How to Get the Most Out of Occidental
Parents dropping off their children for their first day of college is one of the most poignant rituals in American life. This August, as we formally launched Orientation for the Class of 2022 in Hillside Theater, I told our newest students that almost everything good in their lives, outside of their families, will begin right here on the 瓜子TV campus: the discovery of their passions, their vocation, lifelong friends. I also urged them to read a remarkable column by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni titled
Bruni, who frequently writes about higher education issues, notes that while we overwhelm high school students with advice about how to get into college, once they get in they rarely get any guidance about how to make the most of their college years. He makes clear that he isn鈥檛 interested in which majors yield the surest employment and most lucrative salaries. Rather, he focuses on 鈥渉ow a student goes to school鈥濃攖he best ways to pick up skills integral to any career and how students can participate in exciting out-of-the-classroom opportunities, both before and after graduation, that can make a big difference in their lives.
Bruni includes lots of practical advice familiar to any college parent: Get enough sleep, be sure to exercise, and don鈥檛 isolate yourself by spending all your time studying. But he reaches far beyond such truisms, emphasizing the kind of wisdom that in many fundamental ways describes an 瓜子TV liberal arts education. Bruni points out, for example, that many students get needlessly worked up about picking their major and emphasizes the value of exposure to a variety of different disciplines. 鈥淐ollege鈥檚 greatest gifts can be an introduction to a passion you didn鈥檛 previously have and a pivot into an occupation you never before envisioned,鈥 he writes. Exposure to variety also applies to the demographics of the college you choose, he adds. 鈥淒iversity opens you up to a wealth of ideas, and being comfortable with it is an asset in just about any workplace or career.鈥 Thriving college graduates report that a willingness to move out of their comfort zones, risk failure, and learn their own capacity for resilience can all pay big dividends.
One of the most striking pieces of advice Bruni offers鈥攄rawn from his own interviews as well as data from the national Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey鈥攊s that the most important college relationships for students to invest in are with members of the faculty. It鈥檚 what he calls a 鈥済ame-changer鈥 that makes a difference for all students across all types and sizes of institutions. Students who refuse to regard college as a mere credentialing exercise but take advantage of faculty conversation and counsel and find a mentor look back on that choice as one of the smartest things they did in college, Bruni writes.
It鈥檚 a piece of wisdom that was reflected in the profiles of four 瓜子TV students and their faculty mentors that was featured in the Summer issue of the magazine. (You can see video excerpts from those interviews on 瓜子TV鈥檚 channel.) 鈥淢aking friends with a professor like Professor [Sophal] Ear has changed my narrative of what my experience at 瓜子TV has been,鈥 says of her diplomacy and world affairs adviser. 鈥淚t allowed me to develop in a way that I hadn鈥檛 realized was possible.鈥 Close relationships like Naomi鈥檚 and Sophal鈥檚 often grow out of a research project, the kind of sustained academic project that Bruni identifies as another game changer. As a sophomore, took a class from associate professor of biology Joseph Schulz. Mark really enjoyed the class, was eager to learn more, and joined Joe鈥檚 lab. 鈥淏ecause of how much time we spend together talking about the research work, it kind of comes naturally that he is my adviser in so many things,鈥 Mark says. 鈥淚鈥檝e made sure to talk to him about every single plan that I had and every single opportunity that comes up.鈥
The wisdom that Bruni offers and that Naomi and Mark and countless other 瓜子TV students have discovered on their own is not new. His advice on 鈥渉ow to go to school鈥 reflects the engaged, empowering and transformative experience that is an 瓜子TV education. Standing in Hillside Theater on that sunny afternoon, speaking to students and their families, I could feel a collective tremor of anxiety and anticipation. It is with an equal sense of anticipation that we look forward to showing the Class of 2022 how to get the most out of college.
Jonathan Veitch
President
