As college students, we are constantly coming and going; sometimes our days can feel repetitive and lifeless. What do I actually want out of college? How do I know if I'm ready for life after college? These are all common and understandable questions to ask yourself as you are going through your years as a college student.

For recent North Central College graduate Paige Runkle, these questions felt familiar. She entered college without knowing exactly where she was headed, knowing only that she loved sports, teamwork, and advocating for others. Once she began getting involved on campus through her leadership roles and sports teams, she started to see what truly motivated her and where her passions were leading her.

What if the right answer to all those questions comes from how you get involved during your college years? College is what you make it, and without tapping into your passions and getting involved in classes, extracurriculars, sports and leadership positions that drive you, you might continue to go through the motions without finding what really excites you.

This blog will explore the concept of understanding passion, applying it to your life, and how involvement shapes your career and life in various aspects. Getting involved with purpose and passion turns college from just earning a degree into building your dream life and career. 

Passion and Purpose in College  

Researcher Yuyan Shen describes harmonious passion as a type of passion for activities that individuals love, value, and dedicate their time and energy to. Yuyan Shen’s study, published on ScienceDirect, highlights the importance of passion and its positive impacts across different areas of life. When passion drives our actions, it helps us succeed in and outside of school.

Passionate involvement shapes your career and life in meaningful ways. While passion is the internal drive toward activities you love and value, passionate involvement is how that drive translates into action, according to a publication on Oxford Academic by Robert J. Vallerand. Through the activities, projects, and experiences you commit to, passionate involvement becomes a part of your everyday life. It is the way you take your motivation and channel it into actions that shape your career and personal growth.

Paige Runkle, Event Coordinator at Lakeshore Athletic Services, is a great example of this in action. During college, she followed her passions by joining the Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country teams and taking on leadership roles like President of the Sport Management club and Campus Captain for student advocacy programs. Through these experiences, she built strong relationships, developed real-world skills, and created opportunities that continue to support her career today.

How Passionate Involvement Shapes Your Career and Life

Through engaging in activities you’re passionate about, you can positively impact many areas of your life, including:

• Relationships

• Personal Fulfillment

• Personal Skills 

• Networking

• Career Readiness

Building Relationships That Strengthen Student Engagement

A study published in BMC Public Health found that university students who have strong social support or close relationships are more likely to stay focused and energized in their academics. Simply having people who believe in you can inspire students to pursue their passions. The study also shows that social support boosts life satisfaction and happiness. This helps people engage more passionately in all areas of their lives.

Building relationships in various areas of your life is a valuable connection that, in many cases, will help you with potential future career opportunities. Kari Kluckhohn, North Central College Women's Track & Field Head Coach and Senior Woman Administrator, has created lifelong relationships with her women as she coaches and mentors them through track and life. Coach Kluckhohn’s strong relationship she has built with her driven athletes allows her to use her platform to provide opportunities outside of the sport. 

Coach Kluckhohn emphasizes the importance of passionate involvement in activities that will help you get to where you want to be. "It's picking things that are personally important to you or professionally going to help you get where you want to be, not just a bunch of stuff because you can say yes to everything, because then it doesn't matter,” says Coach Kluckhohn.  

Coach Kluckhohn recently nominated one of her athletes, a Sport Management major who’s committed to leadership and empowerment through athletics, to attend the 2025 NCAA Leadership Forum in Dallas, Texas. Thanks to Coach Kluckhohn’s mentorship and relationship with her athletes, this student now has the chance to grow as a leader and take part in one of the NCAA’s leadership events. “Now, what I do is more about showing my women that it’s a way of living, investing in each other, striving to do your best, and contributing to something bigger than yourself,” says Coach Kluckhohn.

Finding Fulfillment Through Passion and Skill-Building

A study led by Jana Lay-Hwa Bowden on student engagement and success showed that effective engagement with students, through positive emotions, increased students' well-being and promoted transformative learning. Researchers also found that students felt more empowered and developed a strong sense of self-esteem, leading to greater confidence and readiness for a career. 

