10 do’s and don’ts for graduating high school seniors

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Last week, in celebration of the high school graduation season I was thinking of some good subjects to write about. The thought of writing my 10 do’s and 10 don’ts for graduating high school seniors came to mind. Then I figured I wouldn’t be a good candidate because this high school generation is two generations from me. What good advice could I possibly offer these young people having attended high school 45 years ago? NONE!

So, I picked one of my favorite young people of all time. This person has been out of college for a little while and graduated from The Woodlands High School. To put it simply, this guy can relate! He was the kind of kid that could relate to everyone. He was an excellent student, a great athlete, liked to party and have a ton of fun, respectful to everyone and focused.

I met Nick Gilligan at a Lacrosse camp I was coaching the summer before his freshman year of high school. He was a kid with an edge and quite brash. Nick would get in trouble at times and had a bit of an attitude. Yet, you just knew this was one of those kids that would be fine with time.

Long story short, after a fun filled and academically successful high school career he was recruited to play Lacrosse at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He could have attended any number of colleges but went to Amherst because it is strong academically as evidenced by its informal label of being a “mini Ivy” school.

Now a proud graduate of Amherst and having played four years of lacrosse there, Nick is now a financial advisor and resides in Boston, MA with his wife and two young sons. He credits his time at TWHS and the strong relationships he built (and maintained) with friends, teachers & coaches as providing the foundation for his success both personally and professionally.

Here are Nick Gilligan’s 10 do’s and 10 don’ts for graduating high school seniors.

DO…

Do your best to stay close with your high school friends. You will inevitably lose touch with a lot of people, but make a strong effort to stay close with those who matter most to you. This will only happen if you try. To this day my high school friends and I get together at the end of every summer for a camping trip, and although things are much different now, we are all still very good friends.

Call your parents. No explanation necessary on this one. If not for you, do it for them- they will be worried. (This also applies to grandparents and siblings)

Travel. Plain and simple, do your best to travel as much as you possibly can. There is a big world outside of Texas and unfortunately a lot of people don’t get to see it. If you have the financial means (and even if you don’t and you need to scrape by), go see the world- or at the very least the rest of the country. If you have an opportunity to study abroad, DO IT. I spent the fall semester of my junior year studying in Florence, Italy. Sure, it was expensive and I lived on ramen noodles for three months, but it was an absolutely incredible experience.

Step outside your comfort zone. This is a big one, mostly because it isn’t easy to do. You’ve heard the saying “birds of a feather fly together.” People tend to flock to those who are most like them. There is nothing wrong with that, but every now and then try to meet new people. This can be as simple as sitting next to someone different in the cafeteria. Trust me, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Get to know your professors. Go to their office and ask questions on things you don’t understand. This will make a huge difference in your grades simply because they will see that you are trying and will appreciate your effort. After all, they are the ones who ultimately decide your grades.

Learn your limits with drinking. I don’t care if you drank every single night in high school or if your drinking history consists of a sip of your mom’s champagne on New Year’s Eve…you will need to learn your limits. Whether you end up going to a huge public university or a small private college, a significant portion of the social scene will revolve around drinking. If you choose to partake, make sure you learn your limits. There is nothing sadder to watch than that freshman who is stumbling around the quad the first weekend of school blacked out drunk off of three Smirnoff Ices. Don’t be that guy/girl.

Learn to manage your time. College will be much more challenging than high school, but it will be substantially easier on you if you learn to manage your time early on. Buy a daily planner and stay organized…otherwise midterms/finals weeks will really beat you up.

Join a team/club/group. If you aren’t going to school on an athletic scholarship, no big deal. There are tons of intramural and club sports for you to join- and I suggest you do. Not only will this help you to meet people, but having some sort of athletic/physical activity will ultimately serve you well. Ever hear of the “Freshman 15”? Yeah, it’s a real thing. Enough said.

Learn how to build your class schedule. All professors are not created equal. The fact of the matter is building your schedule is an art form- and one that can make or break your semester. Obviously, you will have certain requirements that need to be met, especially once you’ve declared a major, but even then there are some professors that are known to be better/easier than others. There are plenty of resources at your disposal to learn more about this. Most schools have a website that allows students to rate their professors and make comments about the course. Sometimes, the most useful resource is to talk to upperclassmen. Ask them about certain classes and professors- most will be more than willing to help.

