Young Bucks - Real world advice for college freshmen

By Lauren Young
NEW YORK, Aug 8 (Reuters) - More than 3 million students
will start college this fall. What sage advice would you offer
someone stepping onto campus for the first time?
Here are recommendations from some former freshmen with
valuable experiences to share.

Mary Schapiro, commissioner of the U.S. Securities &
Exchange Commission.
Age: 57
1977 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College
My daughter is about to start college. I'm encouraging her
to take lots of history, anthropology - which is what I majored
in - and economics. These are all great foundational disciplines
for almost anything you want to do. History, because it truly
does repeat itself, and there's so much to learn from how
leaders have responded to crises throughout history.
Anthropology because it helps you understand what motivates
people, how they make decisions, and what they value. And
economics because it's just critical to policymaking and
decision making, at the government level as well as at the
individual level.

Liz Lange, fashion designer
Age: 44
1990 graduate of Brown University
Realize what a gift college is. You are still so young.
Don't rush it by thinking you need to have everything all
figured out. You have years for that.
Take this time to take the courses that really interest you,
to learn as much as you can. You may never again in your life
have a four-year period when all that is asked of you is to
learn.
Get an on-campus job or even start a business while in
college. College is a great time to pursue entrepreneurial
activities, if the spirit moves you.

Matthew Brezina, co-founder of Xobni, an email software
company, as well as Sincerely, a mobile photosharing service
Age: 31
2003 graduate of Pennsylvania State University
Don't buy a car you can't afford. Ride the bus, ride your
bike, or buy a 10-year-old Honda Civic for $2,000.
If you have to take college loans, get a job during college
so you are paying them back every year. Or find a cheaper
school. Don't let things (college degrees, houses, cars) own
you. The most important thing to own is your freedom.

Jane Lynch, actress, Glee
Age: 52
1982 graduate of Illinois State University
I went to a public institution and had a small amount of
loans at a very low interest rate. I paid them off by 30, and it
wasn't something that hung over me. My dad was a banker, so I
say always go with a fixed-rate loan.
Stay in the moment. A lot of kids feel like they can't get
their dreams to come true, but hang on, it can happen.

Matthias Leitzmann, president of Technical Choices Inc., a
staffing company in Easton, Massachusetts
Age: 45
Attended Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island
Resist the temptation to drop out of school. Once you leave,
the odds are that you'll never finish. I should know: I dropped
out of school after three years, and it really limited my
options - especially during the first five years of my career -
despite my 3.9 grade-point average. I absolutely regret it.
Take it easy on summer activities and extracurricular stuff
that seems sexy and cool, like a mission trip or building houses
for the homeless. It makes for a good conversation point during
a job interview, but it's not what employers look for.

Denise Morrison, chief executive, Campbell Soup
Age: 58
1975 graduate of Boston College
Don't get an education to get a job. Get an education for
the love of learning that will get you a career. If you are
passionate, you will engage more fully and get the most out of
the academic experience.

John "Jack" C. Bogle, founder, Vanguard Group
Age: 83
1951 graduate of Princeton University
The star of your college movie should be to learn, to get
wisdom and insight. Being a contributing, committed member of
the college community is an important, but supporting, role.
Hold partying, boozing, and hell-raising to cameo roles.

John Hope Bryant, author, activist and founder of Operation
HOPE, a social investment banking organization.
Age: 46
Obtained high school GED
Do what you are passionate about. You will stink at
everything else. Match your passion with a job description, and
then pick your major in response to that match.
Remember that college is your pre-paid R&D for life. Have
more questions than answers. God gave you two ears and one mouth
for a reason. Listen more than you talk. You can be smarty pants
later.

Jeff Housenbold, CEO, Shutterfly
Age: 42
1991 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University
Unlock your inner visionary. If you've been thoughtful and
still believe, follow your dreams. Do what makes you happy,
surround yourself with high energy, high integrity, can-do
people, and be flexible.
Play a team sport or become the head of a club or group. You
don't need to be the star quarterback, but learning how to lead
and inspire teams has served me well.

Mellody Hobson, president, Ariel Investments
Age: 43
1991 graduate of Princeton University
Study things outside of your major. Some kids get so focused
on their major or a career that they ultimately become
one-dimensional. You want to be 3D. Get well-rounded in other
topics - if you pursue economics, you'd probably benefit from
art or literature. They aren't frivolous.
Take writing classes all the time. I'm stunned by how many
people can't write. It's exacerbated by email and texting.
There's no better skill to have - none - than the ability to
write succinctly and clearly.

Bob Moritz, CEO of PwC
Age: 48
Graduate of State University of New York - Oswego
It's all about your personal brand. How do you demonstrate
and enhance it? You've got to do the basics, which is get good
grades - it's really important.
Get into extra curricular activities that demonstrate
leadership, particularly around communication skills and team
building. That could be through student government or community
service. Even better, start your own social, cultural or
political organization focusing on something you are really
personally passionate about.
Do a semester abroad - travel around Asia or the emerging
markets. When you enter the workforce, you'll be able to
demonstrate your cultural dexterity.
Be really careful about what you are doing online. Five
years from now, you never know how embarrassing what you say on
Twitter or Facebook now might be. Those things are memorialized
forever.
The YOUNG BUCKS column appears monthly and at additional times
as warranted. Lauren Young tweets at
www.twitter.com/laurenyoung. Read more of her work at
blogs.reuters.com/lauren-young