Is It Really Possible to Have It All? A How-to Guide for Balancing Your Academic and Social Life in College
The beginning of another academic year can bring new challenges in and out of the classroom. Finding the right balance between your education and social life is crucial for our Scholar’s success and overall well-being. So, how is this accomplished? Pushing yourself to get your dream career will give you a well-rounded understanding of the world and help you reach your highest potential. This experience will also develop your critical thinking skills, further your professional knowledge, and help you discover your values and overall development. Committing yourself to your education journey will pay off and allow you to grow into the best version of yourself. While your education is a top priority, it should not be a student’s only priority. Having a well-balanced social life alongside your studies will also help you enhance your personal growth and allow you to experience more of the world around you. A solid social life with your peers is pivotal to helping you acquire new skills that’ll teach you how to better navigate various areas of your life and develop the soft-skills that are much desired by employers.
Honing different strategies to allow you to stay productive, organized, and on top of your responsibilities is crucial in ensuring you remain balanced between your school and social life. Some strategies can include time management, study techniques, and even strategic socialization, which can help make this possible. Creating a weekly or monthly calendar to plan your weeks can help you better manage your time and visualize how you split your time. Set time aside to complete plan out sessions where you set realistic goals and priorities for each specific week. While everyone learns in different ways, various study techniques are also available. Learn what methods work best for you, whether group study sessions, interval studying (40 minutes of active work with 15-minute reset breaks between), utilizing your on-campus office hours, or even one-on-one sessions with tutors. The options are endless, and finding which works best with your schedule and study habits is the key to efficient study times.
Finding ways to socialize strategically will help you find people with the same interests and other similarities, which will help you form long-lasting relationships. This technique will also help you use your time efficiently, forcing you to prioritize quality over quantity. This enables you to find people with shared interests and can help you encourage each other and push you to meet your goals. While going through strenuous workloads, forming these relationships can provide extra social and academic support. So, how does one strategically socialize? Make sure to pre-plan your hang-out times (with your weekly or monthly calendar strategy) to use your time efficiently. Finally, managing stress is the pivotal strategy for balancing your academic and social lives. Don’t forget to breathe and get the complete picture of your experience. Whether you de-stress by reading, exercising, sleeping, meditating, or any other hobby, set time aside each week to complete your de-stressing activity. This will help you feel well-rested for the upcoming week and reset. Take a step back and find a plan to help you stay ahead of your schedule and on top of all events.
While balancing your social and academic life can be daunting, remember that you control your college experience. Utilizing these strategies can strengthen your journey! No one strategy will work for everyone, so take the time to reconnect with yourself and determine what works best for you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support from your teachers, counselors, and peers. One of the most rewarding parts about the KC Scholars program is that you will always have other individuals going through similar experiences. Lean on each other and find strength as a unit. At Great Jobs KC, you will always have someone in your corner; utilize your Scholar Advocate and other resources throughout your program. Check out our Postsecondary Network pages here _____ and see what other resources are available within your school!
Great Jobs KC is a Kansas City-based nonprofit that provides access to college scholarships and tuition-free job training, along with job placement assistance for young people from low- and modest-income families in the metropolitan area, providing a pipeline of talent for a strong regional workforce. Please join us on our mission for economic independence for all. For more information, visit www.greatjobskc.org.
The Kauffman Foundation’s generous grant helps Great Jobs KC get closer to its $100M goal, supporting 50,000 Kansas City residents with job training and education.
The Kauffman Foundation’s generous grant helps Great Jobs KC get closer to its $100M goal, supporting 50,000 Kansas City residents with job training and education.
Great Jobs KC Kansas City, Friday, March 1, 2024 – Great Jobs KC, through its
Stephanie Underwood serves as Chief Financial Officer at Great Jobs KC, where she leads the organization’s financial strategy in support of its mission to create economic mobility through education and workforce opportunities. With more than 17 years of experience in nonprofit finance, Stephanie brings deep expertise in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and compliance. She is passionate about using her career as a platform to serve and support mission-driven organizations, helping them maximize impact through strong financial stewardship.
Prior to joining Great Jobs KC, Stephanie served as Chief Financial Officer for Griffith Centers, a behavioral and mental health organization, where she oversaw financial operations for a multi-million-dollar organization spanning residential, educational, and community-based programs. She also spent nearly a decade as Vice President of Accounting Services at NFP Partners, providing CFO-level leadership to nonprofit organizations across the country, with a focus on strategic growth, audit readiness, and governance.
Outside of her professional role, Stephanie volunteers her time at her church and serves on the board of a local nonprofit. She is known for her collaborative leadership style and her commitment to aligning financial strategy with mission impact. She holds a Master of Science in Accounting and is proud to be a first-generation college graduate.
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As the Chief Operating Officer, Jimmy Swift is responsible for overseeing our core programs, our adult workforce development program, Great Jobs KC tuition-free job training, and our KC Scholars Scholarship Program, which includes 11th Grade Traditional Scholarships and Adult Learner Scholarships.
Jimmy has a career in education that spans more than 25 years and is built around supporting and improving the performance of career training programs and leading the operations of degree-granting institutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management and has served as Campus President, Vice President of Career Services, and Executive Director of various career schools.
Most recently, Jimmy served as the Vice President of PLA University at Phalen Leadership Academies, bringing access to job skill training to the parents and families of the Scholars served by Phalen Leadership schools across the country. Beyond his higher education experience, Jimmy serves as the Executive Board Chairman for Project Safety Net NY, a nonprofit community-based agency delivering a broad range of health, education, and prevention services to the New York Community. As the Chief Operating Officer for Great Jobs KC, he and his team are poised to make a substantial impact on the economic stability and future of Kansas City.
