As the semester winds down and spring break finally approaches, many students are scheduling meetings with their advisors to prepare for the upcoming summer and fall semesters. I recently attended my advising appointment, and I must say I left feeling awfully defeated and overwhelmed.
As I maneuvered my schedule and took my advisor’s advice, I found myself with little room for internships due to a heavy load of classes that would force me to have two summers full of classes. Facing this dilemma, I started to contemplate if experience is worth the risk of not graduating on time. At the end of it all, will all these classes and training mean nothing if I never had a chance to put what I have learned into effect?
The debate eventually boils down to GPA or experience. What do employers really look for in future employees? I have always been under the assumption that if I have to study so hard and take all the tests to obtain this important decimal value; for it to ultimately to be looked over is just frustrating.
I will not even go into the amount of money spent on my education to have the value put on my hard work to be just numbers on a paper. We all know that education is an investment in our futures, but has the value of a classroom education been depreciated and the value of a real world education become suddenly more valuable?
Employers who have taken this new approach for recruiting argue that good grades don’t always translate well to being successful in a work environment. Sitting in a classroom and obtaining information is something that is done automatically for some, but hands-on experience actually reinforces what is heard through lectures.
They suggest students get their feet wet at small start-ups and businesses to gain that real world experience. Internships in a sense offer an alternative classroom experience. They teach things that cannot be put on a PowerPoint slide show. Office politics, networking and business etiquette are classes that cannot be found in the normal curriculum.
Coming to this realization I began to panic. I did not want to sacrifice graduating on time because I have to adjust the new hiring procedures. I began to search for a solution, and after brief searching and bugging my advisor with questions, he showed me classes called practicums. They essentially are internships that go towards class credits, similar to co-ops but through the University. I have access to experience and can still stay on track to graduation.
The business world is constantly evolving and becoming more competitive. As students, we must adapt. It is not all about grades anymore. When we walk into the door of an actual job, we are expected to know what we are doing. The learning process is done, it is time to perform, and internships prevent that feeling of being a small fish in a little pond. This is not license to let your GPA slip, but encouragement to become a well-rounded student and take advantage of the opportunities that are put at your feet.
Amber Patterson is a sophomore majoring in public relations. Her column runs weekly on Wednesdays.
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