Many graduating seniors were expecting to enter the workforce following graduation, but many academic and career-related opportunities have turned remote or have been canceled due to the pandemic. But as quarantine restrictions are lifted around the country, students are beginning to look forward to the next year.
Izzy Fernandes, a freshman majoring in human physiology and political science, said the current situation has limited some of her learning of chemistry for the human physiology major. “I find it difficult to learn laboratory techniques, concepts and chemical analysis over a laptop,” she said.
Despite the circumstances, Fernandes has big hopes for the coming year. “I am most looking forward to exploring my academic interests further,” she said, adding that she is excited to participate in the pre-physicians assistant and College Democrats clubs.
Fernandes said she also plans to volunteer for Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of Lane County next year. The clinic is for Lane County residents who cannot afford health care coverage, which is in line with her interests in health care and public policy.
Nathen Eldridge, an academic and career advisor at the School of Journalism and Communication, said it’s never too early for students to start gaining experience through student organizations. Eldridge has also been encouraging students to connect with faculty members and UO alumni. “It’s more important than ever to start reaching out and establishing a network,” he said.
The University Career Center has been hosting student networking events in collaboration with alumni volunteers, said Paul Timmins, the executive director of the center. “Our alumni are more committed than I could have ever expected and so I would encourage students to use that as a resource,” Timmins said. “The alumni really care about [students’] success.”
Timmins said that he has been reminding students that all the experiences they have are valuable. In regards to remote learning, Timmins said students are building skills through their remote classes that will be useful when they are out in the workforce. “We’re seeing more and more employers that are asking all of their employees to work remotely,” he said.
Eldridge said that a number of previously canceled jobs and internships have shifted to remote opportunities or have been pushed back to the fall.
This is true for senior Nate Mann, who accepted an internship with Portland General Electric in February. “That was really exciting,” Mann said. “I was like, this is a great time for me to show what I can do, and then hopefully earn a full time job with them because this is a company I can see myself with in the future and a position that I really enjoy.”
Mann expected to start work over the summer, but he later received news that PGE had delayed the start date of the internship until September.
Mann, who is a journalism major, will be working in environmental communications and outreach for PGE. Mann said the job requires operating and producing content for PGE’s social media and attending outreach events, an aspect of the job that has been canceled due to the current circumstances.
“Essentially if it does become an entirely remote internship, it would just be social media and writing,” Mann said. “The content production wouldn’t be as complete as it would be in person because it would involve going to the hydroelectric stations, but you can’t do that now.”
Timmins acknowledged that the job market will be tough for seniors but is reminding students it requires some patience. Timmins also said the Career Center created a webpage with career advice as a resource to help seniors. “Everyone’s at a different spot,” he said. “But we really want to encourage people to keep looking for little ways of moving forward.”
This story was updated on Sunday, May 31, to fix minor typographical errors.
