, so it never hurts to sit in a meeting or two.
There are a variety of conferences out there for students that teach you about business, leadership and professional skills. My sophomore year, I made it a goal to find and apply to as many conferences as possible. Many conferences are free to attend, or offer scholarships to students who would have to travel. Attending conferences gives you the opportunity to meet students from other universities and discuss topics in the business world or learn about what their school is like.
At one conference I attended, I met a student who was on a council similar to the Dean’s Council at the Jindal School. I was able to bounce ideas off my new connection, and get recruiting and management tips. Google is your friend for identifying conference opportunities. Once you attend one conference, you can usually ask your new peers if they are aware of other conferences coming up — and they usually have suggestions!
Through my experience in student organizations at the Jindal School, I had to learn to be a more effective leader. Especially when in leadership positions, I constantly took on extra tasks when I should have been delegating to my peers. Being able to delegate is incredibly important. Delegation not only helps you be to be less stressed, but it also gives other individuals the opportunity to either improve their skills or be in a role for the first time. You have more time to spend focusing on other issues, and you are also helping your peers grow.
To improve my delegation skills, I made sure to focus on the organizations in which I had leadership positions. If newer members wanted new opportunities, then it was important to give them a way to contribute.
After completing my internship at a professional services firm, I was beginning to see the value in improving my communication and social skills. Even though I was involved in a lot of student organizations while at the Jindal School, I was definitely the type of person who would rather stay in and watch Netflix than to have to socialize with anyone.
The biggest step I took toward achieving this goal was by joining and founding the greek organization, Delta Zeta. I figured that joining a Greek organization would help get me out of the house, and I was definitely right! Joining a sorority not only introduced me to more new people than I could have imagined, but it also helped me to improve those social skills by having to interact with so many people so often.
For 2017, my personal New Year’s resolution is to be more creative. I want to focus on improving my creative hobbies, in particular my writing. To improve my writing, I started a creative-writing circle with a few close friends so that we could keep each other accountable. A few weeks in, we have been writing new stories every week, so I think this will be a productive year.
What is your New Year’s resolution?
