So, the whole point for getting involved on campus as a student leader is to gain life experiences and essential skills that will serve you in the "real world," right? Well how about higher ed. professionals? Do they not qualify as "real world" professionals? As you and I both know, of course they do! Coming to this realization has been my guiding star in setting career goals for myself. The work campus activities produces is essential to the well-rounded growth of college students and through my involvement, I have come full circle in realizing how I can use the skills I've gained in the "real world."

I am always mentioning how I changed my major from English to PR after getting involved with my university's programming board. PR was the major easily associated with events, and I was sure that what I wanted to do once I grauated was to begin my own event planning company... Little did I know that, that was only the beginning of my dreaming. I soon became VP of External Affairs and considered doing PR for some major company... Then, I became President. Boy has this position led me to dreams that I would have never, well...dreamed of.

As President of the the Student Programming Council and leader volunteer for NACA South, my eyes have been opened to all of the the nitty-gritty that goes into campus activities. We manage budgets (sometimes outlandish ones if we're lucky); we program all sorts of events, both small and large; we push boundaries in terms of marketing to the student body; we reach out to the community in search of ways to collaborate, and essentially, we might as well be running a  non-profit organization. With all of this comes a deep understanding of leadership, an understanding of the importance for policy making and serving the community. 

I know that I'm preaching to the choir here, but judging from my experience, there is an intricate network within student affairs and with that comes endless routes for making your personal mark. So after profound thought, as usual, I came to the realization that higher education has a role in public affairs and that this role should be further explored. I'm highly contemplating pursuing a degree in Public Affairs and am curious to see how this knowledge can support me in working with the government to improve higher ed. How often do laws and policies affect our institutions? How often do we partner with the community around us and organize events for great causes? How often do we wish government would focus more of its attention on us? All the time! 

It's simply fascinating to me that our universities are almost like their own countries, with their own governments. We have faculty and administration, student government and various organizations that bring life to the university community. Most importantly, institutions and their governments have the responsibility to serve their people, namely the students. After being a student leader and working closely with other students to take our university to new heights, one of my biggest hopes is to to see this growth of higher education endure. So I guess, in a sense, I would like to pay it forward- the programs offered by student affairs have exposed me to vital skills that could definitely serve me in being a leader in higher education, in whatever form that may be. 

The best part is the core of student affairs: learning through challenge and support.  In life, you will always have challenges that serve as opportunities for growth, and there is no greater reward than to watch that growth in yourself and in others. To me, the excitement of it all lies in "what can be" and higher education can be many things!