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| Chelsea Soobitsky President seepresident@umd.edu |
Nine days until Art Attack! This means for us graduating
seniors, 15 days until the last day of classes and 25 days until graduation.
Sorry for being that person, but it’s true, the real world just got that much
more, real.
In one of my classes purposed to round out my public
relations education, I was assigned to the client text4baby, a texting service
who strives to educate pregnant women and new mothers about the various aspects
of baby and mother health. Naturally, my group members and I signed up for the
texts as to better understand our client and the other day, I received a text
that read:
With delivery near, you may feel excited & happy,
anxious & afraid. These feelings are normal! Get support from your partner,
family & friends.
Great… so graduating college provokes the same emotions as
having a child… wonderful. But in all
seriousness and at the risk of becoming an emotional wreck and unloading all of
my sappiness onto you readers, my experience at the University of Maryland and
with SEE have brought with them many great memories and life-changing
experiences that I hope you, as my peers and colleagues, will have the same
luxury to experience during your years in school as well. So with that, I would
like to pass on the following advice:
- Try everything. Leaving home and coming to school can be scary, especially if you went the random roommate route or decided to go to a school far away from home. Getting involved is a great way to make friends, build new interests and who knows, maybe if you’re like me, find an organization or cause you are truly passionate about.
- When you commit to something, actually commit. Speaking of passion, if you are going to try something new and then make a commitment to it, than actually, wholeheartedly commit. It pains me to see people fall through on an obligation, especially one that was voluntary to begin with. When you commit to something and don’t follow through you’re letting down those around you and are losing out on the opportunity to do something new and potentially learn something new about yourself.
- Don’t be afraid to quit. Getting involved on campus can be a very rewarding experience. Typically, you meet new people, learn something about yourself and maybe even have fun in the process. However, sometimes things don’t fit. Or something that was once great simply isn’t anymore. And that’s okay. If you no longer feel passionate about a group or cause or something just isn’t “you,” it is okay not to devote any more of your time and instead, dedicate your time to other, more worthwhile causes or organizations that make you happy.
- Know your resources. At a school as large at the University of Maryland, knowing the resources at your disposal isn’t exactly easy. Resources aren’t going to be laid out for you on the first day of school and advisors certainly aren’t going to hold your hand as you walk down McKeldin Mall. If you want to know about something on campus, you are going to have to go in search of the answers yourself. Know that all the resources you can possibly imagine are probably right in front of you; you just might need to look a little harder to find them.
- Accept the challenge of leadership (or become a leadership minor). The classes in the leadership minor have by far been some of the most worthwhile classes I have taken at the university. It is in these classes that I have been able to learn about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, etc. However, even if you cannot become a leadership minor or enroll in the EDCP classes you should still accept the challenge of becoming a leader on campus. Sometimes it’s as easy as signing up at the First Look Fair and other times it’s a more rigorous application or election process. But you’ll never know if you can do it unless you try. Another little piece of leadership advice: the best thing that you can receive as a leader is constructive criticism. Take it in stride, move forward and improve.
As President of SEE, I have learned a thing or two about
leadership. As a leader you must gain respect and trust, and to do that, you
must forever be honest, dedicated and caring. You must do your best to inspire
others and guide the organization and the individuals toward positive change
(change being the operative word). While you can strive to always be a friend
to the organization’s members, you are going to have to make difficult and
sometimes unpopular decisions. While you can strive to always do the right
thing, you are going to make mistakes. And while you will start out with a
plethora of goals, you are going to have to choose a few to focus on in order
to achieve success. But with perseverance, compassion and patience you can find
that leader inside of you and inspire others in the way in which you have
hopefully been inspired.
And so I thank you University of Maryland: for sharing your
wisdom and challenging me as well as introducing me to the wonderful people on
this campus.
I will be sad to leave SEE and the university post
graduation, yet I am certain that the organization will go on to do great
things and am hopeful that a piece of my leadership and influence will be left
behind for years to come in both the heart of the organization and in the
hearts of the directors I have been so privileged to work with.
I hope you will join me at the annual end of the year Art
Attack celebration and enjoy the company of B.o.B. with The Dean’s List.
Tickets can be purchased at www.umdtickets.com.
