What do you recommend to get involved with in college that will prepare me for getting a job in marketing after graduation?

You could try to get some kind of certification in graphic design. I work in marketing. We rely heavily on the graphic design people and sometimes I wish I had some graphic design skills so that we didn't have to wait on them for a response.

I would recommend reaching out to your university's career center to inquire about open internships or job opportunities around the area. If you are not able to find an opportunity that aligns with your career goals, I would recommend looking at organizations at your university and applying for committee positions and/or leadership opportunities that would help you develop your marketing skills. For example, if you are interested in the Public Relations sector of Marketing, you could look at opportunities to help draft communications plans for organizations to help you strengthen your written communication skills. Also, I would suggest never passing up an opportunity to work on your presentation skills. Stepping out of your comfort zone and learning to speak well in front of others will serve you well throughout your career!

First, remember that you can (and should) find ways to be creative no matter WHAT you do! For that reason, I think it's best to look at what you're passionate about. If what excites you is the process of being creative, looking at marketing and advertising fields are great. But I would highly recommend you also look at ways to explore the topics you find interesting, then look for ways to apply your creative instincts to those.

As you start out in college, I would highly recommend you take classes that pique your interest and challenge you, especially ones outside your comfort zone. That will help you figure out what things get you excited. Look for summer opportunities to volunteer or intern and then ask to do marketing-related activities (or other creative things, like writing). Ask people during those jobs/internships what they did, why they do what they do, and how they apply creativity to their field.

If your college has the American Marketing Association there, join that and become heavily involved asap. If it doesn't look into starting your own chapter, it'll look amazing on your resume. Any other creative or marketing related organizations make offer similar benefits as well.

Some campuses have publicity roles in clubs or student government that can give you marketing experience as well as what the previous individual mentioned.

Additionally, if there is a local business- a restaurant, a mechanic's shop, any small local business, reach out to them for an internship to work on their social media accounts, website, or other online channels. When hiring new graduates for my agency we loved candidates who had taken this initiative.