College Matters

One of the most poignant discoveries I made during my year of AmeriCorps service is the concept of poverty extending far beyond racial divisions. Prior to my year of service, I lived in Lubbock, Texas, the epitome of racially defined income class constructs. With few - if any! - exceptions, all of the African-American residents live on one side of town - the poor side. The houses are falling apart, streets are all cracked and strewn with potholes, and the drainage is so terrible that every time it rains the entire side of the town reeks. Caucasian residents live on the other side of town - the affluent side. There are certainly different degrees of affluence, but without exception, that side of Lubbock consists of middle class and up. Nothing below. The college, Texas Tech, echoes this division in a way; if you see a person of color on the Texas Tech campus, you can almost guarantee that he or she is either a) an athlete or b) from another country.

The first six months I lived in Lubbock, I was completely confused. I moved to Lubbock from Huntsville, Texas, a prison town that is extremely diverse in both population and income class distribution. Huntsville has the interesting distinction of being both a college town and a prison town, so the two major employers are the Texas State Prison System and Sam Houston State University. Employees for both come in all colors, and they live next door to one another. I arrived in Lubbock, and during that first six months I didn’t see an African American, at all. It was bizarre. I thought that perhaps the town entirely consisted of Caucasians with a few Hispanic-Americans. Then, one day, I got lost, and ended up on the east side of Lubbock. Lo and behold, I discovered a different color palette…and discovered a lot of poverty.

After living in Lubbock for six years, my mind had unhappily adjusted to the notion of poverty being inextricably linked to race. I had certainly known both poor and rich people of all colors, growing up in Houston, but I began to think that this was only the case in the urban environment.

Then I moved to Belfast, Maine. Belfast, the county seat of Waldo County, is a small community, with about 6,000 year round residents. During tourism season we have more than that, but no one pays any attention to the tourists. Belfast just pays attention to their money! Belfast’s population is predominantly Caucasian, as is most of Maine. Even Portland, the biggest city, has little racial diversity. My college roommate, Shamyra Pope, would jokingly generalize that it’s because African Americans aren’t crazy enough to live somewhere as cold as Maine. Generally in Belfast when you meet a person of color, he or she was adopted into a Caucasian family as an infant.

Waldo County happens to have quite a bit of poverty, too. Obviously it has nothing to do with race; in fact, adopted kids of all colors often come from wealthier families, because it takes quite a bit of financial chutzpah to adopt an infant in the first place. Waldo County, despite the tourism industry, remains an overwhelmingly impoverished rural county. There are people who live in this county that have no running water. Granted, that’s exceptional, but it does exist. Other examples of poverty are much more widespread. Some people have gas heating but can’t afford the gas. Living in a place where temperatures falls significantly below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, that’s a problem. Another example: many, many children are on the free-lunch program at school, and that’s often the best or only meal they get per day. The Game Loft, where I served as a VISTA (and where I continue to volunteer) aims to change that, offering all children who walk through the door a full and nutritious meal. This is essential in the summer, while school is not in session.

This has all drastically altered the face of poverty for me; it has been truly transformational. In light of this eye-opening experience, I’d like to post the following advice, dealing with racism - it’s reminiscent of things I saw in high school, in Houston. A person from Nigeria attends school in the U.S., and is accused of being a “traitor” by other African American students, because this person has Caucasian friends.

My AmeriCorps VISTA experience has concluded, so I’m no longer working 60+ hours per week. It has indeed been a life changing experience. It’s been a path of self discovery and purpose. I’ve finally found a place to call home: Belfast, Maine. I’ve been going through letters from the last year - which I’ve continued answering, just haven’t had time to bring them out of email onto the site - and decided, in light of finally finding “home”, this one is relevant. A college graduate and job seeker wants to move to the land - any land! - of far, far away. She doesn’t understand why she can’t find a job, despite not being bound by geography.

As I told her, in the current economy, being open to relocating only broadens your potential interests. It does not necessarily broaden your serious prospects, especially as a new graduate. A company takes a big risk hiring someone who must relocate for the position, whether or not the company pays for the relocation. What if the person hates the new location? What if it’s somewhere they’ve never been before, and they have no family or friends for support? These are personal questions that an employer simply cannot ask, but are extremely relevant to an employee’s long term potential. A company also takes a big risk hiring a new graduate with little or no work experience. Put those two risks together, and the likelihood of getting hired across latitude and longitude lines decreases significantly.

