Student Blog: University and How to Make the Most Out of It

From the moment you walk through the university gates, there is an overwhelming pressure to make something of yourself. Sure, you have paid the fees and you are paying to be here, it’s only what is expected. Many feel that the only way they can do that is to put their head down and work. Whilst, assignments and tests are important.....it should be discussed that extra-curricular work should be valued just as much as academic coursework.

Despite the feeling that you must get the top grades to even stand a chance at making it in the real world. Many students, myself included, think that the foundation of this learning can be gained in the activities you partake in outside of the lecture hall. University provides us with a space that allows us to get involved and become greater involved with the student body, as well as that, the spaces invite us to express ourselves in a way that differs from our academic work and learn skills that we would have never otherwise been given a chance to learn if we restrained ourselves to the limitations of the coursework.

This year, I participated in a student election and was successfully nominated the class representative for academic means. This role provides me with an excellent opportunity to develop vital skills that are praised in the workplace. For instance, this role gives me the opportunity to develop my leadership skills in a way that only feels natural by standing as a voice for my classmates to ensure that their concerns and issues are listened to and to try and ensure that a solution can be found to ensure that they get the most out of their university experience. With this, I am given voting rights at the student council which allows me to vote for motions to be passed in favour of the students at this university, which gives me a platform to put my critical thinking skills to use and think and suggest ways that the university experience can become more accessible and enjoyable for all.

We are all too familiar with the phrase “you only get as much as you put into it”, however,  university gives us the opportunity to get involved and this extends to outside of the academic sides of things. You can get involved in terms of entertainment representatives for your class or for the university's clubs and societies, this allows you to develop and improve your planning skills as well as getting to know your peers on a more poignant and intricate level to plan something that everyone can benefit from. Not only that but societies and clubs dominate the university student life, meaning that you can get involved in something that speaks to you. I know that the theatre society at my university are in the process of preparing for their first performance of the year and they are seeking the involvement of anyone regardless of their levels of experience, meaning that this gives you the opportunity to put the practical sides of your degree to use and gain experience in a way that perhaps the coursework of your degree would never allow you to do. 

University allows for you to grow and develop through these irreplaceable experiences that you would not otherwise get in a classroom setting. With this in mind, It is key to try and get involved as the experiences you have in these roles are so valuable and stand to you in the long run and they give you an opportunity to better yourself as these skills are much used in everyday life. Remember, there is nothing to lose when it comes to taking a chance and learning something new.