For this editorial, we borrow an idea from the wise woman quoted on Page 1. In an interview last week, Amy Kedron told the Crow’s Nest, “If you treat a university like an island, you have to spend all your energy getting off the island … and it’s hard to get off the freakin’ island.”
Though this quote did not make it to print verbatim, the concept is explored in the story on Kedron’s course on nonprofit leadership. Here, however, we offer our own interpretation of the analogy and apply it to other aspects of USF St. Petersburg.
Raise your hand if you know what you’re doing after graduation. If you look around, you’ll notice most of your fellow students are not raising their hands. While this may be because they’re not reading this editorial at the same time you are, it’s equally likely they also have no idea what life after USFSP has in store.
Most of you probably have no idea what you want to do with your degree, even those who are graduating in May. If you do know, put this paper down and go enjoy your life. We look forward to seeing you on the mainland. However, if you’re in the same boat as many of your peers, and a grizzly Tom Hanks, take this life vest.
If you don’t know what you want to do after graduation, it’s probably because you’ve never explored your field of study outside a classroom setting. If you’re a poli-sci major, you should be working on political campaigns or in a law office. If you’re an English major with a focus in tech-writing, find an internship or freelance work. No one will hire you unless you have work samples. And most importantly, if you’re only one or two semesters into your major and you’ve already decided it’s not what you want to do with your life, get out! Don’t strand yourself on Island of Education when you already know you don’t want anything to do with teaching. Even jumping from major to major until you find something that sticks will be enormously preferable to A) a job you hate or B) no job at all.
Unless your next step is getting into a good grad school, in which case good grades are vital, what you do in the classroom will pale in comparison to what you do outside of it, in terms of importance. So, get yourself off the island before it’s too late.
Some degree tracks are already doing a good job of setting their students up for success. Students in the College of Education are required to work internship hours through which they work with elementary school children. What better way to figure out you hate kids than helping them with their homework? And for those who find the opposite, working at an elementary school gives them a taste of the real world; of what life will be like when they have their own class of sticky yet adorable 7-year-olds who accidentally call them Mom. It’s motivation to work hard, graduate and get the heck out of here.
The College of Business does a decent job of building connections for their students as well, as demonstrated by Kedron’s class. Business students are encouraged to take part-time jobs and internships as well as participate in start-up weekend competitions where they present their own entrepreneurial ideas. If nothing else, the extracurriculars help students build connections. And when they apply for a job at Franklin Templeton or Raymond James, their names may already be in the database as a former intern, or at least as a strong internship candidate. That’s a connection worth building.
After working your butt off for four years on a college degree, you’re going to want a real job. Sure, there is nothing wrong with working as a Starbucks barista while your finance degree hangs in your studio apartment with a piece of scotch tape. Creating the perfect swirl of whipped cream to top a frappuccino is a valuable skill that most of us will never hone. But is that really all you want?
College isn’t “Survivor.” When Jeff Probst reads the ballots from the clay urn, you want your name to be on all of them. Kids, the tribe has spoken, and you need to get yourself off the freakin’ island.
Thanks to Amy Kedron for the whole “college is an island” idea and for being a valuable asset to this university and its students.
