Kate Hoskins, former English major (Class of 2010), recently got in touch with the English Department to report on her life post-graduation. She offers advice for all those finishing up in June:
“I spent the next few years [after graduation] teaching elementary school, and was extremely grateful for a degree that helped me make a difference in my community. College prepared me to teach, but at twenty-five, I had hit the mid-life crisis of Millennials and needed to make a change. I didn’t have a back-up plan. Or a game plan. I just knew I needed to make room for something new.
There are a million ways to make a difference in the world, and I’m learning to see that my way of making a difference might look different than I thought it would. I have friends that have made it into Response and etc. publications for their work in cancer research and non-profits. Other friends made post-grad life look charmed by having jobs or weddings lined up directly following graduation. At the time, my heart ached with envy, and I longed for a similar security. In the four or five years since graduating, many of these friends have realized that they desire something other than the security and success that they’ve found in their professional careers. Some have left jobs, others have gone back to school, and I’ve been humbled to realize that everyone goes through seasons of uncertainty, questioning, and transition in their own good time.
The good news is that your major does not determine your life. You will continue finding out who you are and who God has made you to be long after graduation. Thankfully, it is a lifelong process—a process that is not to be feared, but welcomed. Trust that God will continue to guide you as you move beyond this campus and your next job or internship. It’s okay to be a barista, to move home, to rest, to travel, to stop, and to let things go. Listen to your instincts and don’t force something to happen. Know that you’re going to be okay and there is no formula for your freshman year of life. Take comfort knowing that the first year out is surprisingly unsettling.”