As I am nearing the end of my time here at Skyline, one thing has become abundantly clear: education is just one piece of the puzzle that is success.

During the beginning of my freshman year here, I spent days dreaming of my future life as a young, successful, and rich woman. Optimistic, I know. I figured I’d get my A.A., transfer to SFSU, graduate with my B.A., and then be successful.

Easy, right? Wrong.

I was definitely missing some major pieces. Turns out, an education alone does not initiate maximum potential for success. It may provide you with the tools to become successful, but success is not just something taught and retained for future use, like a simple math formula.

Success is driven by a number of things aside from education: ambition, drive, connections, consistency. All of these criteria are learned most effectively by experience and personal behavior, not by lecture. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, approximately 44 percent of US college graduates were working positions that did not require a college degree.

That is nearly half our nation’s college grads. Could you imagine sitting in one of your classes and looking around the room knowing half of your classmates would be working such jobs, even after the hard work and dedication taken to complete a degree? Why are these numbers so high? Is there reason to put the complete blame on the ongoing economical crisis at hand?

Of course having a degree is ideal to an employer, but as the number of college graduates increases through the years, the value of the degree itself seems to be going down.

So though it may be a huge help, having a degree isn’t as effective in setting me apart from others as it once may have been. We are approaching a time where furthering your education alone may not be enough. Now you need more. So what ever shall be done to best prepare for the graduate world?

The most effective solution would be that while focusing on the academic aspect of our futures, we extend our ambitions outside of the classroom. If you’re lucky enough to find your major and know what you’re working for, why not do anything in your power to be most successful at it?

For many of us students (especially those who work) the time we spend at school and doing school work seems to be a large enough portion of our lives spent on our future.

Unfortunately, this new demand for exceedingly qualified college graduates is proving that is no longer the case. I’ve come to realize that in order to stand out in an intensely competitive environment I need to find some oomph.

Education is a key component, but not the only one for success. It is really up to us individually to find what we love and attack it from all angles. Obtaining a college degree is a priceless accomplishment but we must not let the intensiveness of the journey that comes before it blind us from the bigger picture.

Success is not easily secured so we must not limit our ambitions to our classrooms while working towards our degrees.