During your time in college it will be near impossible to make it by without being in at least one group project. While I don't mind working in groups, sometimes you get a group that just makes you lose your mind the whole semester. I've come to learn that while each group is different, for the most part each group has people that fulfill certain roles. If you can't think of the group member that could be one of these roles, chances are it's you!

The Group Leader: It takes a special kind of person to take on the task of the group leader, or project manager. This person is organized, focused and knows how to get shit done. If you are elected as group leader it also means there is a 90% chance you'll be doing the majority of the project. Be ready to do your work + all the work the slackers didn't feel like doing. Even if you're positive that your group mates will pull their own weight, trust me, this project will basically become just yours. Everything falls on you, so make sure to keep calm and wait for group member rating day so karma can do it's job.

The Slacker: There is always the slacker, the one member that just cannot for the life of them do any tasks, even the simplest ones. There is always an excuse to why something can't be done. If they do manage to accomplish something, chances are they've done it all wrong. Of all the people to be, the slacker is the absolute worst.

The One Who Always Misses Meetings: With everyone having such unique schedules, finding time for groups to meet can be very difficult but it usually works out. But there is that one person that never shows up. Despite all the reminders the skip every meeting. Maybe they were napping, or perhaps they forgot but regardless of the excuse they never show up.

The Speaker: There is so much appreciation to be had for the speaker. They are the one you can count on to nail the presentation by wowing the professor with their stellar speaking skills. Mostly likely they will do a large portion of the actual presentation but they don't mind.

The Writer: With most presentations there is a paper involved. It seems like many college students absolutely loathe writing, so when you find a group member that enjoys writing you know you've found a gem. If no writer can be found you can bet that the group leader will be in charge of putting together the paper. Oh the joys of being a leader...

The One Who Gets By: This person contributes, but just as much as needed to be considered a somewhat important group member, but not enough to be a large contributor to the success. They fly under the radar by not really suggesting ideas but for the most part doing what is assigned to them. They show up for the presentation dressed in their business casual outfits, doing a minimal talking part and then write their small section of the paper. There can be multiples of these in every group. They seem unimportant but overall they are a influential aspect of your team because they do as their told and can usually be counted on.

Not every group will be made of all these characters and in some, many have duplicated. Other groups may have types of people not mentioned here (The One Who Shows Up To The Meetings Drunk - but that's a different story). Either way they keep your college group work experience interesting.