Leaving college to fully enter the workforce can be intimidating, so here’s advice from some recent UW-Green Bay grads that would be helpful to seniors while making the transition.
Jon Clancy graduated in May 2018 with a degree in Communication with an emphasis in Mass Media, and he landed a job at Foot Locker as a customer care specialist. He interacts with, and answers to all customers coming to him through Facebook and Twitter for the nine companies that Foot Locker owns.
“My advice for seniors is, don’t hit senioritis until you know for sure you’re graduating. Also, if your workload permits it, try to take classes that are new, maybe some Gen Ed’s you really would have liked, but didn’t make sense for your major at the time. Try to come out of school with the broadest range of knowledge possible; you become more versatile for jobs and you may have something in common with someone you originally didn’t. Senior year is the time to finish the stuff you need to, but also potentially go back to the stuff you wanted to do, but couldn’t in the earlier years.”
Tom Sielaff graduated from UWGB in December 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing, and certificates in both music studies and arts management. While attending school, he also worked as a student ambassador and worked in various positions with Residence Life. He is currently working at LaForce, Inc. in Green Bay as a takeoff estimator.
“I would say just to be prepared because even if you think you know all the bills you’re going to have, there’s always at least a few more. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t immediately find a job in your field—it will happen eventually! Accepting help from family, friends, professors, mentors doesn’t mean you’re weak or have any less pride—it’s hard for everyone to start life after college!”
Lauren Putnam is a recent graduate from UW-Green Bay. She majored in Human Biology and spent her time on campus doing research with faculty and working various on-campus jobs. She was selected to be the Fall 2018 commencement speaker and now works with the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute as a Research Coordinator Associate.
“Start looking for employment 2-3 months before graduation. Apply broadly! Most people apply to five or six jobs before getting one. Also, use the Career Center for resume and interview advice. It’s an invaluable experience! If you plan on applying to graduate school, have a back-up plan in place. I know it sounds noble to only want to be X,Y, Z, but you need to think realistically too! There’s no shame in having a backup. You can always reapply to grad school. Lastly, enjoy your last semester at school. You’re going to miss it.“
Dylan Tritt graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Geoscience with a minor in Environmental Science. He was also the Vice President of Student Government for the 2016-17 school year. He is currently working as the head of safety compliance at Falcon Drilling & Blasting.
“I think a lot of people get complacent after they receive their degree. The mind is the most powerful tool one can have, and just like any other muscle, it needs to be worked to improve. So my advice would be to never stop learning and working out your brain. Read a book, complete a puzzle, even get lost in thought. Don’t get complacent with your knowledge.”
Jordan Zacharias received her Bachelor of Science in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood this past December. She graduated in three and a half years from UW-Green Bay with Summa Cum Laude honors and is currently a long-term substitute teacher for the Green Bay Area Public School District.
“College is a whirlwind. It’s exhilarating, it’s fast, it’s unfamiliar, it’s challenging. And just like that, you’re walking across the stage, accepting the diploma that you’ve worked a plethora of hours for, and that’s it. You walk down from the stage and it all ends. All of the long nights of studying for tests, all of the hours put into editing and revising and editing and revising again on papers, all of the group projects and presentations that you lost sleep over. And it’s the best feeling in the world. You did it. YOU made that happen. YOU made yourself work tirelessly for that diploma and YOU earned it. When you graduate, where do YOU want yourself to be in the next year? In the next five years? In the next ten years? College years go by so incredibly fast, and the years following that don’t slow down. Take time to reflect on just how far you’ve come and how far you want to go from here. After graduating, life can go in a limitless amount of directions. Now that you have your degree, now that you’ve put in so much time and effort and gained so much experience, what do you want to make of it? After you graduate, still take time to meet people. Talk to everyone, continue to learn, and continue your next chapter. You shape your future.”
These grads are proof that no matter what path you take in college, your future career path will fall into place!
Written by The Go Getters: Jenelle Mackie, Emily Gerlikovski, Ashley Stafne, Ekaterina Lindeman
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Great Story/Good Advice