There were three days left of our junior year of college, and my friend Gerard and I were reminiscing. As I listened to him share his favorite memories of the year, I noticed all of his stories were about the extracurricular activities he was in. It seemed like he was in everything—from cross country to the campus radio station. He stopped a minute and sighed. "You know, after we graduate next year, we won't have the opportunities we have here in college," he said. "Where else can anyone just have a radio show? When else in our lives will we be able to just try anything?"

I realized Gerard was on to something: Extracurricular activities at college can give us unique experiences to stretch us, teach us and broaden our perspectives. But up to that point, I'd only done things related to my major. Along with studying hard in my classes, I'd also joined the newspaper staff because I wanted to be a journalist. I'd been so focused on helping my career, I hadn't tried anything else. So, with Gerard's thoughts in mind, my senior year became the Todd Hertz Extracurricular Activity Whirlwind Tour. During my extra-busy year, I learned a few lessons I'd like to pass on to you as you think about how you'll get involved.

When I started the Whirlwind Tour, I soon discovered the benefits of my new activities. While journalism courses directly prepared me for my career, unrelated activities taught me a wider set of skills I still use. For instance, joining the art club gave me some basic understanding of design principles that I use now just doing things like painting my apartment or taking photos. Being in theater taught me how to present myself with confidence.

A second benefit: In my job search, bosses were very interested in my extracurricular activities—even non-major-related ones—because they showed I was self-motivated and well-rounded.

Thirdly, venturing into new territory introduces you to new interests, passions or even a career. When we started college, my roommate, Jeff, didn't know what he wanted to major in. He found his true passion through the speech team and ended up majoring in interpersonal communication.

Finally, you can make a real difference through college activities. You can lead a charity drive that changes someone's life. Your vote in student government could reshape the campus. And if you want to join a club that doesn't exist, you can always start it. Four students and I thought our campus should have a humor magazine, so we started one. The opportunity to create change or start something from scratch teaches you a lot about organization, leadership and management.

I always tried to meet lots of people in college. But honestly, I pretty much only saw the same people every day. I got caught in a comfort bubble of students in my major.

But when I started joining groups on campus, I met all kinds of new people. And what's better than new friends? Diverse new friends. Students with different career aspirations, backgrounds and interests all have things to teach each other.

My friend Julie was leaving dinner early one night to get to a meeting of the campus environmental group. I didn't know she was even interested in that kind of thing. She told me, "Well, I just want to learn more about what they do and what drives all of them. I'm learning a lot."

Over four years, Julie joined over 15 clubs so that she could gather new experiences to help her grow. She joined our school's commuter organization, although she was a campus resident. Although she's white, Julie served as a representative on the Black Student Association's leadership board. By the time she graduated, Julie was well-respected on campus for being willing to learn about people and try new things.

It was very late at night and I sat at a large table in the newspaper office with three other editors. We had to decide whether or not to publish a controversial article. Our adviser had given us the decision. Her only advice was to have concrete reasons for whatever we chose. We were forced to step up and be leaders.

College groups are an excellent training ground for leaders. You're given room to make your own decisions. You also have the room to make mistakes. And you can learn from both. We chose to run that controversial story. Some people were upset, but we learned how to make important leadership decisions and stand behind them.

I got more leadership lessons during the Whirlwind Activity Tour. But it wasn't only from being a leader. When I joined all my new groups, I got to see other leaders in action. The radio program director, Greg, didn't tell people how to solve problems, but he let them figure it out. If they'd ask, Greg would step in and give his opinion. This helped me develop my own leadership style.

I also learned it's imperative to know not just how to lead, but to follow, too. When I joined the theater department, I got the opportunity to write a play that was produced on campus. As the writer, I felt I should have a say in casting and stage direction. In doing so, I stepped on the toes of the director and the actors. I wasn't the leader in this situation, I was just part of the process. I needed to learn to follow the lead of the director. It took me awhile to figure out how to be patient, let others make decisions and follow directions from others—no matter what my opinion was.

The first real lesson I got from joining new groups was this: When you're the new guy at the campus radio station, you get the 4 a.m. shift. (I also learned that there are actually people alive at that hour.) To be honest, I didn't really mind the early mornings. But since I was in so many new activities—in addition to classes—I had some very long days. I wasn't getting much sleep, I wasn't spending time with God, and I actually made myself ill. In fact, I still have nightmares in which I am at play practice and the radio airwaves are silent because I'm too busy to be there.

All this busyness did teach me to manage my time, but it also showed me why you have four years in college: to space things out. My advice: Try one new activity, sport or club a year—instead of launching your own whirlwind tour to make up for lost time.