Go Make those Mistakes!
One of our STLR students recently chatted, over Zoom, with Oklahoma City Mayor, David Holt, to ask him about his advice to current UCO students. Mayor Holt didn’t hide his answers amidst politico-speak, but instead gives clear advice to students to prepare them for full-time employment, especially in government positions.
“The more experiences you have in…group projects or internships and other employment scenarios…you get that ability to work with others and to just be communicative and respectful and humble.”
Mayor Holt emphasized that to prepare for the workforce, or your next job, it is important to take this time in your education to get involved in extracurricular activities, and to get an internship where you can make mistakes.
“I also look for high involvement in what a student might refer to as ‘extracurricular activities,’ but what [I] might refer to as ‘civic affairs.'”
“The best way to hone those soft skills…is to get into the workplace as fast as possible, and as an intern the stakes are lower, and so it’s a good way to learn and good place to make mistakes.”
He ends by emphasizing the UCO STLR tenet of Service Learning & Civic Engagement. View this 12-minute video for all of Mayor Holt’s advice to UCO students.