Tag: post-grad

Seniors and alumni reflect on OWU

Areena Arora, Managing Editor

With only two weeks left to graduation, besides academic work and designing graduation caps, seniors have much to accomplish.

While some wish to drive on the JayWalk, others want to maintain strong relationships with friends and graduate.

Senior Mackenzie Sommers’ bucket list includes going for a midnight dip in the fountain at the JayWalk. “I’m pretty cautious about this one, though, because god only knows what people do to the water in that fountain,” said Sommers.

Senior Mili Green does not have much on her bucket list. “I try to live without regrets, so I do what I can. I do want to go karaoking at Clancey’s, though,” said Green.

With nearly 100 clubs, there is always room for involvement at Ohio Wesleyan.

Senior Nate Goodhart said, “This school offers so many programs, clubs and organizations that allow for students to truly take advantage of their time here at OWU.”

Senior Sadie Parsons from California said, “I do participate in many things. However, I wish I would have acquired more leadership roles in the clubs and activities I was involved with.”

Looking back at the four years spent at OWU, some say it has been a rewarding experience while yet others have some regrets.

Sommers said, “I wish I’d written more TIPITS (Theory-to-Practice grants) and SIPS (Student Individualized Project grants). This school gives you so many opportunities to see and do the things that you are interested in.”

Green said, “I was always curious about Greek Life … but I think it was too late to rush because everyone knows I’m not for it.”

For some seniors we talked to, summarizing four years’ experience was not easy. Parsons said, “My time at OWU has been amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I wouldn’t even take back any of the hardest times I’ve had here because I learned from them and only became a stronger person from them.”

Senior Camille Mullins-Lemieux, resident of Peace and Justice House said, “This place has allowed me to flourish as a person a lot.”

Kim Eckart, ’13, who now works as the assistant to VP of Finance and Administration said she regrets not having participated in a travel learning course and not joining a small living unit.

Haley Barber, ’13, who now works for the Community Service Learning office and Office of Career Services said, “I regret not studying abroad. That was one of the things on my bucket list … I couldn’t fit it in with my double majors in biology and studio arts.”

Kelly Rand, ’15, an intern at the Office of President, has some advice for rising seniors. “My advice to seniors is to be a little less responsible and little more spontaneous. You should enjoy time outside by the fountain with friends on a beautiful day. You can do your reading later, because you won’t be able to do that next year. Soak it all in while you can,” said Rand.

Looking ahead, in less than a month, seniors will be out in the world with an undergraduate degree. The campus they’ve come to identify as home will no longer be their residence.

Senior Shelli Reeves has her post-graduation plans made. “I will be completing my first book and travelling as much as possible,” said Reeves.

Mullins-Lemieux said, “I’m staying at a Buddhist monastery in Oregon in June … and then taking an internship in Panama at a sustainable village on their design-thinking team.”

Taking the post-OWU plunge into “the real world”

We are two weeks away from graduation. I’d say the real world is knocking on the door, but at this point I feel more like the first little pig in his house of hay, and the world is huffing and puffing. For those of us who don’t yet have a job, the stress of finding one has kicked in, hard – almost as hard as Christian Grey has sex.

What’s the next step for us seniors, you ask? Good question. Some of the members of our class have job offers or are off to grad school (congratulations, you make us proud). I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of us are still trying to figure something out.

If I get asked one more time what I’m doing this summer or after graduation, I might punch someone in the face. My hatred for this question is so blatant that during a Spanish class, my teacher asked everyone in it but me, stating that, “She knows how much this question irritates me.”

I have absolutely no idea what I’ll be doing this summer, let alone with my life. I don’t even know which country I will call home in two weeks. And while that and other things such as grades and finding a job are absolutely despairing, I find comfort in the fact I have around 400 other anguished seniors who are still trying to find their footing.

In my desperate attempts to find a job, I sent applications almost around the clock. I’m an addict. I’ve been selling myself for the past four months. Sending resumes, cover letters, doing Skype interviews, phone interviews, regular interviews, you name it. Last week, I came to the conclusion that I was damn tired of selling myself – I was ready to take this body off the streets.

So I took a break from applying. Yet, I realized very quickly that it was a bad idea, and I fell off the wagon. I’m once again a victim of the likes of websites such as Indeed.com, where they feed you hundreds of job prospects, all of which require at least 1-2 years of experience despite being called entry level jobs. However, that’s a whole different can of worms – I’m not tackling that subject right now, as I am pressed for time. I need to apply for some more jobs.

I’d like to reminisce to high school. No, not the fond memories of our athletic peaks (for most of us, this is undeniably true, sorry y’all), but to graduation memories. Remember how hard it was to leave your high school, your friends, people you’ve known for a large part of your life? Yeah well multiply that by googol (that’s a 10 with 100 zeros behind it for non-science/math majors).

While Delaware and Ohio Wesleyan are a home to many of us, they are not our hometowns. I can go back every summer to Rio and see most of my friends. However, it’s a little trickier to find all of my OWU friends – we don’t all have a place in common besides this school, and our time here is over. That’s what makes this so hard.

I have made friends, connections, and memories that I will never forget. Take comfort in your fellow senior classmates’ struggles, share, bond, hang out, laugh, cry, whatever floats your boat. We can only walk this plank for two more weeks before we fall into the sea that is the real world – make ‘em count.