–By Diana DeJesus–
In just a few months you’ll be parading across a stage and your time here at NJCU will be over! When you look back on your college experience, what will you remember most? Will you have regrets? Will you feel like you’ve missed out on really getting involved on campus? We hope not. Here is your Senior Checklist. Enjoy the next few months; they’ll be over before you know it.
1. Root, root, root for the home team! Spend an evening at a home game! Gather a group of friends, and cheer on the team who rocks your school colors proudly! Check out www.NJCUGothicKnights.com for upcoming games!
2. Take a trip! It doesn’t have to be a wild spring break adventure. Just grab a metro card and head into NYC! People travel from around the world to walk the streets of New York, and you are a 20-minute train ride away. Check out the Office of Campus Life in GSUB, Room 111, to see if there are any discount tickets for shows and events coming up!
3. Check out the pros in action. Has your favorite professor written a book? If so, read it. Get a copy signed.
4. Stand up for something. Write to the President of SGO about something you’d like done or don’t like that can be changed; write and Opinion piece for the Gothic Times; request a different menu in the dining halls; join a protest! Remember that the squeaky wheel get the oil.
5. Challenge yourself. If there is something you want to accomplish before you head out into the real world, just do it! If you are looking to get buff, hit the gym! If you want to learn to swim, hit the pool! If you have never been ice skating, grab a friend and hit the ice! Not literally. Hold on to the wall if you need to!
6. Do something that scares you! Avoid serious legal trouble, but don’t skimp out on the adventures that present themselves!
7. Volunteer. Spend a few hours at a soup kitchen, or an animal shelter. Sometimes we need to be reminded of just how fortunate we are. Don’t “Instagram” it. Do it from the heart, not for the “likes” or pats on the back.
8. Write a thank you note. Our professors and faculty members often go above and beyond!
9. Check out the art galleries on campus! You may be able to brag about someone one day.
10. Broadway vs. Westside: Les Miserables opens on March 21 at the Margaret Williams Theatre!
11. Grab a drink! Set time aside to meet with a classmate outside of class. Go to a coffee shop or a bar and just hang out. Become a “regular” and watch your circle grow.
12. Attend a theme party. Just do it!
13. Go to Meditation Wednesday, at least once! Some of the most successful people in the world meditate! Oprah, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Ford, Russell Simmons, and Arianna Huffington meditate, and it’s said to help your mental and physical well-being. Meditation Wednesday takes place in the Gilligan Student Union Building in Room 312, 9:00 – 9:15 a.m. and again 12:00- 12:15 p.m.
14. Listen to the upcoming guest speakers! Jim Cramer, of CNBC’s Mad Money, will be speaking on February 11th in the Margret Williams Theater. It’s FREE and he’s giving out tips!
15. Make a suggestion that will be remembered! Flash Mob anyone?!
16. Update your resume and look into summer internships! Start now!
17. Purchase something to wear with the NJCU logo on it. One day it’ll strike-up conversation. You’ll feel good about it.
18. Read the Student Boards! There are always apartments for rent, books for sale, show announcements, and random opportunities to meet people and have a good time!
19. Follow NJCU. Find the various pages on Facebook that are related to the school and the organizations on campus. Use hashtags like “#NJCU” and #TheGothicTimes, when you are on campus to stay connected. The connections you make may turn in to business opportunities in the future.
20. Sit back. When the weather starts to warm up, and the campus is no longer white, but green and in bloom, arrive 30 minutes early and just sit on campus and watch the busy people rush along to and from class. Soak it all in, and look at the buildings from the outside. You’ve spent so many hours here and it’s almost over.
