After crossing the stage in a cap and gown, many students may find it a strange concept that they no longer have to study, read countless pages of textbooks or browse Facebook to regularly procrastinate. So what does a graduate do with their time?
Lily Benjamin, a member of Dickinson College’s class of 2011, hopped from Pennsylvania over to Los Angeles so she could work for Disney. “It’s kind of like freshman year of college but you’re not surrounded by a dorm full of people your own age in the same situation,” said Benjamin about moving to a new place without knowing anybody. An economics major with minors in studio arts and Chinese, Benjamin now works with Disney Consumer Products in “Product Development and Liscensing” and helps “[develop] a new merchandising strategy for three Pixar films.” Since graduating and starting to work with Mickey, Benjamin has learned that “determination will get you far.”
Christina Barnett took a completely different route after graduating from Wesleyan University last spring with a double major in African-American studies and psychology: a route that led here out of the country and to Accra, Ghana. There, Barnett works “as a lecturer/teacher at Education Abroad [to]…help Ghanaian students master the skills they need in order to take university entrance exams.” She also is a Program Coordinator for Young Adventures in Africa, and she works to find advertisers for the New Africa Analysis magazine. Barnett says, “I’m testing the waters, figuring out what I like and don’t like, my strengths and weaknesses, and looking to make a living doing something I love.”
Susan Kim, also a 2011 graduate, received a double degree/triple major in information systems, psychology and marketing from the University of Maryland, College Park. Currently working at Deloitte Consulting, Kim is working on a “federal project whereupon we “go through the systems development life cycle for two applications,” she said. The biggest change for Kim post-college has been her social life. “In college, I was surrounded by so many students and friends and would literally be able to text someone to come over within the hour. Now I actually have to plan things in advance and don’t get to see my friends as much.”
“Maintaining relationships is definitely more difficult but manageable,” Kim says, considering her nights and weekends are free.
As you can see, each person’s post-grad life is very different just as each student’s college experience is unique. So go ahead seniors—get out there and change the world in whichever way is right for you!