Be spontaneous. Try new things, and they don’t always need to be planned out. My friends and I took several spur-of-the-moment road trips in college and they were some of the most fun times.

DON’T…

Don’t hang around your high school. Listen, I grew up in The Woodlands/Oak Ridge area and I cherish my high school days, but don’t be the person that is still hanging around the high school like you are still going there after you graduate. The occasional football game to see old friends is fun once in a while. However, it’s time to move on. It’s cool to get a letter jacket in high school but when you see a graduate still wearing one a few years after graduation, you will look at that person and think, “That person needs to get a life.” In the movie, Varsity Blues, there was a 35-year-old wearing his letter jacket at a high school keg party. Do NOT be that guy!

Don’t lose sight of your goals. If you know what you want to do with your life, DO IT. Don’t let anything stand in your way. And if you don’t know, no big deal at all. Take your time and find something you enjoy- but when you do figure it out, go after it with everything you have.

Don’t take the time you have in college for granted. Do you feel like just yesterday you were in 8th grade? Well guess what? You will be a college graduate in no time at all. The next four years will absolutely fly by. Make sure you stop and smell the roses as often as you can.

Don’t stay with your high school boyfriend/girlfriend. This is a sensitive subject, but needs to be addressed. I don’t care how much you and your significant other love each other; you both need to go to college single. I’m not suggesting that it won’t work out with that person eventually (I’ve definitely seen it happen), but it’s important that you aren’t held back by anything when trying to meet new people in college. Trust me on this one.

Don’t get overwhelmed. I’m not going to butter it up for you- college will be tough at times. It is a huge adjustment from high school. One of my best friends growing up was an absolute genius. I used to be amazed because he would NEVER study for tests, yet would always ace them with ease. He called me one night during his first semester of college and told me that he had just taken his first exam and completely bombed it! I will never forget what he said, “Nick, I think I’m going to have to start studying for these things.” Stay organized and learn to manage your time well and you will be fine.

Don’t get caught doing anything incriminating…and if you do, don’t let it wind up on the internet! This is one that our parents didn’t have to worry about back in their day. The truth of the matter is, in today’s day and age, you are responsible for EVERYTHING you do. Remember earlier when I told you to learn your limits with drinking? Well, these two sort of go hand-in-hand. I’ve seen people lose their scholarships and get kicked out of school because of some stupid drunken mistake they made that happened to wind up on Facebook the next day. I’m sure most of you are thinking “oh that could never happen to me,” but trust me… it can. Just be careful.

Don’t get a pet. It is cruel and unusual punishment to subject any animal to the college dorm scene. Take my word on this one. In my four years I witnessed a rabbit cage get destroyed, a hamster get loose (and never found) in a dorm, and probably a good dozen goldfish get placed in beer and chugged (gross, I know, but talk to me after your college graduation).

Don’t get caught up in drama. 99% of you probably learned this the hard way in high school. Don’t let it happen in college. Roll with the punches and surround yourself with people and things that make you happy, not stressed.

When the time comes to start the internship/job search, don’t freak out! This is a couple years down the road for most of you, but I made this mistake. Junior year everyone will start competing for internships with top firms in their respective fields. The idea is to land a great internship, work your tail off, and then get a job offer at the end of the summer and have nothing to worry about during your senior year. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the way it works. My offer was revoked because the firm I worked for got hit by the tough economy. I spent hundreds of hours interviewing and stressing about landing a job- but guess what? It all worked out in the end. I wound up landing a great job just before graduation (as did a lot of my friends, some even afterwards). The bottom line here is don’t stress, everything will work out if you work hard.

Don’t forget the people who got you to where you are. Whether this means your parents, neighbors, teachers, or coaches, make sure you remember where you came from and those who helped you along the way. I’m fortunate to have a lot of people fall into this category, and I do my best to let them know how much I appreciate it.

Nick Gilligan made the All-Conference academic team at Amherst. While in high school, he made the All-State team and was nominated for All-American. However, he likes to talk more about how much fun it was in this area and how he hopes people look at him as being gifted socially.

Nick is living proof that you can have a ton of fun but remain focused enough to achieve your goals.

Good luck, graduating seniors!