Edited by Thom Ives

“The question of what you want to be when you grow up is one that you will eternally be answering” – Michelle Obama

I am a 2020 graduate, and I will soon be joining the corporate world where there will be a constant effort to climb to the top. So, I decided to write my first post on the “Lessons I learned in my college life” before I begin this new corporate journey of mine. COVID-19 resulted in my final days of college life being virtual, which seemed to result in me being even more acutely aware of my university life as a whole.

Lesson – 1 Not Everyone you Meet is a True “FRIEND”

As we go thru the phases of life, we meet many different people with many different perspectives. They care about different things and have different ambitions. Initially, they all seem to be very friendly, but as time passes we realise that not all of them are worth our time. Some people just want to make use of your strengths. Some try to belittle you and your efforts to feel better about themselves. They regard your success as a threat to their own, and they want you to fail.

“True friends are those … who tease you a lot when you’re doing great … and when the tough times come, these same friends are standing at your door”

Only a few will remain until the end and guide you, support you, scold you and help you to grow to be a better person. An older friend told me, “As we grow, we realise we can’t please everyone, and thus the group of people we want in our life decreases for the best”. Thus, invest in people who are worthy of your time and effort – ones that care about your growing, and ones that show they want to grow too.

Lesson – 2 Participation in Communities, Events & Hackathons

When you begin taking part in communities, events, hackathons and various similar events, you discover teamwork, co-operation, coordination and how to manage stress situations. I’d like to share some examples:

• By hosting events you learn to plan, organise and manage a team.
• Speaking at an event will serve to grow your confidence in public speaking, help you learn to think creatively on your feet, and allow you to test if you’ve learned to hold your audience’s attention.
• Teaching and giving webinars for clubs (e.g. coding groups), helps you see if you are becoming more effective at transferring skills to others.

These activities are great ways to grow personally, and universities provide many such opportunities.

Lesson -3 Constantly Learning & Sharing Your Knowledge

Continuing from the previous lesson, our university years provide an environment for us to explore and learn many things with few constraints. While the extra curricular educational things that we do in college and our coursework may only add small value to our early resumes before we gain greater work experience, they foster great personal growth. We learn to interact with others. We learn that it’s OK to make mistakes. We learn to more effectively learn from our mistakes. Sometimes people tend to be shy, or, out of selfishness, they don’t share their knowledge. This is not a good trait for long term career effectiveness. Corporate work life is a team sport. Thus, we should learn to grow both in technical competence for our field and to grow our teamwork and soft skills to work better with others.

Lesson – 4 It’s OK to “Fail” and be “Rejected”

There’s only one top student in each graduating class. During our academic journey, we might fail multiple times in certain subjects or lose a hackathon or be rejected for internships or jobs.

” Your result doesn’t decide if you’re a loser or not … your attempt decides that” – Chhichhore(Movie)

You are not alone in experiencing these things. Everyone experiences lose and rejection in their career at times. We should help each other remember that such things are part of our growth. For example:

• Losing at hackathons and competitions will help you understand new technologies, provide great mentors and community interactions, and will help you connect with people that share your passions.
• VERY few people ace every subject. IF you fail a class, it’s an opportunity to learn tenacity until you succeed. Dive back into that subject and work to understand it well. Such situations can foster your greatest growth, because your learning skills grow. The next time you encounter a hard area, you will be more skilled at mastering new mental challenges. AND you’ll be better prepared for challenges waiting for you in your corporate life!
• Rejections from friends, companies, and clubs can help to identify your weaknesses, which will help you know where you need to apply yourself to personal growth.

Learning is ongoing … for life, so learn from all: juniors, seniors, alumni … everyone. As you grow in your ability to learn from all, you gain perspectives faster than you ever could on your own. In fact, many perspectives may never been gained on your own. I am excited to see how fast my coding skills are growing as my skills at learning from others grow.

Lesson – 5 Favoritism and Bullying Exist Everywhere

This reality is something most discover well before college. However, we now understand the toll this can take on our mental health and the stress that it adds to our journey. Here’s some simple advice for people who experience these things from a person who has gone through them too. Ignore bullies and those that show favoritism, because they actually need your attention. Instead, seek out people who respect you and appreciate your thoughts and do not make fun of you. At times you may feel that you are less important in certain groups of people. The simple solution is to keep seeking to add value to the overall effort at hand and to seek making the value of your presence known by your work.

BIG TIP - 
"Every Morning write your daily goals and ultimately it will lead to your Final Destination."

Summary

I wish to encourage you to keep working, learning, and exploring. As you do those things, share your thoughts and knowledge with others. Eventually, by continually seeking to do this well, you will be blessed to see that what you are sharing with others is helping them.

“Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that – that is what life is.” – Amy Poehler

Finally, never feel shy to ask for help, guidance, and mentorship. Remember, we all have doubts, and we all need help. Keep connecting with people that share your passion for building good communities. Such skills will help you grow as a person and help you contribute greatly to society.