5 Advices to future Freshmen and College Students

The NCAA basketball tournament has just finished and this is the time of the year from ex-college students where all college memories come back.

I thought about writing this short note to invite soon to be freshmen in College but also college students to reflect on their future, career and life perspectives.

It is much more challenging for Youth today to find a proper orientation and first job opportunity vs. 20-30 years ago.

First a fact: the College years are THE BEST years of your lives. You are not anymore at your parents home, you are moving to adulthood, reaching the majority age, making your own choices, choosing your future and independence for the first time starts to appear.

College is where all starts to matter. The high school diploma in itself means nothing, it is just the right to enter into the next step which is the college life.

The choices made in college will be critical for an important time of the years to follow, often for life.

Below are the 5 advises of things that helped me in college that might be useful for upcoming freshmen and college students:

1. Seek for advice: At age 18-20 most of us do not have the answers and maturity yet to know exactly what we will and want to do in life. Do not pretend that you know it all even if you feel sure. Seek for advice from parents, friends, professors, books, magazines, center for career advice from job interviews, CVs. Advice could be on your major, internships, career, travel, etc… Think 360 degrees and this well help you to forge your own opinion on what to study and what career to follow. I studied Finance influenced by discussions and by an amazing profesor Dr. Scott at Temple University. Finance gave me numerous opportunities and opened doors.
2. Think Global: learn 1 or 2 foreign languages and spend time abroad: Do not think because English is widely spoken that only with English you will get away. The world is global, the internet and ecommerce has shortened distances connected people faster. People want to be connected and do business in their own language, want you to know how they feel. It is not one size fits all. Make sure to put as a goal to learn one or more foreign languages and spent one or two semester abroad. This will be critical not only for your career but for life!
3. Develop your Soft Skills and a passion: To have a high GPA is a MUST DO. The WHAT is important but often people forget the HOW. One thing is to have a 3,8 GPA just being book smart. The other is to have a 3,5 GPA, playing in a varsity sport team, playing an instrument, having a passion, having time to live the student life, connect with people from various nationalities, be open and approachable. Remember, those are your best years! During your career you will find that most people have great technical skills but what really will make the difference in career and life is people who can reach results and who have great SOFT SKILLS.
4. Have a practical experience and start developing leadership skills: You should study hard, have good grades and know the technical aspect of what you are studying, no doubt.  But make sure you have internships to know the practical experience, that you know the “real world”. Engage in associations and take active leadership roles. This will develop your leadership and influence skills and recruiters will love it!
5. Think and Dream BIG: This is your time, we always say that dreaming big or small takes the same amount of energy. The future belongs to you, you put your own limits. Aim high but be humble to know and accept the steps required to get there. Create your own way and journey but always remember to do what you like and with passion. Whatever you do with passion you will do well, NO DOUBT!

Best of luck, the future is YOURS!