It takes courage to step up to the plate. You feel exposed, at risk of striking out, fouling out, hitting a pop fly to the infield, or even being hit by the ball. Yep, bad things can happen if you step up to bat, but good things may also happen!
Now that you have a couple years of college behind you, it may well be your time to step up to the plate and take on a leadership position on campus. If you have been writing for The Retriever Weekly, why not go out for an Editor role? If you have been attending those Pre-Pharmacy Society meetings, why not be an officer next year? Every organization on this campus, from the Tea Ceremony enthusiasts to the Student Government Association needs activists, organizers, administrators, planners, executers, people to carry the flag, manage the money, and recruit new members. Why not you?
Five Excellent, Important, and Compelling Reasons to be a Leader at UMBC
1. Your fellow students need effective, energetic leaders.
Without talented students to plan and organize events, there would not be any events other than a few yawners planned by campus officials. A college campus without events would be deadly dull. Is that a college you want to attend?
2. You can gain valuable life experience and even professional experience.
If you managed the Student Events Board budget, that is absolutely experience that will help you manage other budgets in the future, in your personal and professional life.
3. You get to practice and hone interpersonal skills in a low-risk scenario.
Leading the UMBC Cricket Club requires the same tact, diplomacy, negotiating and communication skills as leading a staff out in the “real world,” but making mistakes has smaller consequences.
4. You get to test out potential roles for your future.
People who love doing technical stage management in college theater productions may decide to pursue this role as a career. A student who is the webmaster for a large student organization may find a job using this skill in the future. A student who thrives on editing the campus literary magazine (Bartleby) or research journal (UMBC Review) may choose a career in publishing.
5. You have something meaningful and meaty to put on your resume to balance out your meager work experience early in your post-graduate career.
Would you want to hire someone who had been the founder of an Engineers without Borders chapter at UMBC? Would you view a role as President of the Students for Environmental Awareness as relevant to an entry-level position at the Environmental Protection Agency?
And if those reasons are not enough for you, consider these:
Less Serious, More Frivolous, but Cool Reasons to be a Student Leader
You make a lot of friends—friends who can give you rides, loan you things, and more!
UMBC may pay to send you to a conference in Las Vegas, Boston, or elsewhere.
Some student leader positions have remuneration associated with them.
You may have an actual office to hang out in on campus.
Life is never boring.
You may have way more fond memories, for example, of singing in the Stilettos than attending your PSYC 100 class.
In Closing: A Small Cautionary Note
Some student leaders take on more than they can handle and their academic performance sags. Consider taking a lighter courseload if you are in a big student leadership role on campus. You can make up the credits in a Winter or Summer session.
Now that you have a couple years of college behind you, it may well be your time to step up to the plate and take on a leadership position on campus. If you have been writing for The Retriever Weekly, why not go out for an Editor role? If you have been attending those Pre-Pharmacy Society meetings, why not be an officer next year? Every organization on this campus, from the Tea Ceremony enthusiasts to the Student Government Association needs activists, organizers, administrators, planners, executers, people to carry the flag, manage the money, and recruit new members. Why not you?
Five Excellent, Important, and Compelling Reasons to be a Leader at UMBC
1. Your fellow students need effective, energetic leaders.
Without talented students to plan and organize events, there would not be any events other than a few yawners planned by campus officials. A college campus without events would be deadly dull. Is that a college you want to attend?
2. You can gain valuable life experience and even professional experience.
If you managed the Student Events Board budget, that is absolutely experience that will help you manage other budgets in the future, in your personal and professional life.
3. You get to practice and hone interpersonal skills in a low-risk scenario.
Leading the UMBC Cricket Club requires the same tact, diplomacy, negotiating and communication skills as leading a staff out in the “real world,” but making mistakes has smaller consequences.
4. You get to test out potential roles for your future.
People who love doing technical stage management in college theater productions may decide to pursue this role as a career. A student who is the webmaster for a large student organization may find a job using this skill in the future. A student who thrives on editing the campus literary magazine (Bartleby) or research journal (UMBC Review) may choose a career in publishing.
5. You have something meaningful and meaty to put on your resume to balance out your meager work experience early in your post-graduate career.
Would you want to hire someone who had been the founder of an Engineers without Borders chapter at UMBC? Would you view a role as President of the Students for Environmental Awareness as relevant to an entry-level position at the Environmental Protection Agency?
And if those reasons are not enough for you, consider these:
Less Serious, More Frivolous, but Cool Reasons to be a Student Leader
You make a lot of friends—friends who can give you rides, loan you things, and more!
UMBC may pay to send you to a conference in Las Vegas, Boston, or elsewhere.
Some student leader positions have remuneration associated with them.
You may have an actual office to hang out in on campus.
Life is never boring.
You may have way more fond memories, for example, of singing in the Stilettos than attending your PSYC 100 class.
In Closing: A Small Cautionary Note
Some student leaders take on more than they can handle and their academic performance sags. Consider taking a lighter courseload if you are in a big student leadership role on campus. You can make up the credits in a Winter or Summer session.
UMBC Extra Credit Bonus Question:
What exactly does it mean to "Co-create UMBC"?
(Yes, you can still come to 102 Academic Services, answer the question, and acquire a UMBC t-shirt with modern True Grit logo, plus enter our drawing for an ipod Touch!)
