Preparing for graduation is surreal, and I’m still not sure how to explain it. You spend so long waiting and daydreaming about what it’ll be like to finally be a senior in college, and before you know it, your senior year is almost over! Looking back over the last four years at Roosevelt, I can’t believe how much I’ve accomplished.
Take advantage – and I cannot stress this enough – of the opportunities presented to you by being a student at Roosevelt and by attending a university in the middle of a massive metropolitan city. I’ve participated in so many things (directly and indirectly) because of Roosevelt that I had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of them! If you have the ability to participate something, you should give it a shot! These things wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for me getting involved starting my freshman year.
It’s easy to get involved – you just have to put yourself out there! That’s the hardest part. At the start of every semester, there’s an involvement fair hosted by the Center for Student Involvement (CSI), where just about every student organization on campus has an information table staffed by current members of their org who are ready to talk to you about their organization! Even if you don’t make it to the fair, there’s a list of organizations on Roosevelt’s website, and their office always has student org members & leaders who are more than willing to help you get involved. And if you don’t find an organization that you fit in with, or just want to see something new? All you need is a few other students, a staff advisor, and then boom! You’re then eligible to start your own on-campus organization.
Socially and academically, Roosevelt has an incredible amount of resources available to students. The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) and the Academic Success Center are my two personal favorites. Without those two offices, I would’ve struggled a lot throughout college. CSI oversees all student organizations and Greek Life at Roosevelt, and the Academic Success Center oversees the peer mentoring program, disability services, and much more. As somebody who struggles socially and academically at times, I turned to these offices and their incredible staff. They were always open-ears and more than willing to help me figure out my next steps.
As for my post-graduation plans, I don’t intend to pursue a graduate program right out of the gate. I’ve found that Roosevelt has helped create a great path for me in starting my career, and over the last two years I’ve had jobs that I would never imagine that I would have in my life – let alone at the very start of my career. Because of that, I want to keep continuing down this path, develop a solid resume and gain a lot of experience, and then consider a graduate program in a field where I’ve develop some subject matter expertise. Considering how I had no idea what the next four years had in store for me when I started Roosevelt – and seeing how amazing they’ve been – I cannot wait to see what the next four have in store.
By: Kevin Reppen