Last week, I wrote about the importance of getting involved on campus and at work.  Getting first-hand experience in a certain field does not only enhance your resume, but also your skill set, interview material, and mindset. Employers are increasingly making leadership skills a higher and higher priority in their potential future employees. And for that reason student organizations dedicated to providing their students with leadership training are appearing all over college campuses.

During my freshman year, I joined the National Society of Leadership and Success- UCSB chapter. In order to gain the benefits offered by the Society, there was a set ofrequirements that I, along with all other hopeful members, had to complete before becoming a full member. They include attending three video broadcasts during which professionals, entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers give advice to college students and future leaders; partaking in three success networking team meetings, in which small groups of students discuss their goals and achievements; and one leadership training day, which includes a variety of lessons and activities. Once these requirements are fulfilled, members have access to the website’s resources, letters of recommendation, and an exclusive job bank. Most importantly, we have been provided with professional leadership training that will be a great asset in any future endeavor.

In order to enhance this training, I took on leadership roles within the organization. During my sophomore year, I became the co-promotions coordinator with one of my friends. We were responsible for creating advertisements for our events and distributing/posting them around campus. Having only a light load of responsibilities was a great way to ease myself into a position of leadership. However, it proved to be a great introduction into what running an organization means and how to pull off successful events.

The following year, I became president of the Society. In this role, I learned more about successful communication, event planning, leadership skills, and organizational skills than I had in any other position I had previously occupied. Throughout the year, I maintained contact with our campus’ members, other officers, our faculty advisors, and representatives of the national office. I helped envision and execute fundraisers, weekly meetings, and the end-of-the-year induction ceremony. I scheduled a sufficient number of broadcasts, success networking team meetings, and leadership training days to ensure that pending members would have enough opportunities to complete their requirements during a ten-week quarter. All in all, I feel that I gained a great deal of experience from which I will benefit in the future.

I really believe that the best way to learn about anything is to actually experience it. Engaging in an activity, whatever it may be, will always be the most efficient and effective way of understanding it. While it can be quite easy to forget something that you heard or read, it is usually far more unlikely to do so with a skill or talent you learned through first-hand experience with it. So, keep in mind that simply joining a group will never be as beneficial as actually attending all of the events or taking on a position of leadership. Next time you join a campus organization remember to get truly involved in its vision, meetings, and activities.