Joseph Overman

4-21-15

Op-Ed Article

More Than a Degree

Now a days, so much emphasis is placed on higher education and it's lasting effect on people.

The attention that it gets is not without good reason. Without a college degree it is twice as likely that a

person will be unemployed which means less income and a overall lower quality of life. The rigorous

challenges faced in college help prepare students for their futures. These challenges help students

discover who they are and how they work in a whole new way. A college education matters for so

much more than a degree, it matters because it is the crucible that will determine who a person will be

for the rest of their life.

For most college students, college is the first time that they will have had to do many things on

their own. The challenges that are faced are daunting for many students and for them college is a time

in which they may struggle to get a hold of themselves and some of them may even crack under the

pressure. The pressure comes form everything. Academics, which are far more demanding than those

in high school, are often a challenge for students. In truth the academics are not a huge obstacle by

themselves but when everything else is added on top of that is when the real challenge begins.

While in school there are so many different things for students to juggle that it can become

overwhelming. Classes, work, studying, and socializing are among the many challenges faced my

students. They can all pile up on top of each other creating a mountain of stress for students. College is

one big test. Everything that must be done in order to pass are like test questions. It is a test to see if

students can handle the challenges of life that await them after they graduate. By overcoming the

challenges that are presented in college students not only learn what they need to academically but also

learn the skills required for life.

When getting a job, a college degree is important because it makes a job applicant more

desirable to the employer. They are desired for more than just their degree. They are desired because of

the qualities that they gained while they were in college. The skills that they have mean that they are

more suited to the stresses and challenges that they might encounter while working in a professional

environment.

Living away from one's parents for the first time can be a new and shocking experience. College

students are thrown into a totally unknown situation and made to live with complete strangers. Living

with strangers makes people adjust to other people's habits and learn to accept differences. By doing

this, students learn necessary skills for the business world. In the real world people must work around

obstacles to accomplish there goals even if those obstacles are other people.

While at college a person develops their independence. They learn how to do many things on

their own without their parents doing many of the basic things for them. For me that has been the most

difficult part of college. Doing basic things on my own has been a huge challenge but once I adjusted to

doing them I have felt myself grow a an individual. I feel that the skills that I developed while in

college will help me for the rest of my life.

College is for more than a degree. It helps mold people into hard working, independent, and self

motivated individuals. By forcing people to be independent they learn the skills needed for life not by

choice but by necessity. In college students learn the material so that they can do the job that they want

but they also learn to be independent, free thinking, and how to work well with others so that they can

function in a professional working environment.