The
Battalion - Aggielife
Issue:
The Real World
By Daniel Chapman
It's bound to happen to all of us. Come graduation, students
find themselves taking the walk across that symbolic stage and realize that
they are crossing from one phase of life to the next. While some Aggies are ready to leave, others find themselves digging
their feet in and dragging college life out as long as possible. There is a
grab bag of emotions ranging from excitement to fear when contemplating
"the end," but there is life after college.
"I couldn't have been blessed to get a better first job out of
college," said former student B.J. Young, who graduated from A&M in
2004 with a business degree. "I wasn't too sure what I was looking for
while I was searching, but when my job came along I knew it would be great. I
now work for Mitsubishi/Caterpillar forklifts where I help manage our Web site,
sales literature, public relations, trade shows and work on brand
development."
While some may stress about finding the perfect first job, many use their first
step as a springboard for their next occupation.
"I like what I am doing, but I know that I want to one day own my own
business," Young said. "I think that small businesses are the
backbone of
Finishing college is an accomplishment, but often students look back and wish
that they had done things a bit differently.
"I wish I had stayed longer than four years and a summer," Young
said. "I didn't want to feel like I was staying too long. I felt like I
was burnt out on taking too much school and being involved in too many
organizations and should have spent more time enjoying not being completely on
my own. Because I'm still young and single I don't feel like I should be on my
own, but I should still be in college."
While many feel that life couldn't get better than living the college scene,
there are many perks to getting out there.
"Finances are so much better," said former A&M student Troy
Miller who graduated with a sports management degree. "For the last nine
months I've been the emcee for an 18-wheeler full of SBC Communications
products. In the fall, we went around to tons of college football games and
promoted SBC. We've traveled to
For sport fanatics, running around the country covering sports events would
seem like more of a vacation than a job. While it's nice to have the money
pouring in, there are some drawbacks.
"The toughest for me is living on the road, basically, since I've
graduated," Miller said. "It's cool to be at all the games, but it's
a lot of work. People think that I have the coolest job ever, but I pull a lot
of hours. One guy quit because of the 18-hour days we were working during the
Cotton Bowl."
A&M has progressed over the years. As tuition rises and student population
grows, students who graduated decades ago still recollect the glory days of
college.
"I graduated with an undergraduate degree in '76 and graduated from vet
school in '78, so I feel like I was there when the growth of the school really
started," said former A&M student Guy Sheppard. "The West Campus
was just getting started, so seeing that area of campus grow
is quite a change. The Zone is amazing at Kyle Field. I've managed to come back
most years, so I have seen it progress."
Even having had a successful career and two children follow in his footsteps,
Sheppard may still have done things slightly different while he was at A&M.
"I was a very focused student," Sheppard
said. "I had my goals well before I entered college, and I was determined
on being a vet and I achieved those goals. I wish that I wasn't quite as
intense and spent more time goofing off and getting to know people. I really
enjoyed my college career, and my best friends today are people that I went to
school with. It's hard to believe that I could have had more fun, so I feel
like hindsight tells us that we could have had more fun, but in actuality it
was great."
Graduating and being successful is a goal of the vast majority of students.
There are several things that can be done to ensure this success.
"Work hard at all that you do and keep your eyes open," Sheppard
said. "There is a saying that goes opportunity comes to those who are
prepared. This is true. Also, know that nothing comes out perfectly the way you
planned. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't."
The age group of late teenagers and early 20s is called
"quarter-lifers," a term coined by chiropractor and author Jason Steinle. After interviewing over 300 people in this age
group, there have been some interesting findings when it comes to
post-graduation and figuring out life.
"Today, I am 28 years old and when I graduated, I saw my peers getting
married, getting mortgages and I wasn't sure what I was missing," said
Jason Steinle, author of the book Upload Experience.
"I started calling up people that were leaders and asking them questions
like, how do you find your purpose, what should you do for a living, when
should you marry, when should you have children, and so forth. I started a
television show, and I started interviewing 'quarter-lifers.' What I started
realizing is that everyone was facing these questions, just at different times
of their lives. I put it all down in a book that I wish I had read when I was 20."
After all the interviews and findings, there is one simple event that can be
done to help make those decisions and find what individuals want out of life.
"Volunteering is one of the best things to do," Steinle
said. "We are taught to choose a career in high school and pursue through
college. So early on in college, it is important to volunteer and see if you
like what you are doing. If you like writing, join the paper; if you like kids,
volunteer at school. By doing this, you create a network of people that will
see that you are dedicated and will help you in the future."
There are also several questions that one can ask to discern what fears they
have and where their passions lie.
"A simple question to ask yourself over and over is 'what did I do today
that I enjoyed?' and 'what can I do to be beautifully paid
to do it?'" Steinle said. "These questions
will show you what is that you truly enjoy and how to make that work for
you."
Fear is also a factor that kills many young people's spirit.
"We are often so afraid to do something because of fear that it paralyzes
us," Steinle said. "The questions to be
asked are what are the best that can happen, and
what's the worst that could happen? What is most likely to happen and am I
willing to live with the worst in order to have a shot at the best? By asking
this, it shows what I really want."
Steinle's book will be available through amazon.com.
Graduating from college is a life-changing experience. Life will be different
as each grad ventures out in the world and finds his niche. While scary, life
after college is a challenge that Aggies will be well
prepared for.