I played softball in high school and my coach consistently repeated one mantra: “Small ball wins games.” It’s the little, seemingly insignificant, actions we do that actually give us the greatest victories. I have carried this idea with me throughout my academic and pre-professional career, and I truly believe it has made the difference.
Of course, it is equally essential to keep the big picture in mind throughout college. Always focus ahead to your dream job and make sure you are staying on track to get there! Take the right courses, get those internships, and keep those grades up as best as you can. These are key points to succeeding in college and everybody knows it. That’s what I call big ball. Small ball is digging deeper.
Rarely missing lecture and taking notes: big ball. Rarely missing lecture, sitting in the first five rows and truly being able to not look at Instagram for the 50 to 75 minutes of every class: small ball. I assure you the material will stick. Introducing yourself to your professor after the first class so he or she can make your face to your name: big ball. Consistently attending office hours whether that is once a week or once a semester to continue those relationships: small ball. (Network, network, network!) Attending meetings and/or lectures you are interested in: big ball. Attending meetings and/or lectures you may not think you are interested in but decide to attend anyway: small ball. You never know when something new can spark interest in you.
As we have heard time and time again as Communications majors, we do not have jobs waiting for us on the other side simply by obtaining a shiny college degree. Getting jobs in our field requires initiative and the way to initiate is to be ahead of the game. Start thinking of the little things: reviewing notes when you already know the material, researching a company’s history before listening to a guest speaker in case you get a chance to network, and having a firm handshake as opposed to a just ‘okay’ one. Big ball finishes the game. Small ball wins it.
By: Sydney Scheiner
Sydney is a sophomore, communication interest major from Old Bridge, New Jersey. She is the incoming Program Director for PRSSA-UD and also serves as the Communications Chair for Lori’s Hands, Inc., in addition to being a Blue Hen Ambassador. Sydney is looking to pursue a career in entertainment.
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