We have finally arrived at part III of this blog which covers the varied goals each one of us walks into university with. Here we offer tips on how to make the most of multiple aspects of our journey on the way to finding our “why”. To see what we can do to make the most of our time at LSE to discover ourselves and our future. Through this blog, we explore this through the lens of “your community”. In Part I of the blog, we explored the angle of “career” and in Part II, we examined “exploring interests and likes”.
I need to start this out with a huge disclaimer. This is written from the lens of an amateur to a co-student. For life advice, or career guidance, please visit a professional. This will consist of some practical tips which will have to go hand-in-hand with thorough reflection, exposure, experience, conversations and networking, amidst a host of other things.
Network
Similar to what was spoken about in Part I of this series, networking is a great way to connect with people from a field similar to or the same as ours, and equally importantly, from fields different from ours. It is a great way to make lasting connections and form bonds in order to understand more about our field, and interconnections with other fields, amidst a host of other things.
Before we know it, lo and behold, we have made an ecosystem of support for ourselves! This is a great way to start (or continue) our career on the right foot – building a network of professionals and friends whom we might fall back on through career (and personal) highs and lows. The LSE student blogs have a few blogs that can help you with networking.
Connect with peers
This is one of my favourite bits. Speaking of networking, how can one forget the importance and significance of our peers! They form such an integral part of our LSE lives and, who knows, an integral part of our lives going forward as well! The LSE student blogs contain some great tips on creating and sustaining bonds with peers, no matter how small the time spent is. This is a worthy investment – you never know when you might find your intellectual/spiritual/romantic soulmate!
Cultural exchange
Given the proclivity for LSE to select and nurture diverse individuals, odds are, the course you go to can be very diverse. For an international student like me, this was a lovely change. The exposure one gets to international cultures, mindsets and thought processes ends up changing our perspective on a multitude of things and will reflect in the way one works going forward. So, smell the roses when you can!
Accommodation, parties, and soirees are good ways to go to
A final tip to get this into action: attend as many events as you can grab a hold of (while making sure your priorities are set right, eg. I have never missed a deadline for a project or turned up tired to a presentation). Your year(s) at LSE will hold multiple opportunities to attend events (both professional and not) and the best way to get out of your comfort zone, is to just attend them. Now, granted, this might not be something for everyone, so take a calculated decision. For our introverts in town, a potential alternative could be connecting 1-1 with colleagues, speakers, etc.
At the end of the day, a worthwhile investment of time is to get yourself a “community” – a set of people you can fall back on. As corny as this may sound, this will get you through some tough times both inside and outside of LSE.
And with that, we come to the end of the three-part series on what to do to make the most of your time at LSE. I hope some of these tips were helpful and wish you all the very best for your year(s) and term(s) ahead!
