Over the last six months I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work as a Career Coach with the undergraduate students at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. During this time, I’ve helped them write resumes and cover letters, negotiate offers, and develop networking strategies.

When I think of what I’ve learned about them, three words come to mind:

Resilience

Appreciation

Determination

Resilience is the ability to recover quicky from difficult situations.

These students entered college expecting it to be a fun and four years. They anticipated, meeting new friends, interacting with professors, and joining clubs to meet new people and develop leadership skills in preparation for their future. It is often some of the best time in a person’s life.

Then suddenly Covid hits.

Imagine being in your last year of college when you’re told that you have to take all your classes online. All of your college activities either goes virtual or gets cancelled.

As I worked with the students, I noticed that I didn’t sense any major disappointment or residual challenges. They had adapted to these unexpected changes with resilience!

Appreciation is feeling or showing gratitude.

The second thing I learned about the students (to be honest, I was surprised!) was how appreciative they were about my help. After our meetings, they all thanked me. I received many comments about how helpful it was to them. Many sent me follow-up emails thanking me again for my time and mentioned specifically how I helped them in our meeting.

Students continued to follow up with me to let me know how they did in the interview, and how they used my advice. I’m excited to see them fostering these important behaviors early in their careers!

Determination is processing or displaying resolve.

The last thing that I’ve learned from the students is they never give up. Questrom students are known to be smart, go-getters, competitive, and high achievers. They are expected to have high GPAs upon graduation.

But not all students entering their last year have that expected high GPA so they struggle to remain competitive, and they know it. Instead of accepting their situation, they met with me to talk over their plan to get it higher.

There are many reasons why their GPA might be low, yet I never heard any student use their specific situation as an excuse. Instead, they wanted to go over their plan and get feedback about what I thought. They were open to my additional suggestions that could help them remain competitive. Every single one of them was determined to graduate with a high GPA!

My experience over the last six months has been so rewarding. I feel honored to have been able to use my experience in career management to help the BU Questrom students at a pivotal time in their lives.

I’m looking forward getting to know the incoming seniors. I know that I will continue to learn about them, and I am looking forward to them continuing to surprise me!