Getting Ready for What is Around the Corner

Tis the time of year to be thinking of turkey and being thankful for all of life's many blessings!  As students begin to getting ready to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends, it is also a time to begin thinking of what is right around the "college career" corner.  Whether it be finishing up the first semester or getting ready to start the last semester, taking some time to plan your next move might save you from the stress that will come as we enter into the spring semester.

If you are a first year student, now is the time to begin thinking about potential majors, although you do not need to have narrowed it down just yet.  Take some time to explore ALL of the options and possibilities, talk to professionals in the careers that sound most interesting to you, and remember to not limit yourself to just one or two options!

For sophomores, you will be entering a critical time in the next few months....you will be choosing your academic major(s)!  Again, explore ALL of the options, talk to as many advisors as you can regarding the different majors, and choose the major that you feel is the best fit for YOU (not your Aunt Sally, Uncle Bob, mom, dad, brother, the family cat....well, I think you get the picture here)!

For juniors, start to think about what you can be doing to get some experience and develop skills in the professional areas that are most exciting to you.  Participate in internships, consider volunteering, get involved in clubs and organizations, obtain a part-time job....get the experience and gain the skills that will make you marketable when you graduate!

Seniors, perhaps out of all of the students in college you will have a bigger dose of reality than most in the next few months....you will be leaving Saint Mary's and moving into the next stage of your life!  Many of you have already begun the process of job searching, applying to graduate/professional schools, pursuing post-graduate service and volunteering, or exploring other opportunities where your passions are leading you.  For those of you who have not begun the process, now is the time to start!