Teach

This might seem like odd advice to you, here in your second year of study. But it is advice we cannot emphasize strongly enough.

On the one hand, your motivation to teach could be a selfish one. You are a student who is hear to learn, and as Aristotle knew, "teaching is the highest form of understanding," the way you deepen and cement your own learning. Moreover, if you want to win a Fulbright one day, you almost surely need teaching experience to demonstrate that you are up to the rigors of the Fulbright experience. 

But let's bracket these "selfish" motivations aside for a moment (and NB, they're not really all that selfish). If indeed you are to make a life by what you give, teaching is one of the finest ways to promote someone's flourishing—you know, give a man a fish versus teach a man to fish.

     While on the shop and street I gazed
     My body of a sudden blazed;
     And twenty minutes more or less
     It seemed, so great my happiness,
     That I was blessèd and could bless.
        -W.B. Yeats

Teaching, as giving, can take many forms. You might become a formal peer instructor or tutor through the Success Center. You might ask your favorite professor if you can serve as her TA for the semester. You might consider contacting La Puerta Waco about volunteering as an ESL, computing, or art teacher. You might teach elementary or middle school kids about outer space, gardening, algebra, or anything else you love through Transformation Waco's AfterSchool Academies. Or you might work with Baylor's Center for Global Engagement to assist international students in their transitions to the US through the Global Friendship Program.

The possibilities are endless, but one thing is clear: teaching is transformational, worthy of your time and commitment.