When you bring passion into your work, you’re less likely to burn out. A study on Academic Passion and the Self-Regulation and Goal Orientation on the National Library of Medicine found that, “Academic passion has a direct and significant relationship with academic self-regulation and goal orientation.” Setting goals and taking action toward them is key to staying motivated and feeling a sense of accomplishment.

In a study from the University of Idaho, researchers Juhee Kim and Elizabeth Wargo found that involvement in undergraduate extracurricular activities builds a stronger sense of personal skills, such as decision making, teamwork, conflict resolution, and communication. These skills prepare you to lead and collaborate on campus and beyond.

Personal skills continue to develop even more naturally when the activities students are involved in are related to their true values. Passion fuels motivation and helps push students to step up, challenge themselves, and elevate their work. When something matters to you, you give it your best. Whether the extracurricular activities are community, sport, or club-based, pursuing meaningful, passion-driven activities leads to personal growth and skill-building. 

Networking That Shapes Your Career

Network building and meeting people who share passions with you is an important skill that comes from involvement. Mary Reynolds, Chief Campus Events Officer at North Central College, thrives on helping students gain personal and career experience through their activities and involvement on campus. 

Reynolds utilizes her wide reach of driven alumni to connect with current students if she knows they are looking for a job or internship. Reynolds, like many education professionals, is committed to providing as many opportunities as she can for students through her connections. The opportunities students have on campus help them build real-world and networking skills. For example, as an orientation leader, students are able to talk about their communication skills, leadership and networking abilities. “I want to invest in my students,” says Reynolds. 

When you actively engage in activities that you care about, aligned with your passions, you are naturally drawn to make connections with others who share your values and interests. These connections can become mentors, collaborators, or future colleagues who support and guide you along your career path.

Runkle, Event Coordinator at Lakeshore Athletic Services, capitalized on networking throughout her college years by pursuing activities she was truly passionate about. Runkle led the Sport Management club, SportXNC, as President, channeling her love for leadership and sports administration while connecting with peers and industry professionals.

How Passion Builds Career Readiness

According to a publication in the National Library of Medicine, “Passionate students are engaged students.” Psychologists define passion as a strong and powerful emotional state. It was also found that having a passion for academics is positively linked to students’ dedication, practice, and deep focus in their studies.

A study by Yan Keung Hui from the City University of Hong Kong found that the idea of student success is shifting as it's no longer just about grades or academic performance. It's found that today's success includes being prepared for the job market with personal skills. The study highlights that extracurricular involvement plays a large role in developing the skills employers are looking for post-graduation in terms of student success. 

As career readiness is prioritized in the eyes of employers, Reynolds focuses on creating opportunities on campus for her students to continue to grow and learn. “I wanted to provide a student with opportunities so that when they left here, they not only had a great degree and strong academic preparation, but also a basketful of other things they did that they could apply,” says Reynolds. She wants these opportunities so that when students are sitting across from someone in an interview, they will have real-life experiences they can draw on. Through her mentorship, she has seen many students grow and use their passions to drive their career readiness. 

Runkle thrives on her passions, finding ways to integrate them into everything she does. Her love for sports and running inspired her to create opportunities not only for herself but also for other students who shared her interests in sport management. For example, as SportXNC President, she organized student volunteer trips to the Chicago Marathon, giving fellow students hands-on experience, strengthening their teamwork and leadership skills, and expanding their professional networks. Runkle developed the practical skills and real-world experience that directly prepared her for a successful career in sports and event management.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), “nearly 90% of employers responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2025 survey indicated they are seeking evidence of a student’s ability to solve problems and nearly 80% are seeking candidates who have strong teamwork skills.” Employers highly value the skills students develop through their passions and involvement, as these skills make them stand out in terms of career readiness.