“What does the process of
‘becoming a graduate’ mean for a university student?, what are the graduate
attributes and how to get them?“ This is what I was asked to present at a recent interview for the scholar position for the Greenwich Graduate Student Network
(GGSN).
Maybe 10 years ago it was enough
to get a University degree to secure yourself a very good job, but nowadays
there are nearly two million undergraduate students going to university each year! Therefore, having even a 1st class honours degree will not necessarily
secure you a job. Employers are looking for graduates
with a bunch of other skills; skills that are not usually developed as part of
their degree course, but from various other activities, such as volunteering,
part time work, even belonging to a society or sport club may give you a lot of
skills, if you know how to recognise these skills and are able to present them to
others.
But for me the first example coming to my mind of an activity giving the
most experience and skills is TABLEtalk. It is not just a meeting happening every Tuesday night; it becomes part of
everyone’s life. You always meet the same people on campus, during the World Café,
you go together on trips, gather for the Bring & Share in Lynne's house or
for Sunday lunch in other local people’s homes. If you still have energy, you
are always welcome to volunteer in local community events! All these people
become not just your friends, but they become your family.
And all this
is not just about having fun. By learning about British and other cultures that
the different students represent, by playing games together and sometimes even
going out of your comfort zone when presenting your opinion or delivering a
talk on the specific subject you are given – you develop skills such as team
work, communication, public speaking, critical thinking. We become more
tolerant and open minded, we learn to distinguish cultural differences and
adapt to them, we improve as people and it definitely contributes to the
successful future, if … you want it.
So if you
want to become an exceptional graduate, develop a lot of skills needed for your
future job, if you want to meet an army of new people from countries you might
have never heard of, if you want to find a new family here, at Medway, while
being away from your own – TABLEtalk,
World Café, Bring & Share lunches are the events that should never be
missed.
