<p>I’ve been reading the thread about parents of college seniors, and some of the comments got me curious about the learning of our kids that is not necessarily in the classroom. I’d be interested in hearing what other parents/students have to say about those value-added experiences, whether internships or just day-to-day skills or growth that have come about during college.</p>
<p>I’ll use my daughter as the first example. She has a job as student manager of the campus center at her school, and the straightforward, nuts-and-bolts of scheduling, working with a diverse “customer” base (parents, profs, admin, and students), and deadlines are skills which will probably come in handy in the future.</p>
<p>She’s also become quite adept at a style of writing which in the business world would probably be considered sales proposals. When she decided to apply for an individualized BA, she had to go through a lengthy process, which included writing a proposal and defending it before a committee of profs and administrators. The process wasn’t overly onerous, but it is clearly designed to separate the truly-motivated from the less motivated. Since that proposal (which was approved), she’s used similar skills again and again; she currently has a proposal before the music department at her school to produce a collaborative concert of multicultural music and is waiting to hear if she will also need to do a presentation (sales pitch) at the next faculty meeting.</p>
<p>So what say you…what are those “extras” your kids/you are gaining that may not have been obvious when they first enrolled?</p>
<p>D was the intramural sports coordinator for two of her college dorms. In both years that she did this, her dorms won the overall intramural championships. It wasn’t that her dorm had the best athletes, but since participation counts for a lot, she was able to motivate a large number of kids to participate in sports that they had no previous experience doing and to generally support intramural program.</p>
<p>So far, she hasn’t had a job in the real world that makes use of this talent. But I think it’s a great life skill.</p>
<p>My D1 is always networking. Last semester she had a very difficult math research paper to write. She asked someone she met at another school while visiting to proof read it. She ended up getting an A on it.</p>
<p>She is very friendly and respectful too all of our friends. Whenever we’ve been invited to people’s events as a family, she’s always attend with a smile. She would offer to help in the kitchen or help out with younger kids. Before she went away to college she met with some of those parents to get their opinion on what majors and professions she should consider. Most of those parents were all highly accomplished people in their professions. Through all of that, she has been given various tutoring jobs and 2 summer positions.</p>
<p>A good place to practice networking while in school is with professors and fellow students. Go see professors during office hours. Aside from learning something extra outside of class, it could mean a higher grade if you are borderline. Better yet, a possible job referral or recommendation later. Your fellow students may have parents that could offer you a job. I just did that for my daughter’s friends. It was a matter of me making a few phone calls, but those kids I referred were particularly smart and nice. How did I know? They always made a point of talking to me whenever I saw them.</p>
<p>In real life, there is no work that requires the kind of brain power that’s needed to get into college. What’s more important is your ability to work with people, how to get the best out of people, and how you could get other people to extend an helping hand when it’s needed. This kind of skills is not not taught in a classroom. It is the reason why I encouraged D1 to participate in clubs and Greek life in college.</p>
<p>At my school the stable on campus is student run. Students do everything from mucking out stalls to feeding horses to turning them in and out and blanketing them when it is cold. The barn holds about 25 horses. Each member is required to work one two hour shift a week and teach a lesson. In exchange they get to ride the horses whenever they want ( after their first year in the program). I have learned so much from being involved in this and it is a great deal of responsibility.</p>
<p>Defying, I just want to pop in and say that I’m so glad to hear from you. It sounds like your transfer to Earlham is working out for you!</p>