Many go to University not because they want to go into academia but because they have some other career aspiration that their degree helps them towards. Many want to go on to help people – through becoming involved in human rights, charities or politics. This ambition can be lost along the way though because of studies.
Whilst studying it becomes very apparent the need to do well in terms of degree marks. Without a 2.1 it’s hard to go into many graduate jobs because so many other graduates are getting those grades too. As a result students focus incredibly hardly on anything and everything that will benefit their degree. If something seems to take time out of something directly connected with their degree then they’re likely not to do it (unless of course it involves socialising which is seen as the necessary rest/play juxtaposition to the work).
The problem with doing a degree though is that when assessed it involves an almost incomprehensibly capable brain to remember all the facts and arguments. Take Law for an example. Reading cases over and over and over means the individuals in each case turn into amorphic souless characters. Students can find it easy to lose empathy with people who are reduced to being a name in a short story. Students started out wanting to help those who had suffered injustice but instead lost empathy with the characters in the cases.
Volunteering, work experience and internships need to be encouraged at University as it’s the best way for students to re-engage with what it is they originally wanted to do. When reading a case it’s sanitary. When out on the streets of Birmingham meeting those who the justice system has failed it hits home the sheer magnitude and reality of the problem.
Granted, many students start at University hoping to do one thing but change their minds along the way. That’s good, but also that’s what volunteering and work experience can help with. They also show not only what we want to do but also what we don’t want to do.
Whilst at University students will make many friends and through inspirational teachers change the way they argue and think. But if we want to make sure that University is valuable in the long term for students we also need to show them just how applicable it is to the real world and their future aspirations. When students graduate with a Law degree their volunteering and work experience will not only show them that the world needs changing but also how they can use their new found skills to do so. And that applies to everyone in every subject.
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