Attend campus lectures outside your study area - This one may be a moot point for SELF Fellows because you're required to attend a certain number of on-campus events each semester, but the value of attending a lecture in an area that is completely outside of your normal field of study should not be underestimated. Go to events in the liberal arts fields, talk to students there, ask questions, and you may just find your perspective broadened. Plus, its unlikely that you'll ever find yourself somewhere with the intellectual and cultural density of college after you graduate--so take advantage of it.
Set ambitious goals and go for them - You may remember that this was an important theme from my "Journey" Connections piece a couple weeks ago. I won't harp too much again, but setting stretch goals is a sure-fire formula for success. There is something in human nature that is incredibly motivated by putting pen to paper and jotting out a list of aspirations. Be careful to avoid defined, long-term goals like "become the CEO of XYZ Corp by age 40" because, as I mentioned before, your journey may take you to great places you didn't expect to go. But do set defined and achievable short to medium-term goals. Once you begin achieving them, you'll find that crossing items off of a list can become addictive.
Be involved...the right way - I suspect telling you to be involved is not earth-shattering advice. However, in culture where "being involved" requires filling 6am until midnight with clubs, volunteering, shadowing and oh yeah, studying, a lot of people are missing the point to it all. Applying the scatter-shot approach to involvement--sending your resume to every possible campus opportunity--will certainly fill your resume quickly (not to mention your time), but it won't necessarily get you anywhere. So instead of joining everyone in the Race to Nowhere, realize that you need to make choices about what you spend your time on. Choose activities that are important to you, and then devote enough time so that those endeavors are better because of your involvement.
Travel abroad - I visited five countries on KU-sponsored trips when I was an undergraduate, and I can say without any doubt that those trips were the most memorable events of my college experience. The benefits of such broadening experiences are plentiful, but let me highlight the two key points I view to be most important. First, there's the obvious benefit of entering into a new society and learning about their culture. There's great value in realizing that there are people around the world who have a very different perspective than you. This understanding teaches you to think "globally". That's not just a buzz word--it means being able to learn about a culture through their history, customs, people, etc., and then putting yourself in their shoes and thinking within the framework of their worldview. That is an extremely valuable skill in our increasingly interconnected world. Secondly, trips abroad typically force you into almost constant, close contact with a group of people you might not otherwise hang out with. Through the gauntlet of group travel, I promise you will become fast friends with them and maybe learn something about branching out in the process. I made some of my best college friends on trips abroad, and I doubt I would have met some of them on my regular Lawrence routine.
Use college to find your interests - You may have thought choosing a college and major was the big choice in life that would define who you become. Fortunately that is not the case. The most important advice I can give to you is this: if you are fortunate enough to be able to attend a four-year college, you have been given a non-binding chance explore almost any interest you can imagine. It is up to you to be intellectually curious and experiment in order to find the course that is right for you. You are doing yourself a major disservice if you aren't using this essentially risk-free period to try new things and step outside of your comfort zone. After college, it becomes increasingly difficult to change the path you are on, so make the absolute most of the time you have at KU. You won't ever get another four years like it.
That's all they will let me say for now! I do wish you all the best in your college years and beyond, you've already all made great decisions in life if you've ended up in the SELF Fellowship. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions (Charles can get you my contact info), otherwise, I hope to see you when I'm back on campus sometime!
Best Regards,
Greg