Did you leave your motivation behind in the summer—perhaps on the beach? You are not alone! Being away from campus for the summer and coming back to a school routine can pose a challenge for returning students; however, the quicker students can get into the rhythm of university life, the sooner they will feel energized again. Studies show that detaching from schoolwork for the summer brings several benefits: the ability to relax, reflect, recharge, and reconfigure. Yet sometimes sophomores, juniors, and seniors—especially the latter—have trouble getting started again, for various reasons—the thought of preparing for exams and research papers can seem overwhelming, and taking certain courses that they are not particularly excited about or that may not be useful to their actual degree is difficult. In addition, seniors are already thinking about graduation and, in some cases, actively looking for permanent jobs. These things create a degree of anxiety. It can be taxing to have to turn your brain back on for college life, and students may have to convince themselves that the work they are doing is worth the effort.
Studies on this topic show that the best way to feel excited about one or two more years in college is for students to establish a routine right away and become involved in university social life as soon they step on campus to start a new semester. Volunteering is another way to feel connected again to the campus community and the community at large, plus it’s a great opportunity to release the normal stresses of daily life in college. The benefits of volunteering are countless, and there are social, emotional, physical, and professional perks.
WMU Registered Student Organizations (RSO) offer countless opportunities to do volunteer work at the same time that you connect with people who share your interests; the Food Pantry on campus (offering help to students with unmet food needs) is always looking for student volunteers as well. In addition, colleges offer numerous possibilities for students to get involved: you only need to contact their office, and they will direct you to the proper channels. The benefit of helping others reminds me of an article I read about the groundbreaking work of forest ecologist Suzanne Simmard (see the Dean’s Corner of January 25, 2021). I just recently became reacquainted with that story in a podcast episode of “On Being,” a National Public Radio program hosted each weekend by Krista Tippett, which I highly recommend to you. It presents a fascinating and inspiring interview with Dr. Simmard (listen here).
Professor Simmard has proved that forests are a complex network of collaborative systems. They thrive because every tree is linked to every other tree. Trees help each other through mutuality and reciprocity, which make the forest a dynamic place, just like our societies. Her findings have changed the view that trees compete among themselves to survive. Even more interesting was her finding that the oldest and more established trees were the hubs of the network. The new trees in a forest germinated because of the subsidies they got from the established ones—carbon, nitrogen, water. In many ways, campus life exemplifies a flourishing forest ecosystem in that we all come together to help each other. What an opportunity for the returning students to establish a link to freshman students or those who, for whatever reason, need a caring push to continue on the path of excellence. So, be part of the web of vitality that moves the WMU community forward!