The Unusual

The best class I have ever taken at the University of Miami wasn’t a class at all. In fact, I think that classes are the least important academic facet of University life. Don’t get me wrong. I study my ass off, and take my grades very seriously. What I mean is that there are more important things that students can do, academically, outside of class.

A substantial part of the school’s endowment goes toward attracting guest lecturers. Every single week, there is some major presentation being done by some major speaker somewhere on campus. The best part is that you generally don’t have to belong to any particular school to attend these presentations. I for instance, am a Business Law – Ecosystem Science & Policy Major double major. I have a far wider range of academic interest than can be covered by the classes I take for those two majors. Thanks to the tuition I pay, I can have it all! Thus far I have heard the Dalai Lama speak, I have attended lectures made by small and big time entrepreneurs,  lawyers, and I have seen other students present research projects that they have spent years working on. In fact, just this morning, I attended a seminar by the South Florida Water Management District.

There are competitions, too, to benefit from. Last year, there was a Business Plan Competition that I took part in. The prize for the winner was $10,000. Each team, whether an individual or group, spent the entire year putting together a business plan, and presented it in front of a panel of judges. Essentially, that competition wraps up everything that you will ever learn in the business school, and puts it into a practical setting.

The least effective way of benefitting from college is by simply going to class.