This week, the guest at the Rose Cafe was Daniel R. Schwarz, author of several books.  He came to speak with us about how best to get through college with regards to preparing for our futures.  He highlighted things that we should each be thinking about in each of our four years here at Cornell, and then some overall things to keep in mind as we go through college.  One thing he mentioned at the end of his talk was the three R’s: Resistance, resourcefulness, resolve.  I thought these three things were very applicable to all of us here at Cornell, and probably to all students in college.  Being resistant when things get tough, being able to make it through difficult times.  Being resourceful when something is out of reach or otherwise unattainable easily.  And resolving to do something and actually doing it.

Some of the things he mentioned seemed to apply to me less because of the career path I currently find myself on.  I plan on entering the tech industry after graduation, and in that industry I don’t need recommendations or the specific interview skills mentioned in the talk.  But it was useful to hear about taking classes outside my major, and about some specific fields where I should absolutely have some expertise — writing, humanities, and computer skills.  I have the writing and computer skills, and I am trying to take one class per semester outside of my major to enrich my knowledge in the humanities.  This semester, for example, I’m taking a course in nautical archaeology.

I hope other people, especially sophomores, got as much out of this talk as I did.  Being a junior, I’ve already made it through half of my college career, and I wish I had heard some of this earlier on in my time at Cornell so I could have spent my time even better.