No matter the time of the semester, whether the beginning or nearing the end, it is never too late to be even more connected to campus than simply being a student. Whether it is attending recruitment for a Greek Life organization, considering intramural and club teams, joining a group of interest that relates to a major, or simply creating your own. There is more to college experience than the classroom. According to US News, there are five reasons for getting involved.

It allows students to become connected to their school:

The University of Akron is full of resources, but the responsibility is on the student to seek them out. Being involved helps connect students to endless opportunities. Utilize OrgSync, which is located on My Akron or ask your advisor for further instruction on how to.

It helps students build community:

Since students are leaving their family and sometimes their friends behind back home, getting involved helps them discover new friends with similar interests. It also makes the university feel whole, everyone is somehow connected and being involved becomes second nature.

It allows students to discover their passions and strengths:

These will follow students throughout life. It allows them to discover what they don’t like as well.

It’s a resume builder:

Freshman year is not too soon to begin thinking about positioning yourself for future employment. Overall, you are attending college to land some sort of job position post graduation.

Sometimes, busier students do better in all areas:

This will vary a lot by the student, of course, but more free time does not always equal better grades. Being involved will require some organization and time management on the part of the student—and that’s a good thing.

In the long run, strengthening these passions and creating new ones as a student will increase potential opportunities and spark interests you never knew existed. Many experiences will be rewarding and will teach students a thing or two about the realities of life post graduation. It does not hurt to pick up the student newspaper, read the cork bulletins you may walk past in the hallways, or stop at the organization booths in the Student Union to learn more. Being connected leads to great things.