Two things I had never imagined when I first enrolled for BSc Soc in 2018. It really has been a hell of a ride and there is nothing I would have done differently. I have learned a lot, grown as a person and found new friends along the way.

There is so much to say and at the same time not much to say at all, as I will be back at CBS in September starting my Master in International Business and Politics.

However, I will still reflect on three focal points that I believe at least come close to narrowing down my experiences over the past three years.

First

I believe giving it your all when first enrolling at CBS will make all the difference for the next three years.

For most people, and especially if you are Danish and have all your old friends close by, it might seem a little overwhelming having to commit to yet another institution to make friends and centre your life around, having just spent the past 13-14 years doing those exact things.

However, putting in the time and actively taking part in the intro days will create a solid foundation for the next three years and if all turns out well, you will have made friends for life and have people to share notes with and complain to about tight exam schedules.

I have been very lucky that both my study programme and especially my year have been very social throughout, which, of course, also made it easier to just tag along. Now the real tests start as we are being scattered to the winds for our master’s programmes.

However, I am sure that the friendships will last and not turn into silent nods in the hallways.

Second

I have learned a lot, and as the BSc Soc competency profile says, we have now become “knowledge users, knowledge producers and agents of change”.

I’m not completely sure what that change will be in the future, but I hope it will be towards a more sustainable world. I believe one of the important skills I have acquired is critical thinking.

It might sound cliche but looking back at Douglas North, Oliver Williamson, Mark Granovetter and all the other guys, I can now see that it actually became easier, and today it does make sense.

My economics skills, sociological understanding and overall ways of acquiring knowledge have, naturally, also improved a lot. In my interdisciplinary programme, with a mix of soft and hard competencies, some of those skills are directly transferable to the labour market, while some have been an important means of improving my analytical skills and intellectual curiosity.

I now also have a ton of influential names of individuals who took part in shaping society to name drop in intellectual conversations.

Third

Today, when I realize that I potentially only have two more years of school left in my entire life, I have started to reflect on all the great things that come with being a university student in Denmark. While I know I will (hopefully) never stop learning, the extremely flexible hours and spending every day with my friends will sadly end. The idea of having a full-time job both scares me and excites me.

I think the dream for any university student is to be able to have the evenings off without feeling guilty about some text you actually should be reading.

However, for most full-time employees, I can imagine having a summer vacation from mid-June to start September sounds just utopian.

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are pros and cons with both but given that one of them lasts five years while the other will last 45+, I think it deserves some reflection.

I have sometimes caught myself longing for the days when I will no longer have the nagging bad conscience about the 200 pages I should be reading, but your five years (or more) at university are so much more than “just” an academic education and they deserve to be enjoyed.

In September, you’ll find me at Nexus spending all the money I don’t have on nice coffees and beers.