I didn’t have the typical journey through school; it took me 11 years from start to finish to get my business degree. I’m sure many of you can relate to the extracurriculars being the reason you showed up; for me, those were sports and music. The classroom was a distant 3rd in high school, and it continued in college. I left to pursue building a business and learning by being hands-on. While the conversation about college vs. work is louder than ever, it was my personal decision, and I ended up back in the classroom 7 years later.
My traditional learning path was broken, but it made the second go at college even more valuable for me. Having experience made theories and lectures very easy to absorb because I could see where they could be applied. I feel like I refined my skills by getting back into the classroom. The top things I got out of my degree wouldn’t have happened if I had stuck around at the beginning. I had purpose. I had goals. I wanted to accomplish something by being on campus.
Friends
I heard about the preferential treatment given to classmates or other alumni during hiring, and I see why now. There is a bond that I have with friends from my BBA that I know will automatically be on the same page when we get on the phone or meet up. We just get it. I should be clear on this, it’s not buddies from hanging out between classes, these are connections that have been developed from class projects, competitions, and it goes beyond just other students. It’s being connected with your professors, teaching assistants, etc. They are connections that I can call on for anything.
Refined knowledge base
Being hands-on gives you experience that is unmatched. Many people need to learn by being hands-on and cannot absorb skills or knowledge any other way. Having that action to go and do something is a skill in itself. However, doing things gives you bias to the environment that you are working in. For me, there were too many things that I could not have marketed or pitched prior to going back to school. I didn’t know how to use the information outside of the way we did it in our business.
For example, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces were eye-opening for me. I was aware of frameworks and standards, but I didn’t know how to use them. I would make the same mistake over and over again; blending strengths and opportunities (thinking opportunities were only internal), weaknesses and threats, while being overly optimistic. My professors explained that it’s natural to do that, but it’s wrong. It doesn’t give a full perspective.
Leaving school, I can use these and many other frameworks to create a balanced, logical, and universal strategy for my clients. Without school, I would still be pitching completely incorrectly and probably get laughed out of a room. I’m not saying you need to go to university to learn these things, but I did.
Understanding my strengths
As adults, we have more freedom and choice than ever before in our lives. This typically leads people to find their own identity and independence. But it also allows for the avoidance of things that we don’t want to do. Your mom isn’t around, asking you to clean up your room or reminding you to do the dishes. You have choices. Being in school forced me to come back and do things that I was uncomfortable with. I couldn’t avoid completing an assignment or project. I was forced to put time into studying what can be some awfully dry reading.
This helped me appreciate my strengths even more. Focusing on the things that I can do well and better than my peers is where my value is greatest. I know I am great with business strategy. I enjoy speaking and presenting, and am asked to speak to groups about marketing and business. I love to coach and have learned that it can be applied outside of sports. Coaching the case competition teams was extremely rewarding. To simply put it, I like to absorb, analyze, and share.
Remove Excuses and Doubt
Sure, I’m a confident person, but before arriving back in the classroom, I didn’t know what was holding me back in certain situations. I could have done a quick comparison with colleagues and seen that the university folks were getting ahead. Going back to school removed that doubt and squashed all excuses that I was being overlooked or was missing opportunities. I don’t think this is a very positive point, but it is the truth. I needed school as a confidence boost to remove all excuses possible about succeeding. Finishing school gave me realistic confidence in my abilities after testing them in the collegiate environment.
Reignited my Competitive Spirit
The best extracurricular activity for me was the Competition Club. I was able to compete in case competitions and business simulations that brought me back to my basketball days. Being in the environment was awesome. Sure, winning helps, but as an athlete, seeing how you can utilize your brain to win was amazing to me. I couldn’t have experienced this without having the opportunity to represent my school across Canada.
Secondly, in my final year, coaching three teams and sharing my experience was very rewarding. One of those teams won their competition, and the other two placed extremely well. These were moments away with friends, teammates, fellow competitors, and coaches that will forever be a cherished memory from college.
Competition Brings Out Our Very Best.
Going back to school gave me an edge. I’m glad that I took the time to get my degree. It was music to the ears of my family members, who cried when I left in the first place. But it was for me. I was there because I wanted to be. I wanted to succeed and prove to myself that there was a better version of Chris after graduation.