The average time spent in college is around four years. For most, those are the best years of their lives. There’s excitement, new beginnings, change, tears, laughter, new friends and an education. At the end of those years, you walk out with lifelong friendships and experiences that helped shape who you are today, and the knowledge that you’re going to be okay no matter where you go, because if you survived college, you can survive anything.

For me, that realization came a lot quicker. It came in three years. Graduation crept up on me quicker than I would have ever imagined. Exciting? Yes! Scary? Definitely! Sad? Only a little.

Only a little because I am leaving a place that taught me to be confident in who I am and showed me all the skills I had hidden away. CSU welcomed me as a freshman and made me a member of this family throughout my time here. There are so many aspects of CSU that encouraged me to be my best self and be proud of my work. I am so thankful for them all, but mostly the one that picked me my freshman year and helped me to find my passion for the job:

CSU Social Media.

First off, thank you! I’ve learned so much and everyone really invited me into a community where I could grow and learn more about social media for an institution of higher education.

Since I am part of the 2024 graduating class, I wanted to share a little piece of advice that I have learned during my time as a student co-creator.

1. Always apply

I had little-to-no experience in creating content for a brand or anything other than myself. I, of course, had my own Instagram and during the pandemic I started posting on my TikTok more, but I really only did it for myself occasionally. When this position became available, I thought it was a cool job because making vertical video for your school sounds like so much fun (which it is). However, I was unsure about applying. I didn’t think I had that much experience or skills to do this job well. I sat on the application for probably two weeks and then I thought, hey, trying never hurt anyone. Sure enough, I was right. Not only did I get the job but I have learned so much about social and digital media, and fine-tuned my skills in media. So always apply, even if you’re hesitant, because you never know the opportunities that await you.

2. Find a company you want to work for and you can grow your skills on the job

Sometimes it’s more about the people than it is the job. You know the skills you have, or maybe you aren’t as confident as you’d like to be, but that’s okay. If you can find a company that you agree with and feel like they will support you, then you might as well go for the position. After my interview with CSU Social, I realize that they were willing to support me in my learning, along with provide me an opportunity to grow my skills, which made it clear that this was something I wanted to work for.

3. It’s okay to feel burnt out

Being creative constantly can be a lot.

Burnout is definitely a thing when it comes to content creation. Having to be creative and come up with new ideas while still staying up to date with trends can be difficult to do nonstop. Know that it is okay to know what your limits are and be able to take a break from that, but then come back ready to produce content again. It comes down to that work/life balance, and especially as a student doing social media, your well-being is very important. So just communicate where you’re at and know that it is totally fine to take a break when needed.

4. Ask for more opportunities

You never know what you are going to be able to do if you don’t ask. This is probably my biggest piece of advice. Not only did I get the opportunity to create content for CSU’s TikTok, but I asked if there was more I could do and sure enough, there was. I got to run CAM the Ram’s social media accounts, I got to do analytics for CSU’s TikTok, along with making graphics for Instagram and so many other things. If I didn’t ask, I might not have ever gotten those experiences. So ask questions, ask for more opportunities, ask for ways that you can grow your skills. If you feel confident in what you’re doing, try another thing out.

These four pieces of advice are just little things I picked up on during my time here. I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience. I was so fortunate to be part of this school and get to represent it in so many different ways. Good luck to those who come after me, I know you’re going to be great.

Thanks, Social and Digital Media and Colorado State University.