“How do I prepare for post-grad?” — Ben Awesome
Hi, Ben Awesome! Thinking about life after graduation can feel pretty daunting because we’re currently at an age where the pressure is extremely high to set yourself up for the rest of your life. To start, try making a list of goals, both long- and short-term. These can be life and career goals but also smaller, fun goals like trying a new food. Shrinking down the question from “How do I prepare for the rest of my life?” to “What’s something I want to experience?” can alleviate some of the pressure, while simultaneously giving yourself more immediate goals you can achieve in the next year.
It would be wrong for me to give advice on this as a student also asking myself the same question without providing different perspectives, so here’s some advice from St. Joe’s graduates who were once in the same place as us!
From Nick Filardo ’21: “Strive to grow by having a baseline daily routine to build off of and not feel stagnant. This sets you up for the responsibility of a career while feeling fulfilled now. And don’t gamble.”
Nick Milando ’21 in addition says, “I don’t know what I’m doing, and I graduated four years ago. Ask ChatGPT and slap my name on it.”
Besides, by 2050, five billion people will face water scarcity due to the combined effects of climate change and poor water management practices. None of this matters, post-grad will be a matter of surviving the impending water wars. Networking is super important, though!
So, Ben Awesome, you can do a lot to prepare: make a strong resume, talk to the Career Center and build connections. But, more often than not, life’s going to be about preparing for a Plan B. So, the best way to prepare might just be staying open-minded. Develop skills that are transferable, like communication, problem-solving and resilience. Most importantly, be kind to yourself — post-grad life is a journey, and it’s OK to figure things out as you go. You might not know what you’re doing now or in five years, or even ever, and that’s OK because nobody really does.
