Talking to Undergraduate Seniors

I few weeks ago I was asked to speak to an undergraduate capstone course taught by Professor Duke. Going into the class I was unsure what exactly the students were really interested in knowing. The class was set up as a panel format. The panelist were an alumni of the urban and metropolitan studies who now works in non-profit, a recruiter from Maricopa county, and myself (a graduate student who will work in local government). The class was small and there was a certain level of uncertainty in the room as to what many of them had planned for after graduation.

Overall it all went well and I believed we offered a broad perception of local government, non-profit, and executive management. One of the very first questions I fielded was “how did student loans affect my decision to pursue grad school?” In all honesty from the minute I decided to apply for grad school I didn’t even think of student loans only to the point that I knew I would be taking them out. My mindset was clear in thinking that the cost would payoff with a stable job that would lead to a successful career. One way or another, my student loans will be paid off. Despite having a fellowship that offsets some of my costs, I still took out students loans and in doing so created the flexibility for me to network and explore various options and interests of mine. I graduate with a good chunk of student loans but confident that I will manage.

Another thing I noticed among this group of seniors was the lack of certainty towards what they wanted to do after graduation. In our MPA capstone we were asked to write a 5 year plan, an assessment of where we are now, where we want to be, and how we want to get there. Graduating undergrad I had a firm idea of what I wanted to do with my life and this was due to the fact that I took on various internships that helped shaped my mind. I know with budget cuts many organizations have cut back on internships but I believe that even unpaid internships are vital to providing substantial exposure to a variety of career options.