Harvard College's Mission and Initiatives
Harvard University is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world with a rich history that spurns over centuries. The student population is diverse with learners from all over the world. The mission of Harvard College is ‘to educate our students to be citizens and citizen-leaders for society.’ As a student at Harvard College, I will undertake a number of initiatives to help my fellow classmates to advance the mission of the College. I am going to discuss those initiatives below.
Supporting Integration and Intellectual Transformation
In a nutshell, the mission of Harvard College is tailored towards promoting individual talents, innovation, intellectual transformation, and social transformation. To ensure that my classmates achieve this, first, I would lend a helping hand to any student who needs assistance in settling at school. Many students experience culture shock when they are admitted to the college because the environment is completely different and also because some of the students travel from far countries in Africa, Asia etc. to ensure that they swiftly integrate into the Harvard Society, I will welcome them and make them feel at home; this ensures they quickly have a sense of what they wish to pursue according to their gifts and talents. Also, I would encourage my classmates to interact with other students of other disciplines to have a feel of how other learners in different subjects think and view things. This will lead to intellectual transformation because through interactions with diverse students one is enriched with different ideas and perspectives of things and may lead to a student rediscovering where their talents and interests lie.
Promoting Personal Growth and Talent Development
Furthermore, Harvard College has an enabling environment for students to pursue and nurture their talents. I would ensure that my classmates exploit these chances to the fullest by taking advantage of all the opportunities and resources available to advance their talents. Personal growth entails being intellectually and physically fit; intellectual fitness can be gained from the classroom and library while physical fitness is gained by engaging in co-curricular activities like sports. A student can discover their talent by engaging in sports, and therefore to advance the mission of Harvard College of producing citizen-leaders for society I would encourage my classmates to engage in co-curricular activities and give it the seriousness it deserves; who knows, maybe Harvard may produce the next Usain Bolt. Also, I believe Harvard is among the institutions of higher learning that provide a perfect environment for personal growth; many of my classmates come from schools that focus mainly on passing exams without considering other spheres of life. I will make sure that my classmates not only excel in classroom work but also do well in other sectors of their lives. I will try to achieve this by encouraging each other to take part in extracurricular activities, have bonding sessions between ourselves and our lecturers, taking part in debates to sharpen our thinking and oratory skills, and being open-minded and morally upright. If we can inculcate the values and activities above, then I believe that when we leave Harvard, we will impact positively on the society and the world at large.
Becoming Change-Makers
Harvard College is a dream school for anyone because of its excellence both academically and in extracurricular activities. The mission of the College is to prepare learners who will go out to society and make a change. I know that to be a change-maker in the society, one need not only to succeed in the classroom, and therefore, I would also encourage my fellow students to engage in co-curricular activities that may make them discover their talents and other hidden interests and value and in the process promote the vision of Harvard College.
