The first Mother’s Day was celebrated in the U.S., Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa, and the Golden Spike was driven to complete the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. What do all these events have in common? First, they were significant events in the history of the world. And second, they all took place on May 10th of their respective years. That date this year is significant because many of you will be graduating and stepping into the next chapter of your life. The significance of your graduation can be considered from the perspective of the return on investment (ROI) of your college experience. While it might take a few months or years to calculate the true ROI of your education, there are 3 immediate returns that you can measure right now: the people you met, skills learned, and personal growth.
Network Capital: The People You Meet
Many students are focused on what shows up on their transcript, however, one of the most valuable takeaways from the college experience is the network you make. Whether it is a classmate, professor, or staff member each can have lasting impacts on your future career and personal growth. You never know when you may bump into someone from your college life again, but you know if you do professors that became mentors and classmates that became friends will be there to have your back.
Skill Development: Beyond the Classroom
College teaches much more than just course content—it helps you build a toolkit of skills that are critical for the professional workforce. Every time you had multiple projects and assignments due the same week, you had to balance deadlines and prioritize important tasks. When an unexpected scenario or question came up in class, you learned to think on your feet and use prior knowledge to answer to the best of your abilities. These soft skills are invaluable and will help you communicate, adapt, lead, and manage time in ways that textbooks alone can’t teach.
Not only do you gain soft skills, but you also gain hard skills through hands-on experiences. Starting from basic functions to mastering finance models in Excel, collaborating with classmates on marketing campaigns, or balancing a balance sheet in accounting, these practical lessons stick with you. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll use all these lessons immediately, but it gives you the foundation to be able to be adaptable in whatever future position you take on. Employers are looking for a combination of soft and hard skills. That’s what college helps you build.
Personal Growth
When you spend four years doing anything, you are honing yourself and becoming more experienced. College is no different and you can feel personally transformed. Much of this is due to all the challenges college makes you face like tough courses, adjusting to life away from home, or making friends. When facing these you can become more resilient and ready to take on any challenge.
As the number of days becomes fewer and fewer before graduation, think about all the experiences that have led you to this moment. You’ll realize that you have been resilient and persevered through tough challenges that made you want to quit, but you have also had beautiful moments that made you feel on top of the world. As this chapter closes and another one opens, remember the return on investment of all the relationships made through the years, skills honed, and personal growth. May 10th is significant this year because you are graduating.
