Author: Alison Kjeldgaard
As the senior class gets ready to make their exit from Occidental this spring, they are preparing to face the worst. With a failing economy and a limited amount of jobs waiting for them in the real world, it is hard not to get disheartened.
“The current economic downturn is the most severe of our lifetimes, and it’s going to have an impact on us for years to come,” said Woody Studenmund, the Laurence de Rycke Distinguished Professor of Economics at Oxy.However, many of Occidental’s graduating students have acknowledged the hard times, and have moved on.
“While maintaining responsible finances is important to me, I don’t need a lot of money to do that – though some would be nice,” Erin Conley (senior) said. “I’m far more concerned about being happy in what I end up doing as a career than about living in a mansion with money coming out my ears.”A number of fellow seniors reflected Conley’s optimism for pursuing a meaningful career in the future.
Rachel Keylon (senior) is planning on going to graduate school to become a marine biologist, her dream job.
“The world doesn’t always need an accountant,” Keylon said, “but they will always need scientists.”
Caitlin Anderson (senior) similarly is not going to let hard economic times hinder her pursuits. Next year, Anderson hopes to be an English teacher for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, but eventually wants to pursue a graduate degree in either geology or musical and theater performance.”There will always be the need for a geologist somewhere,” Anderson said. “Especially in California, the land of a million earthquakes.”
Many students are utilizing Occidental’s career advisers to make a more informed decision about where they are headed, and to prepare for the limited job availability. Valerie Savior, the director of the Career Advising Center, said she has seen a higher influx of students coming in to get a head start on their future plans.
“I am pleased to see that some students are strategizing earlier to avail of their spring break to plan for after graduation pursuits,” Savior said. “As to career areas, interests remain high across disciplinary areas: medicine, the law, and business fields are always of interest, but Oxy students show very unique and eclectic interests as well, that include human rights work, international affairs, green and urban planning interests, marketing, film/TV/PR and other creative communication fields, and more.”
Savior is right in recognizing the smorgasbord of post-graduation plans that seniors envision for themselves. For example, Catherine Petru’s (senior) dream job would be finding a way to incorporate Afro-Caribbean dance with yoga, community organizing, and food.
Max Davis (senior) said, “If I can swing it, I’ll be working on an intercontinental cruise ship, saving money to start a hamburger joint in Beijing and paying off loans while seeing the world.”
Stephen Bent (senior) probably has one of the most unusual occupations in mind. Ever since he first saw them perform as a 13-year-old, Bent has wanted to join the Flying Karamazov Brothers, a 4-man juggling-music-comedy troupe.
“I was totally obsessed with them in high school, went to all their shows near Seattle and became a juggling addict,” Bent said.As a result, Bent auditioned for the Flying Karamazov Brothers during his sophomore year at Oxy, and was rejected.
“I decided it was best to move on,” Bent said. “I got really into choral music – via Glee Club – and decided I was going to go to grad school to be achoir conductor.”
Last May, his 13-year-old dream unexpectedly came true when the Karamazov Brothers called to offer him a job. Bent accepted, flew out to New York for intensive training, and has been touring with them since last summer.
“I’ve been doing all their shows since then – skipping a lot of class – and I’m moving to New York after graduation so we can spend the summer writing a new show together,” Bent said.
Though Bent’s luck may be an exception, his optimism and hard work is indicative of why Oxy students have a chance to excel in their career paths. Savior acknowledges the economic crisis will make getting a job tough, but she has faith in the Occidental education and the well-prepared students that it fosters.
“Seniors have many demands placed upon them in their senior year, but Occidental students are extremely well-prepared by their Oxy education to excel in professional and graduate pursuits,” Savior said. “Having a plan of action, being prepared, creative and open, will help the class of 2009 transition from Occidental.”
Erika Johnson ’08 was a double major in sociology and economics with an emphasis in business management, and can vouch for both the benefits and drawbacks of having an Occidental education. By the time she graduated, she had already accepted a job, passed on another job, and had a third job offer. Today, she is an analyst in distribution services for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
“My degree helped me because it showed potential employers that I could learn the hard stuff, and be good at it,” Johnson said.At the same time, Johnson found her liberal arts degree to be comparatively uncompetitive.
“In some ways because Occidental is a liberal arts school, it’s a bit restrictive. I’d be competing against other graduates who have the Business degree, or Finance or Supply Chain – degrees that relate directly to the job – and I didn’t,” Johnson said. “But Oxy does cultivate the well-rounded student so once you get your foot in the door, use that as an advantage.”Johnson also admitted that the better economy also played a factor in finding a job.
