Aug 23, 20224 min read

Get Educated | Your Relationship with College and Learning with Symone Flowers

by: Yvette Valdenegro

As the Summer begins to roll into Fall and the stores are full of back-to-school supplies, we all feel the rush. Significant transitions for many happen at this time, especially for students. The transition from high school to college, internships, and into the workforce is a process. Symone Flowers, a college student entering her senior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, shares tips about going to college, money, time management, and the latest work-life culture. You will be surprised at the lack of essential life skills taught during any stages of our adult careers. The information college students and business professionals need to know about each other still have barriers.

Symone Flowers proclaims to be a

‘Pro Gen Z-er’ who doesn’t just talk the talk but walks the walk. This declaration isn’t said boastfully, but in retrospect, she has learned and continues to learn as she pursues her education. During her podcast interview with Yvette Valdenegro & Geovanna Burgess White, hosts of the REdesigning Your Relationships Podcast, Symone graciously shared priceless insights so far from her journey.

Tip #1 - Not Enough Fun vs. Too Much Fun

We all know half of the excitement surrounding college is the actual experiences you can create while getting an education. Sometimes students find themselves a little unbalanced with their time and what they are doing daily. Unfortunately, your academic grades reveal evidence of discovering which side of the work-life balance you are on. Each semester you are given a pretty accurate indicator through finalized grades. For those that are successful in the classroom yet struggling to meet people and have fun, Symone suggests stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring new opportunities. Anyone who admittedly abuses this skill needs to be setting time aside dedicated time to get stuff done. Symone highly recommends acquiring and learning time management skills to get organized.

Tip #2 - Reward Yourself

It is so much easier to be motivated to complete an assignment when you can reward yourself at the end. Taking action and then rewarding yourself is something Symone feels she learned through playing sports, but realistically anyone can achieve it. Motivation is crucial so find something you can reward yourself with after you complete your task. Symone suggests taking large assignments and breaking them down into smaller blocks of time that you work, giving yourself mini breaks while accomplishing the big goal.

Tip #3 - Budget Your Money

She found it was difficult not to be able to participate in an off-campus activity because she could not afford it. She talks about her relationship with money, how important it is to budget your money, and how she alleviated her stress by doing budgets that made sense to her. She also highly recommended the resource myunidays.com for those looking for coupons and discounts offered only to college students.

Tip #4 - In Retrospect

Symone had a few tips for her former freshman self. Do not stress about money. Meet new people. Do this organically by getting out and doing what you like, or join a group you are interested. You will naturally meet people who are already interested in something you like, which is a neutral denominator to getting to know someone.

Tip #5 - Be Aware of the Significance of Women vs. Men in the Workforce

This tip comes from a young woman recognizing and witnessing the significant difference and adjusting to new environments. Symone feels the awareness of women in STEM is better but not where it needs to be across the industries. The conversation opened up the realities women still face in the workforce. Women go into the work ‘battle’ knowing they must fight for their value. Many great concepts and thoughts are brought up about this concluding topic. We welcome you to listen to grasp the importance of what women say, especially in STEM industries. Symone asked for all the men who see, understand, and value women’s perceptions and abilities at work, to be an ally. There are apparent differences between men and women. Still, in a work environment, all can be treated as equals, and let’s all use our power for good. Men have a unique opportunity to use their work privileges to support women in the workplace.

Soon the REdesigning Your Relationship Podcast will bring back this topic to discuss further the importance of creating a positive culture in our business. Being passive about hot issues doesn’t help anyone or anything. Still, open communication and learning about others will always bring positive change. Unfortunately, not everyone learned business communication skills, time management, calendar integrity, and how to meet new people. It seems so simple, but maybe, there are areas for improvement within ourselves or our businesses. For more podcasts surrounding these necessary skills, please visit our podcast library for REdesigning Your Relationship Podcast on these major platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcast & YouTube.