When trying to find time for everything, the average student commonly thinks of balancing classes, their work schedule and their free time to spend with friends.

For former student Rick Daniels, balancing meant trying to find equilibrium between classes and his involvement in multiple student organizations, including Alpha Phi Alpha, the Black Student Union, the American Marketing Association and being a Resident Assistant.

It was this struggle to find balance that led Daniels to writing his article, “OMG! I’m a Student Leader!”

Daniels graduated from UW-Whitewater in December 2008 with a major in advertising and a minor in public relations. The following January Daniels was offered a position at UW-Whitewater as a leadership adviser for Greeks.

“Being in so many organizations during my time at UW-Whitewater gave me a lot of knowledge on how to deal with others,” Daniels said. “It’s easy for me to connect with students, because I was in their seats just a few years ago.”

Daniels said his article, which was published in last month’s edition of the Campus Activity Programming magazine, was written to get out his life story as a student and to help current students not fall into the possible dangers of student leadership.

Though Daniels heavy involvement in student organizations was beneficial to his getting a job out of college, Daniels still suffered his own battle for balance while in college.

“I can definitely relate to their struggles,” Daniels said. “When I was in college I started becoming more concerned with getting to meetings on time instead of making it to my classes on time.”

Daniels said it was this concern of his reputation as a student leader that led to his falling grades in college. In Daniels’ article, he states that he ended his first semester with a 1.6 GPA and his sophomore year with a 1.8 GPA.

“My grades took a backseat to student involvement,” Daniels said. “If I could go back, I would pay more attention to my studies for my own personal fulfillment.”

Daniels’ article gives three tools that will help students prioritize their time. Daniels created the acronym “OMG,” “O” standing for don’t over-occupy your time, “M” for manage your commitments wisely and “G” for remember to graduate.

“These three tools are a good way to manage your student leadership experience so that it is beneficial to you,” Daniels said. “You don’t want to fall into bad grades and a mismanagement of your time and schedule.”

Daniels’ article also states how crucial it is to learn how not to be afraid of saying “no” to one of your commitments.

“Saying no is a win-win situation,” Daniels said. “It’s going to show if you’re doing something that your heart isn’t in, and you’d be doing a disservice to yourself by not being honest.”

Junior Bradley Hamblock, president and a founding father of Sigma Tau Gamma, is very experienced in finding a way to balance his fraternity, schoolwork and other activities.

“I am a member of a few honorary societies on campus and used to play in a few intramural sports last semester,” Hamblock said. “Sigma Tau Gamma takes up a majority of my time outside of class and studying.”

Hamblock started up Sigma Tau Gamma in October 2008 with a few other founding fathers. Hamblock said that he felt the brotherhood from Day 1.

Sigma Tau Gamma, like many other fraternities and sororities on campus, takes studying and grades very seriously. Sigma Tau Gamma has a number of mandatory library hours every month and they hold study nights twice a week as well.

“Daniels has been a great help to me with starting up Sigma Tau Gamma,” Hamblock said. “He has answered any questions I’ve had and has been very supportive of our fraternity as we go through the steps of becoming a chartered chapter on campus.”

Daniels said a big portion of his problem during his life as a college student was making commitments to student organizations that he didn’t really have a heart for. But he now wants to help others avoid the mistakes he made.

“My advice for students is to find an organization you are passionate about and go from there,” Daniels said. “Give your time to the organizations you have a heart for.”