Professionalism
You never know who you are going to meet on any given day, so you should hold yourself to a high standard. Professionalism is about controlling your dialect, the way you present yourself, even your demeanor while walking across campus. I choose actions that boost my professionalism by being on time, the way I hold myself when I meet with friends and professors, and the words I choose.

Punctuality
In high school, if I missed something, it didn’t mess up my reputation. In college, you’re held to a higher standard. Professors use every minute of class, so if I arrive late, I miss a lot of information. If you think about the value of every single class, you realize that being late costs a lot.

Planning
You will never be on time unless you plan. My second week of college, I had a paper due and I had already missed one meeting. I grabbed all my syllabi and meeting dates, then I mapped out everything I had to do. I hung a calendar in my dorm and also mapped out my priorities in my planner. Now, I put reminders of urgent due dates or meetings on my phone and set a reminder alarm.

Prioritizing your goals
You have to set goals. I have a general goal: Finish college with a degree and secure a job. I need goals to push me through each day. My goal for this week is to finish chapter seven in accounting, and this weekend I want to begin my note cards and study sheets for final exams. I form my goals by looking ahead. I learned that I have to think big, but that I also have to take little steps to get to my final goal. I plan little goals throughout the day to keep me going.

Kati Mojica-Martinez is a business major and French minor at Northeastern University (northeastern.edu).