Global Career Compass
Leveraging Education Abroad for Student Career Development & Employability
A Students’ Place in the World
In the cycle of life, it’s that time once again. Students are graduating from colleges and universities across the country and for many, the unanswered question is: Now what?
Shortly, NAFSA: Association of International Educators will conduct its annual international conference in Denver. And one of its major speakers is NY Times columnist, David Brooks. In thinking about graduation and what “place” lies ahead for millions of youths, I re-read his September 8, 2014 Times column, “Becoming a Real Person.”
Brooks references three different missions of the current university: commercial (preparing for work), cognitive (acquisition of information & knowledge), and moral purpose (building an integrated understanding of self). Of course, a week later, the Times published several letters to the editor from campuses around the country. The gist of these responses was that students should not have to choose one path over another.
A good follow-up to the Brooks column is an essay in the March 9, 2015 Chronicle of Higher Education by Lisa M. Dolling, “To Help Students Succeed Professionally and Personally, Teach the Art of Being Human.” Her essay discusses the “false dichotomies” which she sees behind the ongoing debate about the purpose of college – or perhaps the ROI – and she states:
“Either you believe the purpose of going to college is to be able to secure a (preferably high-paying) job, or you think there is something more intrinsically valuable to be gained from the years spent earning a degree. My question is: When did these become mutually exclusive?” Exactly.
And I’d circle back to what I usually focus on in this blog which centers on the value of international experience in the life of an undergraduate. And yes, how such experioence can add value to and become essential to a students’ employability as they seek entry into the workforce. The above value questions relate to this goal — as a co-curricular “activity,” study-service-or work abroad adds a dimension to a students’ life experience with unparalled potential for personal growth and development of critical skills and competencies. Such experience complements classroom learning and provides invaluable perspective to their studies.
Whether in the community around campus or in the wider world community, I’ve always believed that experiential learning provides a laboratory for students to test themselves, challenge their values, and learn how to become more adaptable and flexible colleagues and members of a community outside their comfort zone.
My advice to members of the Class of 2016? Keep challenging yourself. Keep communicating with your network of friends and mentors.Take risks as you move through your first jobs – be that person who says yes when there is a new task to be done. Travel if and when you can. Be persistent in your job search. It’s hard work. The search process can be very humbling and even humiliating. Stay with it. Rely upon the hard skills you developed in the classroom and those softer skills you honed outside in the community. You need both to succeed.
It will take awhile to “find your place.” Actually, that’s a given.
4 Comments on “A Students’ Place in the World”
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Reblogged this on Global Career Compass and commented:
Written in 2016, I wrote this post after reading an essay about teaching teaching students, “the art of being human.” I know that all 2020 grads, especially those from low-income families, are facing extremely difficult times and an extraordinarily fragile economy. I’ve been using my Twitter feed, @tillman_marty, to post and comment on advice to students and provide perspective about how campuses are struggling to support students. So, it may appear glib or irrelevant to talk about anything other than finding a job. Nevertheless, it might be helpful to reflect on the issue of the “return” on one’s investment in obtaining a degree:
“Either you believe the purpose of going to college is to be able to secure a (preferably high-paying) job, or you think there is something more intrinsically valuable to be gained from the years spent earning a degree. As in how did your college experience shape your humanity?
My question is: When did these become mutually exclusive?”
I am taking Adult Education Capstone: Trends, Issues, Global Perspectives (an adult education course) at Walden University. I apologize for being so slow to respond. Thanks so much!
Stephen: I’m very pleased that my blog has come to your attention! Thanks for writing and I hope that when you review the site, that you will find other posts which you find meaningful and relevant to your course of study. I also post interesting information and research to my twitter feed. Additionally, other publications of mine are found on my LinkedIn profile page.
What is the institution where you are taking this class?
The Global Career Compass blog was recommended to me during a current class, Adult Education Capstone: Trends, Issues, Global Perspectives. I have selected several blogs to follow for the course. I look forward to more posts here. I am a returning adult learner from southern United States and the topics impact me. Topics like motivating factors for adults to return to school, how education is set up and reformed in different regions of the world, and challenges are not simply class topics but real world ones. I should learn a great deal, and I am grateful for your help in clarifying matters of importance.