“It was hard then simply because of the competition, but it’s worse now because people who have been in the labor force for years and have gotten laid off are now competing with recent graduates for any and all available positions,” she said.Assistant Professor of Economics Bevin Ashenmiller recommended that students keep an open mind when applying for jobs, or to use graduate school as a way to wait out the bad economic climate.
“I hope that students will be open to finding jobs in unusual places – don’t rule out jobs before you learn everything that you can about the position. You may surprise yourself,” Ashenmiller said. “The opportunity cost of graduate school – the forgone wages of the job that you might have taken – will be lower now. So if you don’t find a job that you are enjoying next year you might consider going to graduate school now. The timing should be right for you to finish as the economy is starting to rebound.”
Indeed, graduate school is in the near future for many students.Jessica Day (senior) hopes to become a college professor and is getting her PhD at Johns Hopkins University. Though the economy has not affected her decision, she said, “I certainly am glad not to be entering the workforce right now.”
Molly Frolich has decided to enroll in the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Oxy in order to make her resume more impressive to employers. She has wanted to be an elementary school teacher since Kindergarten, and does not plan on giving up her career of choice.
“I spent a little bit of time thinking that I might want to forego the Masters and just go get a teaching job, but the poor economy confirmed my decision to stay in school for another year because as of now they are hiring very few new teachers,” Frolich said. “I have come to realize that I may not be able to get a job even my first year out of grad school and have started thinking about the possibility of staying in school longer if I need to, maybe to get a special Ed credential or something.”For others, graduate school has been put on hold for the time being.
Nena Malhotra (senior) will be working full-time in the Admissions Office next year, where she will be interviewing prospective students, in order to regain the funds and motivation necessary to pursue a graduate degree.
“Until recently, I assumed that I would go straight into grad school aft
er undergrad–I definitely did not expect to feel as burned out as I do now,” Malhotra admitted.
However, having been inspired by Occidental’s professors, she still considers teaching higher education to be her dream job.
“The kind of education I have received from the professors in my departments at Oxy – ECLS and Art History – has been invaluable, and I want to be able to give similarly to future generations,” Malhotra said.
Volunteer work and fellowships are also popular choices for seniors who do not want to go to graduate school yet or jump into a full-time career.
“I have seen a modest increase in students seeking volunteer and short-term fellowship experiences,” Savior said. “These are always a viable option for our students, in both flush and down economies because seniors can launch their careers, continue to build strong skills, continue to discern fields of interest, and all in a determined amount of time before going to graduate school.”
Jessica Lobl (senior) wants to eventually become a high school English teacher, but has decided to apply for volunteering programs and fellowships before starting to work full-time.
“I applied for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Madrid, and I made it to the final round, but I don’t hear until May – so I’m in the process of trying to apply to other things for a year or so,” Lobl said. “Ideally, if I don’t get the Fulbright, I want to either work for City Year or another nonprofit, before I become an actual teacher.”
Like Lobl, Alex Smith (senior) is applying for City Year Los Angeles, an AmeriCorps program in which participants work for 10 months on a community service project. However, Smith’s decision to volunteer is not a result of the bad economy.”[The economy] only supports my decision to lay off the job market for a bit and volunteer instead,” Smith said. “I think that dedicating several years to a noble cause will help me find a passion that I see worth pursuing in the form of a graduate degree.”
Studenmund advised seniors to do exactly that: use their time to find something they are passionate about.
“First, discard any fixed expectations you might have about the kind of job you’ll get and how much you’ll be paid; instead, apply for every job that you think might enjoy and benefit from,” Studenmund said. “Second, be willing to work a little bit harder, and a little bit smarter, than the other applicants. If you get an interview, do research on the opportunity, be prepared with analytical questions, and show the interviewer that you’d do a better job than anyone else.”
Although the front page of newspapers across the country is riddled daily with words like “recession,” “job cuts” and “economic meltdown,” Oxy students seem to be taking it all in stride, remaining more hopeful than cynical about what the future holds.
“The future is a murky place, and not just for graduating college folks,” Davis said. “I think the world could more readily come together now than ever. We’ve got the audiovisual telecommunication and traveling technology to break down some of the cultural barriers that have kept the competition between nations up.”
However, Davis said, “The only problem is the past is just as murky, which makes it difficult to learn from our mistakes, when we can’t agree on what they were. Even at a personal level this is a hard thing to pin down. Even so, chunks of civilization and community fall into our laps out of this mixed up world all the time. I think most of us are trying to make that happen as much as possible.”
For the most part, the graduating class faces hard economic challenges with optimism and hope for the future.
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