In our professional lives, we are expected to communicate, collaborate, and work with all types of people from differing backgrounds. But how does one acquire the skills necessary to handle all the pressures that arise? One of the best ways is through campus leadership positions while in college. College offers a unique opportunity to work with different kinds of people in the same way you will in the professional world. Campus organizations allow students to collaborate on projects, practice self-advocacy, and harness greater interpersonal communication skills.
Accomplished professionals share from their own experiences. Director of Global Finance at Dematic David Wood, Dematic Robotics Regional Lead Mark Hollebeek, Sales Executive for Insurance Specialty Products Kayla Sloan, and Gabrielle Haggins, Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant in the College of Education at The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign all talk about their leadership held in college and how it prepared them for the professional world.
Here are five ways that campus leadership prepares students for the professional world:
1. Prepares you to work with a diverse team
For many, college is the first time meeting a melting pot of people. David Wood, Director of Global Finance at Dematic, a global engineering company, aims to have an “ownership and accountability” mindset as he communicates with different people at work. Wood served as both the treasurer and president of the Business and Economics Club in his time as an undergrad at Western Michigan University. “I learned to work with different people from various backgrounds, and still get people excited about our common goal,” he said.
Wood engages with people from different departments daily to optimize the use of funds. He explained, “Soft skills go a long way, learning to communicate and speak openly and honestly with cross-functional team members.” He credits campus leadership for helping him learn to engage with people who may think or see differently from him to achieve the same goal.
2. Prepares you to apply your studies
In the professional world, experience beats academics, as the Robotics Regional Lead at Dematic, Mark Hollebeek knows. He was an active member and leader in the Mechanical Engineering club at Calvin University before his graduation in 2000. As a mechanical engineer in this club, they focused on designing autonomous systems, participating in engineering competitions, and mentoring other students in STEM.
“Garner as much hands-on experience as you possibly can. Don’t just study the theory, ensure you also apply it,” Hollebeek said. He says campus leadership showed him that those who transition best from a schooling environment are those who look to actively align how best they can apply the skills that they understand.
“I now consider it a real-world rehearsal for my professional life,” Hollebeek said of college.
3. Prepares you to navigate professional relationships
Gabrielle Haggins, graduate teaching and research assistant in the College of Education at The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, was vice president of the Spanish Club, vice president of marketing and communications of the Student Government Association and education chair of the National Council of Negro Women at Valdosta State University.
In her current role at the University of Illinois, she is tasked with building an open and trusting community to work with peers on projects and papers. Working with peers, higher-ups, and students alike, she needed to be able to navigate professional relationships. She says that her experience in campus leadership was one of the best ways she developed real-world skills like communication and teamwork in a supportive environment where you can learn and grow.
“It is where I learned to navigate professional relationships and advocate effectively, skills I use every day in my graduate role,” Haggins said.
4. Prepares you to advocate for yourself and others
Gabrielle Haggins says her campus leadership taught her advocacy. “I learned to advocate for myself and others who felt like they did not have a voice,” Haggins said. She explains that college leadership positions taught her to articulate ideas clearly, speak up for others, and work effectively in teams.
Haggins uses her learned advocacy through campus leadership experience daily in her role as a graduate and teaching assistant.
5. Prepares you to be an adaptable team member
Kayla Sloan was the marketing chair for the Witkaze Black Student Union, an orientation leader, multicultural organizations chair for the Student Government Association (SGA), and chapter founder and president for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at Agnes Scott College. Sloan now has eight years of experience in the healthcare industry, specializing in sales.
“Most corporations look for employees who are chameleons – unique, bold, have a sense of self, but also adaptable to the unknowns of what might exist on the day-to-day” Sloan said. She says campus leadership positions taught her how to be flexible and allow for true collaboration amongst herself and fellow team members. Currently working in sales for a major health insurance company, Sloan consistently has to pivot because she collaborates with broker partners, clients, and her own peers.
Sloan encourages those looking into a professional career to “be ready to adapt!”
The professional world can be a scary and uncertain place for many. Campus leadership teaches students the skills they need to excel, from learning to speak up, communicate effectively and respectfully, and advocate.
“Campus leadership offers a safe space to develop the same qualities demanded in the professional world: decision-making, accountability, teamwork, and vision,” Hollebeek said. “It gives you an undeniable edge when you step into the workforce.”
