I was looking at some numbers that were brought to my attention the other day, less than half of the people who enter college in the U.S. actually graduate. In Kentucky, the number is higher, but still around 30%. Most leave because of financial problems, the second is for poor academic performance. Those are valid reasons to anyone, but the third leading cause was surprising to me, poor social fit...What!?! Leaving because it interferes with your social life? You can't see your friends or go out as often as you'd like? How is leaving school going to help with that?
School requires some sacrifices, yes. You have to commit time to succeed at it, but that's the same with anything else in life. How much easier a time are you going to have seeing them when you can't afford to go out on the weekends or can't get out of a shift working at a low paying job? Education is about making a better life for yourself, not winning a popularity contest. You are learning to get ahead in life and afford the things you and your family want. If you're letting your friends get in the way of a good future, how good of friends are they?
Lets turn the tables on that question, how good a friend are you to not let them know or see the skills you are learning and how it is helping your future? Have you told your friends about Sullivan and all the programs it has and it's Career Services Center that helps graduates with placement after you've earned a degree? As students we are here to learn valuable job skills to improve our future, but lets also try to raise the prospects in the futures of those around us and, in turn, the world we live in.
Brian Strickler
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