By Hadassa Ferreira, Contributor Writer
Have you thought about your life after college? What are you going to do with your degree? Where will your college experiences lead you? Saint Leo University hosted a TED Talk to help students transition to life after they graduate. This event was held on Nov. 3 and helped Saint Leo’s students to answer all these questions.
The event took place in Selby Auditorium and was hosted by Crystal Smith, a junior who is majoring in business and works as the Campus Engagement Officer for the Campus Activities Board.
During college, we are faced with a huge mass of opportunities to learn and to construct the life we want for ourselves. However, life after college and discovering what to do with our degree can be challenging. Thus, this event was thought and designed to be a good place to clarify how life after college is and learn practical things that will make students successful in their professional life after Saint Leo.
“As being in the campus engagement office, I wanted to see more events that focus on life after Saint Leo, besides the fun programs and the involvement fairs,” said Smith. “We just want the students to have a head start on what to do once we leave the walls of college because it is a whole different world out there besides college.”
Undoubtedly, having some clue about what to do with the experiences we have during college is important. Therefore, listening to someone who was in the same position as you can be a wonderful opportunity to see the college experience from the perspective of someone who passed through it and could join all the learning outcomes to achieve professional success.
A former student, Anthony Santa, who majored in criminal justice and graduated in 2012, was invited to talk about his professional accomplishments after Saint Leo and how his experience in college shaped the professional that he is today.
“I believe that Saint Leo’s core values are still very practical to me,” said Santa. “Also, here we learn a lot about how to work with a team, and during your professional life, you will work with a team. There are going to be people you do not agree with, people you love, and people that are incredibly positive but do not know what they are doing. So, you must be able to work with people.”
Through his speech, it was possible to learn several valuable lessons that can help during the career journey after college. He shared how it is important to grow our network and how the connections we make during our life are important to open doors in the future. He also talked about the importance of having good social media accounts to display our work and present our history as professionals.
Lauren Taj Gibson, a senior majoring in digital communications, shared her thoughts by discussing how it was important to be at a seminar like this, so she knows exactly what she needs to prepare to face life after college.
In the end, it was a nice event, in which students could be enlightened about what the job market is looking for and ways to improve their curriculum and, consequently, their chances to construct a good career.