Does that mean she’s stuck living in one place until the pendulum of the economy swings the other direction? Definitely not! I know I’ve blogged briefly about AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, but my next several blogs will be much more detailed, related to my year of experience and the benefits - both the selfish and the unselfish. You’re a college graduate? Want to move? Try out a new life? A year - or two, or three, or a lifetime - of service to your fellow man is a fantastic way to do it.

Calling all English majors out there! What have you done, or what do you plan to do, with your degree? A student is considering the option and requests advice.

A high school student wrote that she’s confused about choosing classes for college. She’s very stressed out because she hasn’t figured out what courses to take for the following fall. In high school, you’ve solidified the following year’s course schedule by the end of the spring semester, so it’s no wonder the upcoming graduate is stressed. Allow me to emphasize, then, to all of my high school readers: course selection in college can sometimes involve changes up until the first week of classes. If you can avoid making changes following the first day of classes, you’re doing well. Feel free to take all or most of a summer to consider your options.

Check out the latest post, about a senior in high school stuck on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. What do you think? Should he pursue the military, game design, or should he rethink altogether?

My readers have overwhelmingly voted against parental control of major field of study, even when the parents control the finances. I’ve expanded my own perspective in response to reader information. Although I still think that financial control gives significant power and influence to the person holding the financial reins - the parents - I recognize that it is unwise parenting to dictate major regardless. I am planning to have children and plan to finance college education if these future children pursue that path. But I would never force them to pursue one degree plan or another, and I don’t think other parents should, either. My original assessment was based upon my own personal experience-I’ve historically eschewed financial dependence in order to avoid being told what to do!

However, I’m curious to what the readership response will be to another form of control: living arrangements and parameters of relationships. If a student has college financed by the parents, he or she should still get to choose his or her own major. But what about cohabitation? What if a student, like this one - a legal adult, if not a financial one - wants to move in with his or her significant other, and the parents are against such an arrangement? How to handle that? If the parents can’t dictate major, despite financial contributions, I argue that neither should they dictate living arrangements. I expect some of you to disagree…so I’m looking forward to your comments, on this blog entry and the associated advice. What do you think?

Hi all! I’m moving to Maine. Most of the past month has been spent on a “grand finale” family tour, all around Texas, to visit parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They all think Maine is another country, almost, it seems! Between that weeks-long trip and arranging stuff for the move (uHaul, boxes, blankets, trailer for car, check, check, check) I’ve barely had time to breathe. Now, I AM continuing to answer questions. I just don’t have time to do the posting and blogging that goes with it. So PLEASE don’t give up on me. I’ll be back the second week of June!!!

I’m currently in Houston, Texas, visiting my grandparents before I move to Maine to work with an AmeriCorps program. As many of you already know, I’m very excited. The particular program is called The Game Loft, and it’s a youth program that utilizes non-electronic gaming (from Risk to historical war games to Dungeons and Dragons and everything in between!). I’m actually a little envious; I would have been really grateful to have this kind of organized gaming community during my especially crazy teenage years - I’m telling you, most people should get a medal for simply surviving adolescence.

During this “grand finale family tour,” as I’m calling it, I’m reminded of the evolving nature of family influence. I’m independent, and have been for many years. Often broke, but not to the point of requiring financial support of family. I’m unwilling to do that, and have been since I turned 18 - which is why I used federal financial aid to get through college (a mistake, but hindsight is 20/20). I didn’t want anyone to tell me what to do. And now, in my twenties, my family certainly can’t give me orders, and they know it. If any of them said so much as “Don’t go to Maine” I’d tell them exactly where to put it. I’m exaggerating, I would be nice and reasonable, but pretty direct: “I’m going to Maine. Period. Love you, please come visit, see you soon!”

However, if I relied financially upon anybody, I would definitely have to answer to them. To repeat the above used euphemism, “Period.” End of story. And this is why, at 18, if you go to college with financial support from your parents, you are essentially taking the next step in high school. It doesn’t matter that you’re “legally” an adult. Financially, you’re not - just like this student. So they have a say (rightfully so, too) about where you live, what you spend “your” money on, and yes, even your chosen course of study. That’s not a terrible thing - you probably won’t make the mistake of getting a fine arts degree with an emphasis on the deeper meaning of play-doh while under economic parental supervision.

