How College Students Cope

If you haven’t read Thomas L. Friedman’s book, The World is Flat 3.0, having to do a comparison between a company and a college student might seem deviant and even lead to a few or no significant similarities. On the other hand, anyone who has read Friedman’s book and understands his viewpoint on how much technology has impacted our world would agree that they have much more in common when it comes to thinking globally about technology and the future.

Today, a company can no longer be successful being “vanilla” (474) when “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or Cherry Garcia, or Chunky Monkey” (474) companies are doing everything they are better, faster, and cheaper. As Friedman demonstrates in Rule #9 of the chapter titled “How Companies Cope,” the speed with which technology transformed business procedures around the world has surprised many companies and led them to work harder just in order to be at the same level of an equally qualified company or individual. They not only have to work harder, but they also have to do so knowing they will most likely not make a bigger profit since it becomes an expectation of the customer for doing business with them. Knowing then that their services can now be done by anyone anywhere, a successful company must “reach for a shovel and dig inside [themselves]” (469) to find out what makes them “totally unique” (474).

The educational journey of a college student towards their ideal career can reveal to be interrelated to the challenges and strategies companies have to undertake in order to survive in today’s flat world. Just as a company continues to improve their tools and services so that they won’t be left behind in the global market, more and more students are continuing their education beyond high school in order to have better opportunities in life and ultimately not be left behind with an undesirable job. For example, nowadays after graduating from high school it is expected that you go to college and at least obtain an undergraduate degree. Even at my high school, where the majority of the student population was of a Hispanic background, most of us were going to college, even if it was a community college, because we knew it was essential if we wanted a better lifestyle than that of our parents. However, with more and more students going to college, not just in our country but worldwide, it isn’t enough if you want to have as many doors of opportunity open when it comes to securing your future. At Southwestern, as in many colleges, getting accepted into college is just not enough to make you a better individual. I have realized that now with more students attending college, GPA’s become more important, community service or other types of school participation are no longer optional but strongly encouraged, and knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life become significantly more important. Before when people would ask me what I wanted to do after college I could tell them I wanted to go to medical school to become a doctor knowing it required years of college but never really realized how much work that would require. Now that I am at Southwestern, I am frequently asked what my major is or what I want to do after college and as I reply I am reminded of the effort that will be required since many other students have the same future plans. Also, what happened in high school is no longer of important significance. College is on a whole new level where you can no longer be on top without doing your best on everything. You have to be more determined and realize that everyone is also working just as hard or harder than you. And just as there are companies who can’t withstand the pressures of how business is done today, there are college students who unfortunately can’t handle the increased workload and drop out.

In order to stand out among the crowd and thrive in any kind of environment, whether it be to increase revenue or make a successful career, going beyond the normal expectations and finding out what makes you different from the rest is what will ultimately keep you from becoming a “vanilla” (474) among “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or Cherry Garcia, or Chunky Monkey” (474). Doing so is not so simple as change is not always easy, but in the long run, when you look back and see how far you’ve gone you can realize it was worth it and necessary in an environment where only the best succeed.