CAMP Blog "Welcome" To all the new students: welcome. Welcome to Rapid City, welcome to the School of Mines, welcome to the future. I say welcome to the future because you are creating it—you are on your own and paving your own trail. You are traipsing through the wilderness in search of something greater. Maybe you know what that something is, maybe you don’t. Either way, this is where it starts. If you know right now that you want a career working on Boeing 747 navigation systems, great. Most of us, however, have only an inkling of what we want to do. Many of us have no idea. Regardless, it is important to keep an open mind and remain observant. My freshman year I was dead set on pursuing a career in the automotive industry. I wanted to work on high performance vehicles. I sought to live the high performance life style. I desired get through engineering school in 3.5 years, to start my career running, to advance through the ranks quickly. Although I “knew” this was what I wanted to do, I kept an open mind. I listened to the stories of upper classmen, whether they were pursuing automotive careers or training to be Army officers. Whenever I got the chance to listen to an entrepreneur, a design engineer, or a venture capitalist, I clung to their words like kids to candy. I extrapolated every bit of wisdom and knowledge I could. I am sooooo glad I did. Why? Am I sure that I want to work in the auto industry anymore? Do I want to limit myself to that one industry? To one primary geographic location? Heck no! However, if I had been narrow minded my first two years at Mines, focused only on automotive engineering, and didn’t listen openly to my classmates, mentors, and professionals, I would feel stuck. I’d lack experience that could help me in numerous disciplines. So many bits of advice, so many lessons, would have been lost. So to all of you new students, remain open minded. Stay observant. Learn from those around you, and listen to those with more experience. You don’t have to follow everything as you hear it, but pack it into your memory. Adapt others’ experiences to suit your life, and create your own path. Create your future. It starts now.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:49:33 +0000
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