Leaving Clemson for a year was an eye-opening experience
Co-oping changed my perspective on school completely
Going into my junior year at Clemson, I already knew it was going to be the hardest semester of my college career. Classes were more difficult, tests were more intense and trying to balance a social life with school seemed impossible.
Repeating the same process day after day was getting tedious, and at that moment, I knew I needed to make a change. Along came the opportunity to co-op – which meant leaving campus for a year to focus on career opportunities – and it just seemed like it was meant to be.
Over the course of a few weeks, I got my resume together, planned out what companies I would want to interview with, sat with a counselor to talk about what would suit me, and at the end of it all, participated in 11 interviews. Getting calls back from the companies that were willing to offer me a job was incredible. It gave me the reassurance I needed in order to know that my academic career was not going to waste and that my life actually had a trajectory.
The part I was not anticipating was trying to stay involved at Clemson while working 40 hours a week. Before I started to work, I never knew how great it was to have friends living so close. I always took it for granted that I was only in class for four hours a day. With work, it just seemed like there weren’t enough hours in the day.
You always hear parents saying: “you’re going to miss school one day” or “I wish I could go back and have a spring break again.” Take it from me, that’s the truth. Working is tough, but rewarding. Writing this about my experience co-oping, I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
The thing is, we never really appreciate what we have when we have it. Quoting Andy Bernard from the TV show The Office: “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.” I’m not saying college is the glory days, but the principle of the saying still applies. We need to make the most of the opportunities we are presented with because we might not get those chances ever again.
From hiking a mountain to catching a sunset to playing nine holes of golf on a Friday afternoon, I have realized the aspects of my life that matter the most, the people that matter the most and the moments that matter the most.
Co-oping is a wonderful opportunity that has opened my eyes to the world, but it also taught me to live for the moment and not to wonder or wish because it will take you away from the present. Live it up in college – that’s what it’s meant for.