To College Freshmen

My Dear Students,

Welcome aboard M/V College Life!

The very first lesson you should learn: College is not a stepping stone to life, but is already life in itself. So, take pleasure in it while doing well! Here and now, you have just held your first professional position. Understand that your instructors are your new bosses, as well as your teammates and your guides.

Back in high school, your teachers shared some responsibility for making sure your academic tasks and requirements were completed and complied with, and for categorically stating in class everything that will come out in tests. As college students, you now have full responsibility for finishing your assignments, learning from reading and passing examinations. This is acting professionally on your part.

Your new position offers remarkable opportunities for advancement. Your bosses and mentors have already advanced in their field, and will automatically work hard to help you widen your work experience. To move forward steadfastly, however, you need to perform excellently and should not just be mediocre in what you have to do.

Your new position incorporates on-the-job training. Although you must have learned a lot in high school (otherwise you would not have secured your present professional position at such a prestigious organization), the job of a ‘college student’ entails several skills that you simply have not been exposed to—or that didn’t expect. Hence, it’s better to think of your new job as—well, a new job!—rather than a continuation of your old one. You are a new person now!

You should realize that many of the competencies you will develop involve what are called higher-order thinking skills. The ability to foment comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and creation is required from you. You will also master some of the most important skills that employers look for in their workers such as communication, problem solving, team working, initiative and work ethics. Think of your general education instructors to assist you on these.

As a practicing professional, you should exhibit behaviors expected from a professional. Each class period is a professional meeting. Each meeting with a professor or adviser is a professional appointment.

Your fellow students are your colleagues. Thus, you should live up to this expectation by coming to your work commitments (classes, appointments), being punctual, being prepared, working (not texting, computing, emailing, tweeting, etc.) during work hours, honoring your commitments to your superiors and coworkers.

This expectation also includes showing up for advising appointments and study groups, or cancelling in advance, managing your time by plotting schedules, being open and willing to change your mind (discovering new things) when necessary, taking risks in your striving to learn and asking for help when you need it and finding answers yourself when you can.

Remember, these form part of your job description.

One of the most rewarding parts of professors’ job is to be able to write letters of recommendation for students who move onto high-level jobs. We love to write about how our students mastered knowledge and skills, demonstrated proficiency, acquired and displayed the right attitude and behavior, went beyond the minimum requirements and achieved excellence. I would be more than glad to do this favor for each one of you in the near future.

This is our contract. We agree to agree on this and execute our respective obligations. Please study this by heart and commit this to your memory. I trust that this early portion of your profession will be a rewarding one.

Good luck, but more importantly, count your blessings because you have reached this part!