Student films. Student newspapers. Student teaching. Student nurses.With more than 7,000 undergraduate students at TCU, the need to separate oneself from the pack is becoming more and more important.

One way to do so is to get out and start being productive within your major, whether through internships or individual initiative.

Members of the Student Film Association recently began work on their fall productions. While the group’s films may be neither award winning nor well-publicized, these students are gaining experience and are building their resumes for future employers.

From the moment students step on campus, they are inundated with information on how to create an ideal resume. Students must realize that a resume crammed with examples of on-campus leadership doesn’t compare to a resume brimming with work experience within one’s major – especially self-motivated work.

There is a well-known phrase that states, “There’s a time and place for everything, and it’s called college.”

That may be the old adage, but aside from parties, football games and general classes, college needs to be a base for students to prepare themselves for the real world.

What better way to do this than to get out and work in a chosen field?

Internships are great, but the initiative of those individuals who go outside of class credit and work on their own time is something that will help them immensely in their pursuit of a better-than-entry-level job.

Students still need to get the most of what college offers in the form of social interaction and book learning, but through actual experience in their particular area of interest, students can teach themselves things they might not otherwise fully comprehend when delivered by a professor in a lecture hall full of students.

Sports editor Michael Dodd for the editorial board.