Making the transition from high school to college has been the biggest struggle I have had to face so far as a college freshman. In high school the schedules are manageable, but now it is hard to get time to yourself sometimes. Between classes and assignments, all the time is used up trying to stay afloat and end up rushing to submit assignments before a deadline. However, I seek challenges and enjoy being challenged. I try to submit my assignments on time and make sure I am not missing anything.
The major downside to this fast-paced life is that I find myself exhausted by the time the weekend comes and struggling just to catch a break. During my one-year plan exercise I set a goal to schedule my activities and manage my time wisely. Also, most of my teachers are flexible enough and understanding to allow me to ask for help if I need it. Overall, the experience of college is one I think everyone should go through before joining the workforce.
As an international student having attended international schools most of my school life, I can say there are many things I experience in an American college that I didn’t see in my native schools. Rather than shunning change I have embraced these differences and learned from them, improving my skills, and enjoying life in school.
Perhaps the most visible change for me is the language spoken. Coming from a native school in my native country, I was used to learning with peers who speak the same language as me and it was easier to understand some materials as they were taught in the native language. However, having learned English from elementary school, I can say that I am quite proficient. This has helped in my studies here in America while also making it easier to communicate with new people and make new friends. The diverse number of international students, and people with origins from different countries makes it a vibrant society and each day I am learning interesting words from new languages.
The second thing I noticed immediately is the issue of culture. When I was back in my native country, no two schools were the same. This was evident when I transferred from one school to another. While studying, collaborations and teamwork were the norm and culture in my previous school, the next school had a culture of arts, sports, and extracurricular activities. This proved to be a shock to me, and it took me a while to adjust. Coming to LeMoyne Owen College, I have realized that the culture is not mainly focused on academics alone. Others pursue athletics, crafts, or just enroll to fill time while they figure out what they want to do in life. This has broadened my perspective on life, and I am better prepared to face challenges because I can understand them from multiple views.
Overall, this is an eye-opening experience for me which I hope to savor to the fullest. Being surrounded by students of different ethnicities and ages, all with different interests makes college interesting as every day it’s like I am meeting someone new.
The workforce today is more advanced and way effective than ever before. To keep it growing and improving, recruiters seek candidates with the best skills like critical thinking, communication, and being able to combine these with interpersonal skills. While critical thinking it the ability to evaluate issues objectively to form a judgement, communication on the other hand is the ability to relay one’s thoughts and ideas to others while also being able to receive and understand input from others. Interpersonal skills are the behaviors that one uses to interact with others.
These qualities are significant in the workforce in the twenty-first century because unlike the past where specialization and working alone thrived, the workforce today encourages teamwork and cooperation. Someone who possesses all these skills is likely to be hired over talented individuals who can’t work in a team. Even though they may lack talent, their interpersonal skills make them a greater asset as they can lead and work in any team.