You’ll only be a student at Chico State once in your lifetime, so don’t wait till it’s too late to make the most out of your college experience. Here’s a guide to prevent post-graduation regret and help you achieve academic fulfillment.

Work like a dog, intern like a boss
Interning in your planned career field is arguably the best thing you can do during college. Reaping benefits galore, an internship provides you with a kick-start on learning the ropes of your future career, readies you with an abundance of skills, counts towards college credit, and builds confidence and good work habits.

Don’t let unpaid internships in college deter you from doing them. Employers are rapidly hiring the fresh college graduates who did internship programs over those who did not, plus the experience of interning is increasingly becoming a factor for higher pay wages.

Befriend your professors
Despite the ridiculously hard exams and inhumane amount of assigned readings, your professors actually want you to succeed in life and it would be wise of you to get to know them outside of class.

Office hours aren’t designated specifically for getting help, utilize this one-on-one time with your professors to gain insight and advice that they may have from their own personal experiences. That student-educator bond is invaluable for your success in the class, and you never know what kind of connections you’ll make.

Branch out with electives
Although pathways are beneficial for earning your major, they are dangerous to your well-rounded education. Break away from your strict required courses, and use your electives to enroll in something vastly different.

Sign up for a yoga class, take a glass-blowing course, or learn how to ballroom dance. You’ll meet different types of people and not get burned out by your major before you reach senior year.

Leave a lasting impression
It’s hard not to just go through the daily motions of school, but don’t be one of those ghost students who float through their four years and graduate without a trace.

We’re in college, we’re suppose to be rebellious and challenge the world around us, so why not be the person who changes how a class is taught? Persuade your professor into teaching class on the lawn outside of Glenn Hall, or down a cup of coffee before your 9:00 a.m. lecture so that you’re amped up and ready to spark a lively class debate. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Valerie Teegardin can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.