Kiley Wellendorf | Contributing Writer

I have less than a month left at Buena Vista.

Something that I have found in myself is the desire to want to be more engaged; to grow more and somehow learn something fulfilling before I leave. I have thirty days left to learn a new language. To become involved in choir. To study political science. To get a 100% on a Math test. (Ha.) There is so much left that I have to do. Or at least, feel like I’ve fulfilled my time as a college student.

So I want to let you in on a little secret, one that many told me in the past and one that shaped my experience at Buena Vista: get involved.

I was so, so shy my freshmen year, but I knew in my heart that I wanted to write a lot and meet new faces. During my freshmen year, I was invited to write for The Tack ONLINE and shortly after, I made friends with people I sat across in my class. It gave me peace of mind, and later I began to dive into more into my passion, spider-webbing into different projects along the way. So I started as a blogger, led into an Editor turned Co-Editor and now I’m sort of floating in the midst of the paper. As someone who never felt like much of a leader, it was pretty crazy to take over this small paper alongside my best friend, Stephanie Steiner, and I feel like we sort of weaved our way through it with the help of others.

You see, when you become involved, whether that’s throwing a ball into a hoop, running to the finish line, or tackling someone – you’re making an impact somehow. Did I ever think that running for a leadership role would be in my cards? Absolutely not. But I started to follow what my friends were doing and I decided that my time would feel wasted if I didn’t challenge myself in more ways than pulling all-nighters for exams and making it through a Tuesday/Thursday 8AM without shutting my eyes at least once.

During my freshmen year, I also signed up for Orientation Team. (Well, I was sort of pressured by a few friends, but it’s a decision that I carried out the rest of my time at BVU.) Approaching O-Team as a senior is sort of bizarre because I realized that I welcomed-in every class below myself. Which, for me, means that whenever I see you with your friends today, I also flashback to the scared senior in high school I once saw. I got the chance to look you in the face when you didn’t know what it was like to become a college athlete, or who your friend groups would lead into, or even when you told me how you would double-major in Biology and Chemistry. (I probably cringed – sorry.) Like I said before, I never really considered myself to be someone who leads a group of students to act silly on a stage and meet friends, but certain people in my life inspired me to make others feel safe and at home. (So that’s why I always talked so much whenever I gave you a temporary tour of campus or encouraged you to participate in the Beaver Train. Trust me, I was embarssed to do it once.)

So, yeah, I get it – you’re busy as a college student. I have felt busy every single year, but I decided that it was okay to sit in meetings for an hour a week. I was happy to meet people from different majors and develop inside jokes along the way. Being involved in organizations meant that I had another safe spot, besides my room or now suite. It meant that I had friends to sit with at lunch if my suitemates were busy, or friends to study with because they happened to be in the same class. I got the chance to know professors on another level and I challenged myself to volunteer within the community. I think I grew. Actually, I know that I grew.

While first semester means the end of my college career, it could still be the beginning of yours. I’ve had seniors tell me in the past that college flies by so fast, that friendships change, and you become tired of the same routines. Of course that happens though, who else remembers being “so done” with high school? The same pattern tends to flow later on.

My “senior advice” is just simple: involve yourself. Test yourself. Test your friendships. Try something new. Volunteer in Storm Lake. Add a space for your resume. Fill your resume, even!

I used to think that there was so much time, that four years would last a lifetime. Trust me, they don’t. Make the most of your time here. (There’s still so much I want to do.)