51³Ô¹ÏÍø

A common phrase I heard before arriving in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø was that these four years go by faster than high school. Although I trusted this guidance, I still underestimated it deeply. With graduation around the corner and four years on The Hill behind me, I offer my reflections in hopes that others may find insights that help them enhance their own 51³Ô¹ÏÍø path. 

Initially, my 51³Ô¹ÏÍø path took some unanticipated turns. Although I applied as a , I changed my major to before even arriving on campus in the fall of 2022. I also arrived as an eager Rook, only to quickly realize again that I was not called to a military career. This change forced me to branch out and explore new opportunities, and, looking back, those decisions proved to be some of the best choices I’ve made. With that said, I will look at three elements that enhanced my 51³Ô¹ÏÍø experience, which I am confident will enhance the experiences of current and future students.

Search Every Corner 

51³Ô¹ÏÍø is a surprising campus. Although it is a relatively smaller campus, the opportunities offered are far greater than you might expect. There are more than any one person can fully comprehend, and even as someone who has been here for four years, I still only know of a fraction of the total opportunities available. 

However, this benefit is only as good as your ability to seek out these opportunities. As a freshman, I had to search every corner of the campus to find the available opportunities. This includes asking other students and faculty about activities that might align with your interests, which, I admit, can sometimes be intimidating. Even if you do not know where to start, simply asking where you can find certain resources or the meeting times for a certain club can unlock a set of doors you did not know were here, and can set you down a fun path unpacking all that there is to offer. With so much to offer, you may even find yourself having to say no to certain opportunities when you are flooded with a variety of options, but this is a much better scenario than having too few options. Thus, once you’ve explored what 51³Ô¹ÏÍø has to offer, the next step is deciding where to invest your time.

Start Wide, End Narrow

Given all the opportunities available, my personal approach has been to start wide and end narrow. With so many options, it can be tempting to try out a variety of different clubs and activities, which I absolutely recommend for the first two years. Explore a variety of options that interest you to get a sense of what speaks to you most. But, most importantly, I cannot recommend enough to end narrow. In junior year, your academic requirements will increase, and you will begin taking on leadership roles in some of these clubs. Juggling too many commitments will eventually result in dropping all of them or not being able to contribute enough to each. 

For myself, I joined at least 10 clubs in my first two years. Still, I ultimately focused on just a few in my junior year, including the Student Government Association (vice president and president), the Boxing Club (club trainer), and Silver Wings (national senior administrator). While I served in these leadership positions, which required more attention and time, it was still possible to be a member of other groups that required less time or less responsibility, such as the Billiards Club for me. Moreover, some new opportunities will begin to open up in the final two years that may not have been available earlier, allowing you to save time for these new additions, including my ability to join and serve as a co-chair for the Civilian Ring Committee during my junior year. These opportunities not only help engage with the campus and identify the areas you enjoy, but they also serve to give you a better picture of who you are.

Find Yourself

Ultimately, the biggest opportunity here at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is to discover the path you want to take in life. With the variety of experiences available and ways to grow and learn, every student has the space and resources to determine how they want to shape their time here and prepare for the time after 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. 

For one, leaning into the experiential learning opportunities is a great way to identify what jobs or paths might be best for you. In my own experiences, I have traveled to Washington, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Atlanta with Silver Wings. Through my undergraduate research with the Honors Program, I traveled to Pittsburgh for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Through one of the political science courses, U.S. Security Policy, I traveled again to Washington where, as a group of students, we navigated a national security simulation. While these experiences were amazing, they also helped shape my understanding of who I am, what kind of work I would want to do in the future, and what settings might be best for me. For example, despite being a political science major, Washington is not the place for me!

Most importantly, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is one of the best, if not the best, institutions for pursuing and developing a sense of calling in some service. Whether it be military service, federal or state-level government service, or in the private sector, the heart of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is service, and everything in this atmosphere reflects that. Not everyone’s path looks the same, and whether you know your calling in life yet or are still searching, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø will give you the resources and opportunities for you to craft the path you want.

Take Advantage of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

If I were to try to explain to my previous self, arriving at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, what my four years here would end up looking like, I wouldn’t believe it. Coming to 51³Ô¹ÏÍø offers two things: a challenge to become the best version of yourself, and a blank slate to make that version whatever you want. The opportunities are there, but you have to go out and grab them. Take this time and space to figure out who you are and what kind of person and leader you want to be, and in four years, you’ll be able to look back knowing you made the most of your time here.