Everyday I come home I turn on the news and my stomach turns as the economic gurus and political pundits prognosticate the future of our country. If you're in high school, it's important to read the paper and watch the news and be educated on the news of the day. What is happening to our economy most likely sustain the effects for some time. If this downturn in our economy is still going on when you graduate college, you will be entering a job market that is more competitive than it has ever been.
This is why having experiential learning opportunities in college are so important. Setting yourself from "the rest of the pack," and showing you can apply what you are learning in the classroom to the work-world, gaining real-world experience and networking are all things that you will help you for life after college while you participate in experiential learning. What is experiential learning? Experiential learning opportunities are: Internships, undergrad research, volunteer experience, opportunities for student leadership and organizational involvement, student-led project management/group work for outside entities. (I posted a YouTube Video showing examples above).
These are all things that we believe in at UW-Parkside. Some majors require these experiences in the form on internships and some don't but there's an atmosphere that these things are "expected" of our students.
We're getting ready for Thanksgiving at our house, so I was cleaning out my walk-in storage pantry this weekend. I found my Senior year portfolio. Many of our students have these - I was going through it and there I had documentation of my volunteer experiences, student leadership, a senior seminar student group project, and my two internships that I did while at UW-P. I remember interviews after college weren't as intimidating either - because I had something to show, when they asked me, "So, tell me about yourself... what did you do in college?" I gladly showed them my portfolio and was able to articulate verbally and visually, all the valuable experiences that I had in college that were applicable to the careers I was applying for.
What types of experiential learning do our students do at UW-P in various majors/programs? You'll be surprised! If you're curious, shoot me a comment and I'll find out and answer back with an example of an internship for that major/program at UW-P!
See you on the road,
~ Nicole
