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With this year almost halfway over, many seniors will begin to ask themselves the daunting question “What’s next?” What follows is a series of interviews with members of the graduating class about their plans for the future.
Mass communication major Georgia Mae Hurley said, “I went abroad to Argentina last spring and one of my favorite days was when we visited schools. One school in particular was tucked away in the countryside without A/C and had limited access to fresh water. It was then that I decided to go teach English abroad after graduation. I had a traditional internship this summer where I worked in an office, and I quickly discovered that I didn’t feel like I was fulfilling a greater purpose. I still have a lot to learn about myself and I figured I’d start in the ‘real world’ doing something I love: traveling and teaching children.”
Aaron Switzer is a business and mass communication major with a minor in music technology. He isn’t making definitive plans for his future right now, but has a direction he is heading toward. “I plan to work somewhere in a recording studio, where I will hopefully produce music. That will probably lead me either to LA, New York, or another big city, but really, I could end up anywhere,” he said.
Deanna Scheck is an aspiring law enforcement officer. “I have put in an application for a police department, and start the hiring process in January. I’ll also be putting in two to four other applications,” she said.
Weston Williams is graduating this December and is excited to start his life in the theatre world. “After I leave Prin, I intend to move to Chicago and try being an actor for a few years,” he said. “I have plans to room with at least one friend in an apartment in the city. As actors, we’ll both find a day job and start auditioning for as many roles as we can until we start getting cast. It’s a vague plan at this point, but it is a strong direction to move in after I graduate.”
Molly Dixon wants to take time to travel before starting the next steps of her life. She added, “I would love to attend Teton Science School to receive my master’s [degree] in environmental education. I want to further my education before starting a career.”
Charlie Petch has been very proactive in his efforts to the next step after college. “I’ve already started the job search, which is pretty unreal,” he said. “I’ve been to a job fair, I make regular trips to the career center, and I’ve had a number of interviews already. I’m hoping to have something lined up well before graduation, and move to St. Louis instead of heading home. I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that something good will happen soon.”
Senior Nikki Papadopoulos, from South Africa, said, “Since I’m an international student it is a little hard for me to know whether I’m going to stay here or go back home. I haven’t started looking for a job yet but I know the type of industry that I want to go into. I am probably going to apply for jobs back home as well as in the States and then see from there where I end up. But as of now, I am going with the flow.”
Nick Boyd is working hard putting the work in for his post-college life. “I have been actively studying for the LSAT in the hope that I will attend law school in fall 2016,” he said. “I have also received two job offers to work in marketing and sales at a manufacturing company and a software company.”
After an internship at Disney World, Kristin Kayser can’t wait to get back to work. She said, “After spending spring semester of my junior year at Walt Disney World doing the Disney College Program internship I realized that it was a career path I really wanted to pursue after graduation. My plan after graduation is to head back to Orlando and work at Disney again, hopefully as a management intern or a professional intern.”
Jesse Dehnert is fairly sure that he would like to work in financial services. He said, “Currently I’m looking at jobs in the Saint Louis area. I’d also be open to working in the North Bay area of San Francisco or in Seattle, but not much else. I have an internship lined up for next semester that, if everything goes well, will result in a job offer, but I am actively pursuing other opportunities as well.”
Allex Sammuli is a mass communication major on the journalism track, and she is looking into internship opportunities to prepare her for a post-graduation position in the media industry. Sammuli said, “I am applying for several internships for next summer that would help me determine whether or not I would like to pursue a career in journalism and publishing. I would also like to attend grad school within the next couple of years. I would love to do some travelling as well, and continue building a strong readership for my personal blog.”
Austin Dauterman is excited to have a little chill time after graduation. “After college I really just want to take some time to relax, indulge myself in my hobbies, take some time to do the things I want, [and] not be bound to any rigid schedule,” he said. “I haven’t had a chance to take a break for a few years so I’m really looking forward to it. However, the reality is […] I need to find a job as soon as possible so I can have a steady income. I went to a networking event this summer that was put together by Principia. At the event, I got to talk to some high-ranking people from different software companies around [my hometown Seattle], so I’m probably going to be communicating with them as soon as I graduate.”
Cassidy Orth-Moore is a mass communication major with political science and global perspectives minors. She said, “I eventually want to get into international development or some sort of work that helps women, domestically or internationally. [But] I know myself, and I know that I am not quite ready to get what I would call a [grown-up] job, so I’ve decided I’m going to nanny for a little while. Nannies can make a lot of money, they often get to travel, and I absolutely love children. It seems like the perfect ‘transition’ job for me, where I can pretend to be an adult, but still get to have fun. I may also do a program called WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) where you help out on an organic farm in exchange for food and lodging. I think I’m going to do it in Hawaii.”
Ingrid List is thrilled to be teaching after graduation. “I’ve accepted a yearlong commitment to City Year in Boston,” she said. “It’s an AmeriCorps program where I will be a mentor to at-risk students in urban Boston.”