motivasi15-aktivitikolej Fun college activities that pay off big September 28, 1994 Patrick Combs Copyright 1994 by Communication Concepts Dear Patrick, I'm just beginning my first year of college. My father says I need to start doing internships right away or I'll never get a job after graduation. Please, tell me he's an overzealous workaholic, and that I can enjoy the first year or two of college without dooming myself to taking your order at McDonald's. Not Ready for the Corporate Ladder Dear Not Ready, If you interview recent college graduates who got jobs they love, you'll find that they almost all did internships--but that doesn't mean you have to start right away. You've got at least four years to get a few internships under your belt, so breathe easy. If you want to do something fun that could pay off in the future as well, get involved in a campus club, activity, or organization. Wendy Kopp, founder of the enormously successful organization Teach for America, described her involvement with the Foundation for Student Communication at Princeton University this way: "People were just operating at the edge, and it was inspiring to be part of the team. It was much more inspiring than sitting in on lectures about abstract things." Or take David Eggers, who was involved in his campus newspaper, art gallery, and concert promotions at the University of Illinois. These led to a summer internship at a magazine, and a year after he graduated in 1992, David fulfilled one of his long-time dreams by launching a new national magazine for Generation-Xers called MIGHT. What made David think he could pull off such a feat? "I picked up a lot of skills through my extracurricular activities in college, like computer skills, production skills, photography skills, and journalism skills, so I had some basis for my confidence." And why did David go beyond the classroom in the first place? "I saw a lot of students pick interesting majors, but not think at all about what they needed to do in order to make their majors practical." Campus activities do add practical skills to your repertoire (and your resume), and people who have been involved in them are more likely to nail down the best and most exciting internships later on. Just ask Tabitha Soren, who co-anchors MTV News. In her first year in college she was involved in her campus radio station and newspaper at New York University, and the experience she gained through these organizations helped her get an internship at CNN news in the summer after her freshman year. I'd have to say that your father is partly right. Often internships are what make the difference between new graduates who get good jobs and those who don't. Employers will hire someone with relevant work experience over someone with nothing but good grades any day. But you don't have to be in a hurry. Before you jump into an internship, ease yourself into the coolest and most inviting campus organizations you can find. And once you've found a club or activity that really suits you, think about becoming a club officer. Employers love words like chairperson, director, president, vice president, coordinator, etc.--anything that indicates head honcho/honcha status. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------