Alumni Connection

"Enjoy college while you can - it will be the best time of your lives!" "This is the worst time to graduate - the economy is a mess!"

"Why didn't you major in something practical? You will have such a hard time making enough money."

Sound familiar? Unless things have drastically changed since about this time last year, statements like the ones above are a daily reality for the class of 2010. As a graduate of 2009, the class that entered the working world in the worst economic times since the Great Depression, I am here to tell you: "Chill!"

Myths like the ones above contribute nothing to your general well-being - or the degree to which you are prepared to graduate from college. It is a big step, a huge step, with many intense changes, but buying into negative beliefs about your future will only increase your anxiety and hinder you from truly enjoying the last months at SNC. In fact, I think part of why people spread scary thoughts filled with dark predictions is mostly that they a) were unable to make themselves content after their own graduation or b) they want you to be scared with them if they have not graduated yet.

But don't get me wrong. I am by no means saying that graduating is not difficult in many ways. When I began my last semester at SNC, I felt well prepared and nervous at the same time. I knew that I wanted to take a year off before going to grad school, and that I wanted to spend it working in the media field in Boston. I started contacting SNC alumni out there, but while they were excited that I was reaching out to them and thought I had good qualifications, they either knew of no one in the field or were unable to help me due to hiring freezes and their own job struggles. I refused to be discouraged, but my anxiety grew. Finally, I decided to break into the Washington DC market, where SNC has a significantly larger amount of alumni than in Boston. However, I had no luck there either. It was rather discouraging. I remember driving somewhere during spring break last March and feeling utterly unlucky for graduating in 2009. And by this time I was legitimately scared.

April rolled around and I began realizing that I should start tapping into the Wisconsin market now. Maybe it would be easier to get an interview around here somewhere, but again: not so much. I went to graduation without a clue what I was going to do - which had been my biggest fear starting out with my job search. It didn't necessarily help that I am an international student, only permitted to be unemployed on my work visa for 90 days. I was also getting really concerned about money and knew something needed to happen fast.

I finally found a job about half-way through June - as an editor at an online marketing company here in De Pere, Wisconsin. At first I was relieved, but I also knew that this was a big compromise to what I initially had set out to do.

Well, I am still here in De Pere and I must say, things have been much better than I anticipated. I worked at the online marketing company for about six months and kept myself busy on the side with half-marathon training, friends (the ones that are still around), and grad school applications. In December, I resigned from my job, realizing that I had more of an entrepreneur in me than I thought during college. Since then I have worked as a Social Media Specialist for two companies in the area and am now in the process of creating my own social media freelancing business. I feel confident about the future and am happy that I am not desperate to get into grad school seeing as I have built a variety of opportunities in "the real world" (this word is another big myth, if you ask me).

The key for me, really, was staying positive. Realizing my strengths more than I had before. Acknowledging my weaknesses. Staying connected. Not using a slow economy as an excuse. Life after college is not a mere shadow of your previous existence. It is full of incredible opportunities and you are free to choose which ones you would like to pursue. One piece of advice: tap into SNC alumni in the entire country. They are a fantastic resource. I am glad I reached out to them because, even if no one was able to get me a job, I have formed some great new friendships!

Editor's Note: Suzan Odabasi '09, former St. Norbert Times Features Editor, English major with Creative Writing emphasis and Media Studies minor, shares her experiences leading up to graduation and her advice for undergraduates preparing to enter the work world.