The Effect Of College Student Engagement Activity On College Students

College students are traditionally regarded as rowdy, lazy, and stressed. These labels may hold some weight however one of the most overlooked things about college kids is how busy they are. The expectation of colleges is that students spend two to three hours outside of class studying for every credit hour. These lazy and stressed college students are spending the equivalent of a full time job studying, which can have dramatic effects on a student. College kids spend some much time studying how could they possibly have time to get involved? Well this may be apart of the reason students are so stressed out, because handling all of their own activities on top of school is a daunting task. The Academic and Campus Engagement Activity allows for students in GS 101 to explore their college while participating in activities they may have not thought of doing previously. Some students find time within their schedule to attend lectures that they aren’t officially signed up for. This is what I decided to do for my engagement activity.

I attended the lecture Tuesday, October 20th/27th from 9:00-10:00am.

The lecture is held in Foellinger Hall in tuesdays and thursdays. The lecture that I attended was econ 103 which is a class I will have to take in the future. This is why I chose to attend this lecture in particular. I thought if I’m going to take it I might as well see what it’s like. Also it happened that this class took place while I had no other obligations. I entered the lecture hall and realized there were far more people than I thought there would be. I have to say the best part of the activity was that I sat next to Jalen Coleman (a member of the basketball team). In class for the two days I was there they were reviewing perfect competition and the concepts that create perfect

competition.

Currently I am enrolled in General Studies at the University of Illinois. This means that in the near future I will have to apply to a college and then decide on a major. My goal is to join the College of Business. In order to get into the college of business you must be some of the best of the best. This means doing very well in business core classes, like economics. With this weight upon my shoulders I will take any advantage I can get. Simply viewing the class for two days actually helps me more than I thought. I was able to see how the professor runs his class and what kind of work is expected. In addition to becoming familiar with the class getting a preview also allowed me to confirm that I have a great interest in business. With only four and a half hours of sleep I was able to wake up and go to a class that is not required. This alone made me feel pretty good but I also was engaged the entire class I was intrigued with the concepts that the professor was going over. Participating in an activity like this allows me to see that school isn’t always a chore. It is possible, no matter how much I may despise the work, to enjoy going to class and learning new concepts. This may seem arrogant that I haven’t appreciated my schooling up until now, however previous schooling was all mandatory classes. Now I am able to choose the classes that I have an interest in. Through this activity I now have a newly found appreciation for school. It makes everything seem much more manageable.

These activities are designed to allow for students to explore in the university and get involved in things they are actually interested in. When these advantages are offered to a student they must take advantage of it. Attending this class has given me a new view about school. Which actually motivates me to go to other classes, even if I’m not signed up for it. This desire for knowledge is not something that I would have had without GS 101. I hope that this activity can keep me motivated to work throughout my freshman year, in the hope that I can earn entry into the College of Business.