The school year is winding down, and many students find themselves scrambling to decide what they should do for the upcoming summer. But if you’re a senior, the uncertainty doesn’t stop there. Many seniors not only have to decide what they are doing for the upcoming break, but also what they may consider doing for several years to come. Whether it’s getting a job or going to graduate school, the choices and uncertainty can be overwhelming.
University senior Kristin Cowman, a business major with an accounting focus, is pursuing grad school in Denver, Colo. Cowman was accepted to the private University of Denver in March and has decided to move to Denver, where she is originally from, to pursue her master’s degree in accounting. After a year of schooling she will go on to take the Uniform CPA Exam, a series of four daunting tests required before becoming a certified accountant.
“I knew I wanted to be a business major before I came to college,” Cowman said. “But then I took a music class and realized immediately my love for the musical arts. I knew right then and there that I wanted to, at the very least, minor in music.”
Like many graduating seniors, Cowman initially struggled with figuring out her plans for next year.
“I was torn between wanting to go to grad school or wanting to pursue a career pertaining to my love for music, but eventually I came to the realization that I could broaden my opportunity palette by going to graduate school and still potentially pursue a career in music after I graduate,” she said.
Many business students are faced with this challenge every year as business students have to decide much sooner than other majors what they are going to do when they graduate.
University senior Christine Moore is taking a completely different path and pursuing a future in the Peace Corps, a program designed to relocate an individual for 27 months to volunteer in foreign, and many times underdeveloped, countries. The Peace Corps has sent volunteers to 139 countries working on issues including AIDS, information technology and environmental preservation.
Moore began her application process in December 2010 to begin a program that starts in January 2012. Although she doesn’t find out where she will be placed until mid-June, she hopes to be placed in either Peru or Chile, as she has pursued a major in sociology and a minor in Spanish. There are many requirements for the Peace Corps program, including up to forty hours of volunteer work among the list of qualifications you must meet to be accepted.
“You receive the same amount of money per month as the people that live there,” Moore said. “I could either live in a hut or a mansion, it just depends where they send me. You have to find your own place to live and then decide if you want to spend your money on a bike or a horse as your primary mode of transportation.”
The Peace Corps is an excellent opportunity for someone who is looking for adventure and interested in taking a road less traveled after graduation.
University senior journalism major Angela Swain, on the other hand, is pursuing a more conventional post-graduation path. The summer after her junior year she interned with Betty Rides, a women’s outdoor apparel company. She worked there for the duration of the summer and at the conclusion of her internship was asked to join as a full-time staff member when she graduates in June. She has been hired as a marketing and public relations practitioner and will be expected to maintain the social media at Betty Rides.
“The riders that are on our snowboarding team are amateurs, but a lot of them have won competitions and have the potential to go pro,” Swain said.
Swain declared her journalism major — with a business minor — during her sophomore year, which enabled her to get a head start on her academic goals. Having a business minor can provide a great marketing base for any major and really broaden opportunities for post-graduation plans.
Regardless of what path you choose, make sure to start your research early to ensure you have all your loose ends tied up when it comes time to graduate. The possibilities after graduation take a lot of research, time and persistence. So start thinking about what you want to do long before you graduate to ensure a bright and guaranteed future.