“A Successful Journey Begins and Ends with an Effective Plan“

Most people wouldn’t dream of planning a trip without knowing their destination and having mapped out the best route to get there and yet every year, thousands of new graduates head off to college without a clear idea of their strengths, their challenges, their passions, and most important a personal investment in the eventual outcome of what they hope to accomplish.

  • What major should I choose?
  • Why does it interest me and will it help me get into an occupational field that’s a good fit for me?
  • What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

I know my parents think this would be the best path for me, but what do I think? No one should be asked to make those decisions at 18 and yet every year, graduations take place, young adults leave home to experience college life without the vaguest idea of why they’re doing it and what they really want to happen at the end of the 4 years.

After almost 16 years of working in higher education, it is my firm belief that students who have at least some idea of where they would like to end up at the end of 4 years…yes, I said 4 years, even though their plan may change somewhat…have a better chance of achieving success than students who just head into this new phase of their life with the only goal being that I need to graduate (and hopefully have a little fun while I’m completing my degree)

This degree will allow me to get a job that will provide a good living, but

  • Will I enjoy what I’m doing?
  • Will it feel like my work has value?
  • Will it be rewarding
  • When I go home at the end of the day, I feel I accomplished something meaningful?

There are no perfect answers to any of these questions and there is no perfect plan-as with most things in life, it is a process and the best thing you can hope to achieve is a template of  what you’d like to achieve and then allow for change along the way.  In my opinion here is the best plan you can send your child off to college with…

  • Encourage them to trust their instincts and listen to their inner voice
  • Support them in having the courage to learn about themselves…their strengths, their weaknesses, their interests, and their passions.
  • Help them look at the reality of what the current economy has to offer and what skills are needed and where do they fit

So here’s what needs to happen to move forward:

  • Identify your strengths and weaknesses, your interests and your academic ability
  • Decide what areas interest you the most and where your strengths lie to get there