Through this article, I want to explore not just my own post-college journey but also yours: what your
post-college journey can look like—and very well may look like! I also share ideas, encouragements, and thoughts to carry with you as you enter this new chapter of your life.
Graduation Plans and Post-Grad Strategy
Each graduate’s post-college life looks different. Some have no choice but to throw themselves into a job (and if you do
need a job straight out of college, make sure to start applying at least a month before you graduate).
Others need a job but are not compelled to rush, so they will start applying after they graduate. Others may
take a gap year and enjoy this last work-free year of their life with a platter of world travelling and a sprinkle of good company.
Still
others may jump right into a master’s program, elongating their student journey. Everyone’s path looks different.
My journey is a mix of the above scenarios. I secured a job early this spring, but it is
only part-time. So, in the months to come, I will either apply for other part-time jobs or try freelancing. Writers and similar creatives (like graphic designers) may find themselves in freelance positions whereas doctors or lawyers will likely go a more structured, clearer route. Your major/degree will help determine your post-grad course of action.
My advice to you is to make sure you have some sort of plan. It can be a color-coded physical planner, a bullet list on your notes app, or ideas in your head. And the more dire your situation—the more responsibility, particularly
financial responsibility, you have—the more necessary it is to be thorough.
Whatever the case, have at least some notion of where you will need to be (and where you will actually be) in the next few months. Especially if you have
school loans to pay, make sure you set yourself up for success to pay on time and pay them off. Organization and drive are keys to success, including in the post-grad life.
Of course, as you make plans, remember that life is neither neat nor tidy. Your plans could implode the moment you write them down. Deterred plans are what happened to me in 2020. Planning is important because it keeps you on track. But be flexible and know that, although you choose what to do with your actions and reactions (you are responsible for you), the saying “life throws curveballs” is real.
College Graduate Reflections
Get More Than Grades
I graduated summa cum laude, a 3.5+ GPA. And guess what?
Grades aren’t everything.
If there is anything I learned at university, it’s that experience leverages grades. In college, I needed to make connections and do things outside of the classroom. And I did!
Here, I am writing for Fastweb. I copyedit(ed) for a local newsletter. I published poetry. I interned with a company. I got writing experience and networked with others.
And I can tell you one thing: I have my part-time job because I knew somebody.
If you are not graduating college yet,
get experience and get to know people (at your college or otherwise). If you just graduated, cling to the experience/networking you had and don’t shy away from
putting that info on your resume.
College Grows You
My college gifts each of their graduates bottles of sand at commencement. These bottles of sand reflect the mingling and growth that shapes each graduate on their college journey.
When you go to college, you learn new things, meet new people,
take on new experiences. And you change. Sometimes for better, other times for worse. Either way, college shapes and grows you.
I grew through my college experience. I was introduced to new ideas, challenging old ideas and alternative ideas. I had to think critically and logically, pulling out hypocrisy from myself and the ideas around me.
As a Christian,
I had to compare my faith with the faiths, belief systems, presuppositions, and worldviews of others. College challenged me to think, pulling out truth from the depths of the earth. And as I learned new things, I changed as a person.
Be careful what you learn in college as elsewhere in life and the consequences of the ideas you take in. Ideas have real-world consequences. Always.
What is the end—the logical conclusion, the consequence—of your beliefs, worldview, faith? Where does that put you? Where does that put the world at large? And why? Is there a conflict between the diverse beliefs that you have or that are pressed upon you—some dissonance?
Be open to asking questions. Your answers to these may change the course of your life.
Having Stepped Across the Stage
Having
stepped across the stage myself, I want to encourage you as you prepare for your post-college journey—whether it be in two years or already having begun. And I hope my reflection encourages you to reflect on your own journey.
If you had a terrible college experience, be thankful that it’s over (or almost over), and push ahead knowing that life continues—and so do your opportunities. If you had a good college experience, be thankful for the experience you had and know that college is a privilege, a privilege many in our country and especially throughout our world do not have access to.
Either way, reflect honestly, and remember that college isn’t the end, but the beginning (literally!) as the future rolls out like a red carpet before you.