Valuable Lessons Not Learned in Lecture

College is really just a stepping-stone, the slightly uncomfortable transition period from childhood to adult life. Hopefully, we’ll develop the social and academic skills in the next four (or five, or six…) years necessary for our future success. In reality, though, it’s easy to waste these valuable months bingeing on Netflix and late-night Wawa. There’s no one holding you accountable other than, well, you. And holding yourself accountable is far easier said than done.

Academia quickly becomes tedious. By this point in the semester, even incoming freshmen realize that most assignments are merely cursory checks to see how much you’ve absorbed (or memorized) from the most recent readings. No one’s paying you to do them or, depending on the professor, even critiquing your work that harshly. Until thesis, very little of the academic work that you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into is seen by the outside world. We’re told over and over again that school is our job, that we should behave like adults and take college seriously… and yet, we’re given no meaningful incentive to do so.

At least, that’s how I felt coming into this semester. Although I’ve undoubtedly been stimulated and fascinated by many of my classes both here at Arcadia and abroad, I’ve often struggled with the sense that none of my academic work has truly prepared me for life outside of the university setting. Learning theoretical skills simply wasn’t enough— I wanted to apply them in the real world.

Luckily, this semester I was given that opportunity.

Since my concentration is new media journalism, I’ve spent much of the past two years improving my video production skills. I’ve never been quite sure how to implement them, however, and have never shown any of my videos outside the classroom or produced work for a non-academic purpose.

Then, just over a week ago, I turned in my first humanitarian video project.

Long story short, one of my professors knew someone who knew someone, and somehow my name was handed down the line to DePaul House, a homeless shelter and rehabilitation program less than 20 minutes up the road from Arcadia. They were about to hold a graduation ceremony for the handful of men who’d completed their year-long program in 2017, and simply wanted to honor them in some way. Despite my hectic schedule, I volunteered.

The final video was under 10 minutes and simply structured. In comparison to the work I’ve been doing for my classes, the editing itself was elementary. But the experience of producing work for a cause, not just a grade, made this project invaluable.

After two and a half years, I could finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. This was a tiny taste of what my future in the communication field could hold. There is a reason for those boring and seemingly endless assignments: Ready or not, the real world is coming. It’s up to us to make the most of these four years. So though your assignments may seem meaningless at first, I know now that it’s worth focusing on developing those practical skills in whatever form they may take. You never know when opportunity may come knocking.

Header image by Coryn Hubbert ’18.