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Extracurriculariffic experience
By Cory Casciato
casciato@mscd.edu

Another semester, another year has ended. My time as editor in chief of this paper is ending, as is my time at Metro. Only an internship and a little paperwork stand between me and graduation.

My time at Metro has been fantastic. I’ve earned a degree, gained the knowledge and experience I needed to pursue my chosen profession and I’ve grown as a person. I got everything I hoped from college. My concern is that precious few of my peers are doing the same.

The prevailing attitude among students at this school seems to favor a straightforward, head-down approach to education. Go to class, go home, get the degree and get on with life. Involvement with extracurricular activities is the exception, not the rule. It may be our status as a commuter college, full of nontraditional students. Whatever the cause, it’s a shame.

In my first semester at Metro, I read of a study conducted at Harvard that showed students who are more engaged and involved with their school outside of the classroom were happier with their college experience. My own experiences over the past four years have absolutely confirmed this.

The students at Metro have amazing opportunities and considerable resources at hand, but all too often, they go ignored and unused. Consider that Metro has a number of national-championship-winning sports teams, and yet can’t fill the seats for a home game. Our student government is full of honest, dedicated people trying to make this school better, but uncontested seats and pathetic voter turnout is the norm in our elections. The Metropolitan receives awards every year for excellence in student media, yet fewer than half the people on campus ever bother to pick it up, and fewer than 50 of the school’s 500 journalism students are involved in its production in any given semester.

Joining a club is a great way to network, possibly opening the door to a future job opportunity. Tutoring or leading a study group is a great way to get letters of recommendation from professors. The day-to-day, practical experience of working in student media, student government, marketing or any of a dozen other areas provides hands-on experience that not only buffs a résumé, but hones the skills learned in class and exposes how things really get done.

Just as rewarding is the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from helping someone in need, supporting and recognizing others for their accomplishments, working toward something larger than yourself, or even just making a new friend.

Don’t take my word for it; try it yourself. Come and write for The Metropolitan; we’re losing half our staff to graduation. Meet the newly elected SGA, share your concerns and resolve to run yourself if they aren’t addressed. Go to a sports event, join a club, attend a student concert. Make the most of your time here; get everything out of it you can. You’ll be giving this school, and yourself, a tremendous gift.