Senior Reflections

By Rachel Manuel
This past Monday I was asked by Drake University to speak to a small group of graduating seniors participating in "Senior Reflections" about what it is like to transition from being a student at Drake into the working world. While I'm not sure I had such great insight to provide (and I hope I didn't depress or scare them) their biggest concerns seemed to come back around to "how do you stay in touch with friends?" or "how do I become involved outside of work?"


These are great questions that I of course don't have the right or wrong answers to, but it seemed natural when I started talking to the group about volunteering. To be fair, I did warn them that it is my job to connect people to volunteer opportunities, but when you really think about it there really is no better way to network, feel like part of the community, and to make new friends than through volunteering.

The seniors are also concerned about finding their first job due to our current economic situation, and yet again I talked about how volunteering can help keep your resume relevant, while also just making you look good. This New York Times article talks about the recent increase of volunteers to nonprofit organizations in the last few months as more people have lost their jobs.


The downside of the transition? The weekend is no longer Wednesday through Sunday. (Oh yeah, and staying in touch with friends even those you live in the same town with is hard!)


What advice do you have for these graduating seniors as they venture out into the "unknown"?