Although four years in college might seem endless, I’ve learned it actually seems to go by rather fast. While most of this time is spent growing as a person, meeting people who will become a constant in your life and studying, not enough is focused on what someone could do to leave their permanent mark in their college years.
As my time at Marquette comes to an end, I want to do something in which I can leave a lasting imprint. I want to encourage others to do the same as well.
Personally, for me, joining an organization has always been a great way for me to fund something that I’m passionate about and with people I can really connect with. I joined the Wire to keep up with my interest in writing, having done so since high school.
At the start of each semester, The Office of Engagement and Inclusion hosts “O Fest” which is a fair to attract students into joining a club or an organization. This is the best way to walk around and find something that sparks your interest and a group of people you mesh really well with.
Whether it be a small organization or a club team, this will allow students to explore their interests and further excel in them and advance in terms of leadership. Their lasting contribution to the organization will serve as an example in the coming years. Beyond joining a club or an organization, there are other ways that they can leave a lasting impact at Marquette and be an example for the students that will come after them. Leaving a legacy doesn’t always have to do with a set organization.
Service or volunteering is an important example.
Students can join service learning which is a type of volunteering. Through volunteering, they can give back to the community and learn about how different it is to grow up in an area where most students have never grown up. Service learning not only leaves a lasting impact on the community and the people living there but the students themselves and fosters community involvement between Marquette and the surrounding neighborhood.
I participated in an organization called Midnight Run, a community service organization started in 1988 by two students to address homelessness in Milwaukee. The organization, run by Campus Ministry, gives back to the community through volunteering at homeless shelters, food pantries and soup kitchens.
This was very eye-opening to me as I grew up with the resources I needed to live a comfortable life and it made me realize that not a lot of them have access and that I am making a difference by helping them out.
While the stress of school and certain majors can certainly be time-consuming for many people, it may not be possible to join a club, sports team or volunteer. Rather than leave a lasting impact on a certain organization, they can leave Marquette with meaningful relationships.
The people they meet and eventually become their friends or the professors they turn to for letters of recommendation are both examples of how students have affected the lives of others. The people I have met here have certainly influenced me for the better. While an impact doesn’t need to be remembered by everyone, if it is just meaningful to one person.
For the four short years that you spend at Marquette, do something that will make those years carry on forever. I encourage you to take some to explore your own interests and how they can change the community for the better. While you may only be here in school for only a short number of years, you can leave a mark that can last forever and leave knowing how the community is forever changed because of you.
This story was written by Krisha Patel. She can be reached at [email protected].
