The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

A Salute To Graduating Seniors, We’ll Miss You

It’s that time of year again when the graduating seniors from UVM and across the world are thinking seriously about the future and making some decisions about paths to take and lives to lead. The past two years have been a particularly difficult time for job seekers in part because of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the ensuing recession and slowing of the global economy, which decreases the demand for American goods. The recession is reportedly over, however, and that means more jobs for people like UVM senior Jeremy Cairns, a Biology major from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who is looking to get a job to get his foot in the door and then enter medical school after a year or so. ?Says Cairns, “Overall, I’m pretty excited, but I’m nervous because I don’t have a job yet. ?I’ve been trying to find a job either back in Colorado or in California.” ?? ? ? ?The draw of the Western U.S. seems to be prevalent among the seniors here at UVM. ?Cairns mentions the weather as an obvious component of the attraction of the west coast. “I wouldn’t mind being in a little bit of a warmer climate, compared to Vermont, and if all else fails I’ll just go and be a ski bum back in Colorado.” Cairns’ method for job hunting has consisted of a lot of online searching and then emailing resumes. ?This is usually follwed up by a phone interview or a personal interview if the location is near enough. ??? ? ? ?The UVM Career Services Center, located in the Living/Learning E building is a wealth of information for students wishing to seek information regarding job opportunities and “identifying and attaining their career and life-long learning goals,” as the CSC’s website aptly states. The website, www.uvm.edu/~career/, could also be used by seniors to perform job searches, make connections with alumni, post resumes, and look for graduate schools and programs. They even offer tips on how to go about searching for a job, build a resume, write a cover letter and develop interview skills. ?? ? ? ?Along with the CSC website, there are a lot of other organizations out there that exist only to help recent college graduates find a job. ?Basically all one would have to do is type in “job search” in Google or one of the many search engines available for public use, and a plethora of organizations for job searching are at your fingertips. One graduating UVM senior from Barre, Vermont, Rebekah Stuwe, who formed her own major, Integrated Resources in the College of Natural Resources, has found one of these such organizations. It is called ?Southern Teachers and places recent graduates in educational environments with room for growth into higher positions. ??? ? ? ?Stuwe plans on living at home for the summer in hopes of putting away some savings, and will be moving to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a position with Southern Teachers. ?”I would be happy earning a living and working with kids in any capacity, though.” Stuwe expresses the idealism that is evident in the mentalities of many new college graduates.?? ? ? ?Matthew Griffiths, a senior Studio Art major from Poolesville, Maryland has chosen to wait on the whole job search but has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do. ?”I’m excited to graduate. I’m sad to leave all of my friends, but it’s exciting to move on.” Griffiths, who works with the child-based community program DREAM, has discovered much about what he wants to do through is community service affiliation. ?”I’ve found within the last two years that whatever I do I have to be extremely community based because I’ve gotten so much reward out of working with the kids in DREAM. ? I think that whether I’m working with DREAM later-on, which is a possibility, or whatever community I’m in, the important thing is just reaching out to that community, and doing whatever I can. ?That’s going to make my life worthwhile whatever I do.”?It’s this kind of positive outlook that really exemplifies for many, the graduating class of 2003 at the University of Vermont. ?Whether working for non-profits, major corporations, Mom and Pop businesses, or just going home to live with Mom and Pop, this class will have an effect on every community that it reaches and will no doubt never forget the years spent together at UVM.

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A Salute To Graduating Seniors, We’ll Miss You