Finding Yourself in College

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College is an exciting and transformative time in our lives. It’s a period of self-discovery, growth, and learning about who we truly are as individuals. As college students, we are often faced with the challenge of finding our identity and figuring out what we want to do for the rest of our lives. While this may seem like a daunting task, it’s important to remember that college is a time for exploration and self-reflection.

Section 1: Exploring Your Interests and Passions

One of the best ways to find yourself in college is by exploring your interests and passions. As a college student, you have the unique opportunity to take a wide variety of classes and join clubs and organizations that cater to your interests. Use this time to dive into subjects that excite you, pursue new hobbies, and surround yourself with people who share your passions.

Consider taking elective courses outside of your major or enrolling in a class that you’ve always been curious about. This can help you expand your knowledge and potentially discover new interests. Additionally, participating in clubs or organizations on campus can provide you with a sense of community and help you develop leadership skills, which can be valuable in your future career.

Section 2: Developing Your Skills and Gaining Experience

In addition to exploring your interests, it’s essential to use your time in college to develop skills and gain experience that will benefit you in your future career. Internships, part-time jobs, and volunteering opportunities are all excellent ways to gain hands-on experience and build your resume.

Not only do these experiences help you develop practical skills, but they also allow you to test out potential career paths and determine if they’re a good fit for you. If you’re unsure of what you want to do after college, gaining experience in different fields can help you make a more informed decision about your future career.

Section 3: Networking and Building Relationships

Building a strong network of connections is crucial for personal growth and future career success. College is the perfect time to start building relationships with professors, classmates, and professionals in your field of interest. These connections can lead to mentorship opportunities, job connections, and lifelong friendships.

Attend networking events, career fairs, and guest lectures on campus to meet professionals in your desired field. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and engage in conversations with them. You never know where these connections might lead in the future.

Section 4: Preparing for Careers

As you approach the end of your college journey, it’s essential to start preparing for your future career and the interviewing process. Here are some tips to help you get started:

  1. Create a strong resume: Highlight your relevant experiences, skills, and accomplishments. Make sure to tailor your resume to the specific job you’re applying for by including keywords from the job description.
  2. Practice interviewing: Participate in mock interviews or practice with a friend to help you become more confident and comfortable in a real interview setting. Research interview questions and think about how you would answer them.
  3. Research potential employers: Before applying or interviewing for a job, take the time to research the company and familiarize yourself with their mission, values, and culture. This will not only help you answer interview questions more effectively but also ensure that you’re pursuing a job at a company that aligns with your values and goals.
  4. Network with professionals in your desired field: As mentioned earlier, building connections is crucial for future career success. Reach out to professionals in your desired field, ask for informational interviews, and seek advice on how to break into the industry.

Finding yourself in college and preparing for your future career is a journey filled with exploration, growth, and self-reflection. By taking advantage of the unique opportunities that college offers, you can discover your passions, develop valuable skills, and build a strong network of connections that will help you succeed in your future endeavors. Remember that this journey is your own, and there is no one “right” path. Embrace the process and enjoy the adventure.

Critical Reading: What is It?

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To read critically is to make judgements about how a text is argued. This is a highly reflective skill requiring you to “stand back” and gain some distance from the text you are reading. (You might have to read a text through once to get a basic grasp of content before you launch into an intensive critical reading.) THE KEY IS THIS:

don’t read looking only or primarily for information

do read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter

When you are reading, highlighting, or taking notes, avoid extracting and compiling lists of evidence, lists of facts and examples. Avoid approaching a text by asking “What information can I get out of it?” Rather ask “How does this text work? How is it argued? How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text reach its conclusions?

Some Practical Tips

1) Critical reading occurs after some preliminary processes of reading. Begin by skimming research materials, especially introductions and conclusions, in order to strategically choose where to focus your critical efforts.

2) When highlighting a text or taking notes from it, teach yourself to highlight argument: those places in a text where an author explains her analytical moves, the concepts she uses, how she uses them, how she arrives at conclusions. Don’t let yourself foreground and isolate facts and examples, no matter how interesting they may be. First, look for the large patterns that give purpose, order, and meaning to those examples. The opening sentences of paragraphs can be important to this task.

3) When you begin to think about how you might use a portion of a text in the argument you are forging in your own paper, try to remain aware of how this portion fits into the whole argument from which it is taken. Paying attention to context is a fundamental critical move.

4) When you quote directly from a source, use the quotation critically. This means that you should not substitute the quotation for your own articulation of a point. Rather, introduce the quotation by laying out the judgments you are making about it, and the reasons why you are using it. Often a quotation is followed by some further analysis.

5) Critical reading skills are also critical listening skills. In your lectures, listen not only for information but also for ways of thinking. Your instructor will often explicate and model ways of thinking appropriate to a discipline.

Halloween Traffic Safety Tips

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Safe Communities of Wood County announced today that the annual safe driving Halloween National Mobilization is October 31, to November 1, 2017.

Halloween is a time for making memories, not causing nightmares. This Halloween, Safe Communities of Wood County would like to remind everyone to party responsibly and to stay safe – and help keep others safe – by refraining from drunk driving.

Per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 45 percent of all people killed in motor vehicle crashes on Halloween were in crashes involving a drunk driver. Children out trick-or-treating are also at risk, as 36 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes on Halloween involve drunk drivers.

We ask that you follow these simple tips for a safe and happy Halloween:

  • Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely.
  • Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, or another taxi service app, like Uber or Lyft, so you can easily find a safe ride home.
  • If you suspect a drunk driver on the road, pull over to a safe location and contact your local law enforcement or call #677 and report it.
  • Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and arrange to get your friend home safely.