Maintaining a 3.7 GPA while being on the executive board of a club, having a paid position in an extracurricular activity, making the deans list every semester and taking five classes at a time is difficult, but not impossible. My first year of college at Southern Connecticut State University was jam-packed with responsibilities aside from the piles of homework assigned by my professors. Thanks to my time management skills, I've been able to stay successful through my busy schedule. My dedication to joining clubs started before I even arrived at my university. As a journalism major, I wanted to emerge myself into the craft outside of regular classes. The summer before my freshman year I reached out to two professors to learn more about two clubs pertaining to journalism. While most people spend the season relaxing and turning off their brains, I was looking for opportunities to grow as an aspiring journalist. The Society of Professional Journalist club and our school's award winning magazine “Crescent” was the perfect fit for me. I was so eager to be a part of these organizations not only on a member level but as a leader, so eager I became secretary of SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) during the first meeting. Being a secretary bettered my people skills, communication skills, note-taking skills and tech skills. Eventually, at the start of my second semester, I was able to attain a paid position as Co-Features editor for the universities magazine. Being able to fill leadership positions was very rewarding. It made me feel important and grateful people trusted me to lead them to success. This upcoming semester I will be the president of SPJ and I’m looking forward to the responsibilities the position holds. Coming from someone who has never missed an assignment, joining clubs will not affect your grades if done correctly. On the contrary, it helps you make connections and stay busy, leaving little room for trouble. To handle a heavy workload from class and from extra-curricular activities you need to plan your time correctly. Something that helped me manage my time efficiently was making a plan of action for the day as soon as I woke up. This daily ritual helps me know how much time I have to spend on different tasks. Another tactic was doing my assignments as soon as they were given to me. The more you let things pile up or “snowball” the more difficult it is to get the task at hand done. Time management is something so dear to me, I wrote my college essay about it. It’s an extremely important skill to attain during and post-college. A college education is one thing, but universities offer a plethora of other opportunities besides class assignments. Getting involved in clubs offered by SCSU has helped me evolve into a better student and person.