From a 2012 graduate to those newest to Husky Nation:

Although I am long removed from Boston and Northeastern now working on the opposite side of the US with a job, I want to impart advice as you embark on your careers and awesome journeys at NU. I was in your shoes just four years ago – a slightly over-confident yet ambitious guy from Chicago – but still a scared freshman. College was awesome and I miss it a lot already; it goes fast, so it is important to make the most of it.

Take it with a grain a salt, but I wish I saw this in the Huntington News my first week of college:

-Open the doors in your residence hall; be open to all new people and new experiences. Always be prepared to embrace the crazy and get out your comfort zone.

-Get a LinkedIn account. Utilize the resume/interview services at the Career Services. Network like crazy because it pays off.

-Go abroad. The global thinker and citizen is what NU is all about. Traveling or studying abroad is the ultimate NU experience.

-Use those office hours to ask questions and get to know your professor. You’ll need them for recommendations or giving you that .5 to get an A. It is better to be safe than sorry. You will come to know Club Snell well.

-Join one or two organizations and try to stick with them throughout, eventually taking on a leadership role. With 275+ organizations, you will find something. If not, create your own. Be entrepreneurial, as we are at NU.

-Give back. Accept any mentorship you can get, become a mentor later on; go out on our service days. Volunteer.

-See your college as an investment. I never missed a class because that was my mentality. Make it yours too. Every class you miss is a few hundred dollars down the drain. Thinking about it like that, makes 8 a.m. classes a bit easier to get up for.

-Take every opportunity you are presented with. NU has so many opportunities for personal and professional development. Do two or three co-ops, take unpaid internships and attend guest lectures.

-Have fun, but be smart and safe.

-Northeastern is a great school and it is becoming even more so. It will change even more over the next four or five years but so will you. Embrace those changes and have an awesome experience.

–Juan T. Kim is a 2012 graduate of Northeastern University