I met a beauty queen last year while I was in the New York State Assembly internship program. As assemblymen clamored over each other to get a picture with her, I heard one person say, “Miss Westchester went to Old Westbury.” I thought it would be nice to introduce myself to a fellow Old Westbury student.
I made my way to Miss Westchester and introduced myself. She gave a big, phony smile and said hello. I asked her if she went to SUNY Old Westbury, she replied in the affirmative. I told her that I also went there. She curled her lip in a look I can only describe as a look of pity and disgust, “I’m sorry,” she said.
There is another girl who I see occasionally at bars who is also an alumna of Old Westbury. Whenever we see each other, all she ever has to say is, “You went to Old Westbury, right? Doesn’t it suck?” This goes the same for many other students and alumni whenever Old Westbury is mentioned. The biggest complaint I hear from them is that there is nothing to do on campus. Students go to class, retreat back to their dorms, eat, occasionally bathe, and repeat. I have heard the worst opinions about Old Westbury from commuters. Later, the same commuters can be seen eating, studying and napping in their cars.
Old Westbury is the fourth college I have attended. Academically, I did reasonably well in all my other institutions but never found the “college experience” for which I was looking.
During my first semester here at Old Westbury, I lived in a dorm room with two other fellows. They were nice enough, but we never really hung out or talked. During a hall meeting, my R.A. stressed that we needed to know our roommates; for instance, what was their favorite color? When he asked me I said, “I don’t know their favorite colors, that’s why we get along so well.” It is hard to have a conflict with someone with whom you never have contact.
One roommate played video games and talked on the phone with his friends back home. The other was always out and about with attractive females, while I sat at my desk and surfed the Internet or read books.
Still, I was left wanting for my “college experience.” When the opportunity for an internship in Albany came up, I took it and spent the spring semester of 2011 upstate being a secretary and coffee runner, just to get away from Old Westbury. I missed several networking connections there but I realized something: it is up to you to make your college experience. No one is going to do it for you. No one is going to offer you a letter of recommendation, a job or a network connection unless you earn and ask for it.
Despite being shy and timid in all things, I decided that I was going to be aggressive and start my college experience. I joined the Politics, Economics and Law club and walked into the Catalystoffice and introduced myself. It is still a learning process and I have made plenty of mistakes, but I have also learned a lot of important lessons.
I have changed my major four times now. Every time I studied one of my passions, I discovered that it was either not what I wanted to do or that I did not need a degree in the subject to practice it after college. Then, I discovered that only half of college graduates end up with a career in their field of study. In other words, (for the most part) what you study is not really what is important; it is whom you know and the skills you develop: work ethic, studying, research and networking. The most important of these skills is networking. The easiest way to network is to make friends and talk to people.
Since I became more active here at Old Westbury, I have met some very interesting people with backgrounds ranging from serving as a Navy SEAL, to someone who has become a mentor to me on how to become politically active. I have met people from four different continents and learned about their cultures and backgrounds. I became so much more knowledgeable and appreciative throughout this process. The most rewarding experience of all has been to sit with professors and hear about where they came from, their experiences and their expertise on their subject matter. Only then, three and a half years into college, did I discover what I should had been doing since the beginning.
Last semester, I sat in on a Student Life Committee meeting. I said, “Well, I have nothing better to do, why not?” A representative from the Athletic Department sat in and offhandedly mentioned the intramural programs. “Wait, what?” I exclaimed. He explained to me about all the intramural programs that Old Westbury had to offer. I was a little upset to hear that I missed out on two dodge-ball tournaments and a league since I began attending Old Westbury.
Old Westbury has forty-five clubs and fourteen fraternities/sororities. This is not to mention the Student Government, newspaper, TV and radio stations, intramural dodge-ball, volleyball, basketball, flag football and many more activities, all at your fingertips. All you need to do is ask.
The point I am trying to make is that you need to take charge of your experience here. Ask around, don’t be afraid to talk with faculty, stop in at the Student Government Association and look for something non-academic to do. Do not be passive and expect opportunities to come to you, they won’t. Talk to everyone you can and jump at every opportunity to join an organization or activity. There is a whole college full of interesting experiences and people who are just waiting for you to join them. Don’t get me wrong, not all of them will work out. Some people are here to party and have changed their major to Taking up Space and Wasting Money. Some people might just be operating on different wavelengths or are going in different directions and some people are just downright jerks. The important thing is that you do not become discouraged and that you press on to the next one. This is your college experience, define it yourself.
The last time I saw that girl at the bar, she said to me again, “You go to Old Westbury, right? Doesn’t it suck?”
I replied, “It is what you make of it.”