By: Anaya Williams
As college students, there can be an urge to spend our extra studying, or engaging in professional experiences that may further our career. I have always engaged in primarily professional clubs and organizations on campus. There can be a pressure to find your niche, hone in on your skills and build towards a career. However, a lot of the core experiences I have had and lessons I have learned have been a result of extracurriculars and pursuing hobbies and interests.
In my freshman year, I went to the COM lawn for the COM club fair and stumbled upon BUTV. I had always been exposed to news, media and production from my mother, but had never even considered it would be something I would be interested in. I joined the team as a writer just to try out something new. I approached it as a hobby and it grew to be so much more than that. Two years later, I am an associate producer on our live TV show, Good Morning BU as well as our election special United We Vote. This simple passion for writing led to social media work for the show, and then to prompting, field producing and associate producing. I have been so lucky to be surrounded by a team of passionate leaders who have taught me so much and invigorated a love for journalism. It is through this role I became more passionate about political advocacy. It is through this role I learnt how to write on the clock. It is through this role I became a better leader and manager. It is through this role I learnt about camaraderie and teamwork. None of this was part of my plan, but have become some of the most impactful aspects of my college career.
As students we can often fill the pressure to get involved in as much as we can. As overwhelming as that can be, I believe that that pressure encouraged me to try new things and led to me finding a new passion. It has helped me build skills that complement my major, introducing me to new career opportunities and passions I discovered by choosing to be curious. So to the freshmen that don’t know where to start – just start. Take the leap and walk into the rooms that pique your interest. You may find a whole community waiting for you!