A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Chicago for St. Pattys day. It was definitely a fun experience that I would suggest to anyone that has the time on a random March weekend to visit Chicago. They dye the river green and downtown Chicago has a similar feel to college-town Lawrence. Plus I had the pleasure of running into some fellow Jayhawks, and we shared a beer together and discussed our chances in the NCAA tourney (we settled on winning the whole thing).
For my last piece I want to keep it a little light hearted and not throw a bunch of detailed advice at you. These are simply some of my reflections of my time at KU, and things that I would do again if I were to start over.
1. Travel. Domestically and Internationally
Prior to college, I had never left the continental U.S. During my time at KU, I had the pleasure of traveling to South America a total of four times (the picture above is in Bolivia) thanks to opportunities in EWB and SELF. These were some of my greatest travel memories and helped develop a greater appreciation of my life/opportunities here in the U.S. as well as a greater respect for different cultures.
There are also plenty of awesome things to see here in the U.S. Grab some friends and take a road trip. As a note of caution: do not camp in random campgrounds that are marked closed even if you see other people camping there – you may wake up to men with chainsaws outside your tent (story for another time – ask myself or Garrett).
2. Take classes outside of Engineering
I took several finance classes while I was at KU. This was very beneficial as I started getting involved with investing my money and keeping track of personal wealth. Personal finance is one of the major oversights of secondary education in the U.S., and I would advise anyone who lacks that skill set to consider taking a personal finance class.
I know of others that took art classes, astronomy classes, bowling, DDR… the list goes on. Find something appealing to you, and enroll in it.
3. Utilize the KU Alumni network
Freshmen, you are very lucky. By the time you are seniors there will be four SELF classes that will be established for at least a year in industry or next-level academia. Use these connections as well as the countless other KU SOE alumni that exist all over the world.
…and that is all from me. I hope some of you have found benefit in what I have written. Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments. To anyone driving home for the Easter weekend, drive safely. For those of you staying in Lawrence, I hope to see you Friday night when I am back in town.
Rock Chalk (and Beat Michigan!),
Matt Williams