Student Blog: How I Made My Education My Own

A wise professor of mine once said “every class you attend costs around a hundred dollars of your tuition, so get your money’s worth.” College students choose a degree plan to pursue – and pay for – which is strategically designed to help them prepare for their career of choice. Often the curriculum of a degree plan may have a broad structure being suited to students with diverse concentrations. This being said, are there ways students pursuing the arts can make their educational career unique to them and their individual aspirations? I’m here to share how I’ve made my college experience my own.

I began my academic career as a double major in theatre arts and psychology. In high school, I regularly took music classes and was in the choir room every day. Once I transitioned to college, I quickly realized I was deprived of these studies and the musical atmosphere. Ultimately, I made the decision to drop the psychology major and pick up a music minor. My hope was to become involved in the university’s music program. The structure of the minor’s curriculum gave me opportunities to be around, but I wanted to grasp much more from the program. To do this, I was strategic when choosing music courses, enrolling in those which would keep me in the music building longer. I even took additional voice classes to continue working on my technique and because I did this, I was invited to compete at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions (South Texas) … and was honored to have won my category! Although I was unwilling to major in music, I still feel my choice to do more than the minor asked fulfilled my longing to stay active in a musical space. I figured, while I’m here in this program, I may as well “get my money’s worth” and learn as much as I can!

Now, making your education your own may require more work on your end. If you’re interested in soaking up the full experience of your school and/or program, I encourage you to find ways to become more involved. Maybe your academic workload is already full, but you’re still wondering how to put more of yourself into your educational career. Opportunities outside of the classroom, like student organizations, are great ways to build your college experience. Plus, they are usually free or very affordable to join!

I discovered my passion for arts administration because I co-founded and developed a student arts organization at my university. The experience of creating a mission, planning events, and advocating for the arts on my campus allowed me to see myself doing these things as a career. I’ve also joined university organizations outside of the arts where I’ve found myself practicing theatre-related skills. If you really think, the process of planning events is pretty similar to mounting productions. You need activities (the play), decorations (design), event staff (crew), music (sound), and attendees (an audience). There are so many ways your skills as a performer, director, designer, or technician are applicable in other areas of your academic career.

If there is something in or outside of the arts you’re interested in, see if your school has an aligning student organization you can join and become involved with. This is a really good way to find other places where you can apply your strengths and individualize your college experience. While you’re in school, take the opportunities you only would have there, get your tuition’s worth, and enhance your educational career.

Thanks for reading!