Okay, I’m in College, Now What?

Today, Monique Moreno continues to take us through her leadership journey in part 2 of 5 of her leadership blog series. She is covering her leadership journey as she attempts to survive in this 21st century technological jungle.

When I entered college in fall 2011, I thought leadership positions would come naturally to me. I had been involved in many things throughout my high school career, and I truly believed it would be just as easy to be heavily involved at the university level. So, naturally, I went to the university’s involvement fair and boldly signed up for nine organizations.

Well. That wasn’t the first Freshman Blunder I made, and it certainly wasn’t the last.

The emails piled up and I avoided mostly all of them. Informational meetings. Pot luck dinners. Fundraising polls. Meeting changes. Room changes. Time changes. Date changes. It was safe to say I was overwhelmed and I didn’t know exactly how to go about sorting through the hundreds of emails I had let accumulate in my mailbox, marked with the sickly bold font that meant I hadn’t touched it yet.

It was easy to commit to so much in high school, but not so much in college. The main difference I found in college commitments and high school commitments was that oftentimes, with high school commitments, meetings were limited and time was precious. In college, there were meetings every week, mixers on the weekend, and it seemed like my rear would be permanently glued to a chair manning the bake sale booth.

I then told myself I couldn’t just avoid these things forever, and made a list of every organization I had attempted to join. I asked myself why I was trying to get involved in each organization, and I prioritized which seemed to be the most important to me. I got my list down to about three organizations I could really see myself committing to and I finally attended meetings about halfway through September.

After I had cut down my list of involvements, I found that I didn’t quite like the vibe of two, and found that I could really leave a mark on and dedicate some time to the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Not only was PRSSA a great organization to help me sort out what I wanted to specifically do with my communication degree, it also provided some really great opportunities.

What I learned through this process is that when it comes to being involved, it’s okay for it to take some time. Sometimes it’s easier for us to take that step if we think about things carefully. Like the other ‘ship, friendship, leadership is all about quality, not quantity. Just like it’s better to have a handful of really good friends that you can rely on than a big indecisive bunch, it’s important that we don’t spread ourselves too thin to the point where the quality of our actions and work suffer. 

Although I haven’t been as involved as possible in every organization on campus, my commitment to PRSSA remains strong. This academic year I held an officer position, and next year I’m running for president of the organization. My goal is to strengthen the group of wonderful individuals we have with us and guide them to success as we grow our number of members. I’m determined and dedicated to keep the great legacy of the organization going strong, and if that’s the one mark I leave with the school, then I will happily write myself off as a college success. 

Check back next Thursday to read more about Monique's leadership journey!