Turn your passion into your career. This is some pretty campy advice, but I really do wish I would’ve listened to my passions a bit more as a young student at Iowa State University. It took me four years, but I did eventually turn to my passions. My advice to incoming freshmen is to start experimenting early; put yourself out there—see what you enjoy, find what you do well and see if it’s something that can’t be turned into a career.

All college is, is one gigantic laboratory. It’s one huge mess of ideas and opportunities, all sitting there waiting to be taken up by each class of incoming freshmen and all the university’s students. The university exists for your sake, truly. There is a near incomprehensible amount of resources out there for you—but it’s your prerogative to reach for them.

Join clubs, get active in organizations and take your classes seriously. Form connections with other students, with faculty and with the university’s administration and staff. These connections won’t just make your life better, more fulfilling, etc., but they’ll become potential opportunities. You get out of your degree exactly what you put into it. Similarly, you get out of college exactly what you put into it; and college is certainly more than just a degree.

Though four years may seem an impossible amount of time, you will be graduating before you can blink. And when you do, you’ll want more to draw upon than just your coursework. Take advantage of the infrastructure Iowa State supplies its students. Get involved with Student Government, with another club you’re interested in, with the Iowa State Daily—or any number of other organizations. It’s all out there for you, and they want you just as much as you want them.

Your time at ISU is your time to excel. It’s your time to prove what kind of man or woman you are. Work hard, and play hard. Live life to its fullest. Meet new people, and do new things. You’ll hear this sort of advice over and over again, but that’s for a reason—it’s important advice.

The world and all its possibilities aren’t going to come for you. You need to reach for them. And the first step starts at Iowa State. You’ve chosen well—but now your future is up to you. An enormous wealth of opportunities for success await. Go out and grab them.