Examining education: the immeasurable value of a college degree

If the entire world’s population was represented by a group of 100 people, only seven would hold a college degree. This means that, as the Huffington Post reported in 2010, only approximately seven percent of people worldwide are college educated.

A college degree is valuable, but the majority of people both in America and the world, are barred, for one reason or another, from this education.

We often do not realize how lucky we are to be here, at St. Michael’s College. When we are given long assignments, we complain endlessly and try our hardest to ignore them until we run out of time to procrastinate. We count how many days we can skip class, and not have our absences counted against us. We’d rather socialize with friends, play silly games, and binge-watch Netflix before we do what it is we came here to do: learn. We have a tendency to forget that what we gain by being a student here is one of the most desirable things in the world.

This is not to say that we all do not appreciate the huge endeavor emotionally, physically, and financially that a higher education entails. But many of us have seem to lost our purpose. Maybe it’s because we’ve been taught that college is simply what follows high school, or maybe it’s because we’re just having too much fun to remember our true task. Either way, our mindset regarding higher education must change.

There’s a reason why international students flock to the U.S. to receive their education. So much of the world wants to have the opportunities so many U.S. college undergraduates are offered. Even many of those in our own home, the 60 percent of working-aged Americans without a college degree, call us lucky for what we’ve achieved. Is college for everyone? No. But if you’re here, it’s important to make it count.

At St. Michael’s, opportunities are provided both for students and for the surrounding community. Krystal Wrinn, ’05, is now the first Domestic Violence Prevention officer for the Burlington Police. Local nonprofits apply through Fix it With Five to receive a grant consisting of five dollars from every member of the student body. Our education empowers us to take ahold of our future and to realize our ability in aiding others.

Understandably, we want to gain more from our college experience than merely in-class learning. We build social networks full of friends and acquaintances. We play sports and learn the value of teamwork. We join clubs and volunteer in the community. None of these activities should be undervalued, but they should supplement our education, not overtake it.

Examine your education; you’ve probably worked very hard to be here, but that work cannot stop now. We must continue to challenge ourselves, and rise to the occasion. The world believes you’re lucky to be here, and so should you.