Year Two: Identify and Prepare

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the transition to college and are now ready to start your second year. During your second year you will be making choices about academic options and other aspects of your college career. Now is the time to seek leadership roles in extracurricular activities and build your academic career.

The following activities should be completed by the end of the year:

Academics

Consider education abroad

Talk to your academic advisor about the value of studying abroad and how to fit it into your program.
Attend the Education Abroad Fair to learn more about study abroad destinations, application process and scholarships.
Talk to other students that have studied abroad.

Excel in interior design or fashion studies core classes

Monitor your grades and performance in the program on an on-going basis
Retake courses as needed
Your GPA is not everything but DOES matter!

Professional Development

Select activities to build skills for success visit the Career Center for options, see examples below:

Leadership

Identify job shadowing, internship or other relevant work experience opportunities

Connect with the Career Center to explore opportunities
Seek opportunities that will give you early exposure to your intended career field to assure a good fit between your interests, values, skills, goals and expectations of anticipated field
Gain experiences that will make your more competitive for future internships and jobs

Seek out leadership roles within an organization or activity

Leverage your previous experiences and secure leadership roles with the IDFS Department
Commit to one or two activities as depth and quality of your activities will make more of a difference in the future than quantity of activities
Pursue opportunities that are related to your major and career goals

Engage in community service

Broaden your experiences and give back to the community
Make yourself more marketable as companies place importance on civic involvement and leadership
Expand your network of professional contacts