The Benefits of Cultural Events at College

Cultural events today are a dime a dozen in educational institutions in India and abroad. A college education experience offers the student, not only academic and social opportunities, but also a variety of other experiences Lectures, seminars, get-togethers, cultural festivals, social campus events, volunteer/community activities, conferences and career fairs, are some opportunities available to students today to network and create opportunities for themselves. These events further result into social and professional relationships with their contacts from the cultural event so that both can forge a win-win relationship among them.

At college, most parents expect their wards to work hard at their studies and do well in their exams. This is more emphasized if the exam is a career defining one like the 12th standard exams. Not many parents encourage their children to network through such social and cultural events at colleges, as they feel that these events are a waste of time for both the students and the colleges, but that is not the case. Invariably parents feel that the child’s attention will be diverted from studies if they take part in cultural and social events in their college.

However, the benefits of such events are many. There are five main reasons why students should take part in social and cultural events at college. These reasons are:

– They allow the students to connect to the resources available in their schools, tap the available resources to their benefit, as the onus of tapping on to college resources for their betterment and growth rests with the students. This can only be possible by becoming involved in cultural and social events held in college.

– It helps them build the community: Being involved in such events compels students to leave their families and at times their friends behind, work with a new set of people, who may later become their friends.

– It allows them to discover their passions and strengths: Taking part of getting involved will allow the students to gauge their passions, their skills, their opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. The knowledge of all these would help them decide their career after the college education.

– It’s a resume builder: Taking part in such events will add to the resume, that is to say, the student’s contribution will be written down in the resume as an extra-curricular activity, and it will be an achievement if he wins a prize at the event.

– Sometimes, busier kids do better in all areas: This largely depends upon the individual student and cannot be generalized for all the students, but it has been found that more free time does not always equal better grades. Being involved will involve some time management by the student, which will help him in managing bigger activities in his professional life.

Finding out one’s niche on campus can be easier said than done. However, it is only by doing or getting involved in various events and activities as participants or as volunteers can the students benefit both professionally and spiritually.