Opinion: Upcoming graduates are often asked the flawed question of “What are you going to do after you graduate?” It is important to highlight the differences among those who worked hard to get to where they are today and what they will do in the future.

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Spring term is slowly coming to an end and with it, graduates prepare to take the next steps into a new period of adulthood. As a graduating senior myself, I am often asked the question “What are you going to do after you graduate?” My initial feelings are always an influx of anxiety and that maybe I have not done enough. 
Honestly, I am sick of this question and think it is incredibly flawed. There are too many questions and not enough answers for everyone in this transition period. For this reason, I feel that it is necessary to showcase the differences among the graduating class.

In my quest to show the many perspectives of what it means to graduate undergrad, I spoke with three members of the class of 2023: Nisha Kyathsandra, Isabella Garcia and Gabe Nichols.

Kyathsandra is majoring in human physiology and minoring in chemistry. Garcia is finishing her time at the UO with an advertising major and entrepreneurship minor. Nichols, like Kyathsandra, is a STEM student with a major in biology and a minor in both global health and anthropology. Although this diverse set of academic scholars may just be a small percent of the graduating class, their experiences and how they feel about their plans are both interesting and important to share.

The pressure to fit into society right away after graduation is an unfair expectation to put onto any 21- to 22-year-old. Chances are, not everyone is going to know exactly what they want to do and where they want to be. However, there will always be someone who has a good idea of what they want. 

Nichols, for example, vividly described his plans to move back to the East Coast with the goal of moving to Pittsburgh where he’ll “hopefully get [his] masters schooling paid for after a couple years of work and then go for a masters in public health.” Nichols plans on relying on research lab positions, but ultimately desires the opportunity to work in the field, helping any local community needing improved public health systems.

Kyathsandra plans on moving to Chicago where she will take a gap year before she ultimately attends medical school in the fall of 2024. Similar to Nichols, Kyathsandra will be seeking clinical research lab positions in a new city. She used a lot of campus tools and opportunities to be able to find herself in this fortunate position.

Other graduates may be like Garcia, who differs from these two other students as she only had a vague understanding of what she plans to do. She has however been applying to many different positions across the West Coast and is open to finding advertising or event management positions overseas if the opportunity arises. As she had a widely different perspective on her future plans, I asked how it made her feel when someone asked her about her post-grad plans.

“They don’t expect this long answer about your philosophy about how you are moving to the next stage of life. Sometimes I’m just not sure,” Garcia said. “It’s not something that I fear answering because I think we have definitely moved into being ok with not knowing what’s next, especially with the pandemic.” 

Garcia emphasized that there is “definitely pressure” in regards to making one’s family proud. She also highlighted the fact that one of the biggest reasons for pre-graduation anxiety is that she feels as if the jobs she is applying to are the “right” things to do, regardless of whether or not she is ready to commit to a static career in her early 20s.

When asked the same question, both Kyathsandra and Nichols emphasized their increased anxiety. Kyathsandra noted that, because she has known what she wanted to do for a long time, it has made this transition “definitely nerve racking.” Nichols on the other-hand believes this transition is a “scary thing” but is proud of his lofty goals and is excited to begin this new chapter in life.

All of these perspectives have allowed me to see the true meaning of graduating college. It is not that we should be afraid of what lies ahead, but that we should follow our gut and choose happiness over anything else. Even though most graduates do not have a clear understanding of their future, they are proud of getting to this position regardless of whether or not they have surpassed their expectations. Graduating college is an accomplishment that should not be limited to the question, “What are you going to do after you graduate?”

Instead we should ask, “Are you excited to graduate?” as this is a more important question than following into the trap that assumes that someone in their early twenties has their life together.
We are almost ready.

Good luck to the class of 2023.