If you’ve been completely dependent on your parents through high school, especially to such an extent that you’ve received an allowance rather than working part-time, you’re not ready to make your own decisions at 18 anyway. Want to learn to make your own decisions so that you don’t have to adhere to your parents’ directions? Get a 40-hour a week job and move out for at least a year before making the trek to college. Otherwise, they get a say. And parents, listen up: yes, you have a right to tell your kids what to do, regardless of age, if you’re financing the operation.

Write an original resume, just like every other college graduate. Make it unique, just like everybody else. Don’t use a template, but make sure it’s organized succinctly. Do not pass “go,” do not collect $200, take some Prozac for your job hunting stress levels and find your way to Boardwalk. Or at least the orange properties…

Argh. The whole process is such a ridiculous game. Universities should require all seniors to take a three-hour resume writing course. Moan and groan, no one wants extra coursework added to the degree plan – fine, it should be a substituted for one of those elective underwater basket weaving courses.

Resume evaluation “services” feed all of us the same exact spiel. They tell you not to use a template (especially the kind on MS Word) as they’re writing or reading you their standard evaluation template! Then the innovative advice continues: your resume doesn’t stand out. Make it original. Make it uniquely like every other college graduate’s “unique” resume. Then, when asked how to do that, the standard response is an offer to write your resume for you at some overpriced sum.

The irony, as I told this student, is that the person “evaluating” (by that I mean sending a slightly tailored form email) and potentially re-writing your resume hasn’t themselves achieved success in the traditional job market. It’s a freelance writer – and I have respect for freelance writing, since that’s what I do, but it doesn’t qualify me to write someone’s resume.

I can, however, give honest advice regarding where to go for thorough, free resume assistance. First, every campus has a career services department. It’s there to advise current students as well as alumni, and I urge everyone to take advantage of it; your fees pay for it anyway, so make those fees count for something. Next, visit the human resources department(s) on campus, and specifically seek out the people that handle hiring university staff (not faculty, department heads and committees do that and the process requires an entirely different type of resume). Speak candidly with those that hire staff, and ask what a successful resume looks like. How did they get hired? Would they be willing to let you glance their resumes? Most will be flattered and at the very least offer to look at yours.

Additionally, look for up and coming websites that offer free examples and advice. The people that start these websites often do so because they see the deficiencies in mainstream contemporary sites. If you want straightforward, specific advice, with an irreverent sense of humor, check out Psychotic Resumes. Another great new resource I’ve found is Career Guide 101, which embraces a more traditional style of organization on the site – so take your pick, based on your personality and career goals. Both offer diverse and helpful perspectives, and will offer advice beyond the ubiquitous and generic “Be original.”

Today’s “life after graduation” question is from a sociology major about to finish an M.A. with little to no work experience. The pending master’s degree puts the student in a uniquely difficult position; it actually decreases his marketability in the general job market. Both of his degrees are from the same university, so a career in academia will be difficult to achieve without first seeking a second master’s degree elsewhere (followed by a PhD from a third university). His “regular job” options will be limited if he includes his education on any application; employers are likely to feel threatened by his graduate degree and/or assume that he’ll come into the workplace with some sort of “know-it-all” attitude.

He could swallow his pride and leave his graduate degree off of his applications and resume altogether. Of course, that leaves a gap that he’d have to explain, and what’s he going to say? “Um, I lived off my parents for awhile, spent a lot of time at bars…” He could explain it as a period of time in which he pursued entrepreneurial efforts, but an employer would then expect evidence of such attempts.

Many people are in this exact situation – and many more, in response to the recession, are choosing graduate school when unable to immediately find jobs. This is a BAD idea, as demonstrated by the sociology grad – most graduate degrees aren’t going to further job opportunities, at least not in the immediate future, and in many cases they actually limit your job opportunities.

I have some alternative suggestions for everyone. Most students in graduate school are completely broke, even with the assistance of scholarships and loan money. If you’ve decided to go to grad school, you’ve already resigned yourself to being broke for two more years. In which case, why not take a break from school and contribute to the betterment of society, all while gaining resume fodder as well as having school loan interest paid by the government? That’s the deal with AmeriCorps, which just received a vast increase in government funding, with largely bi-partisan support. Whether or not you’re critical of this spending, why not use it to your advantage? Help an impoverished community, learn how to work behind the scenes in a government agency and/or non-profit.

College is supposed to be about the improvement of society as a whole, not just about you as the individual; the higher the level of education, statistically, the more we feel compelled to help our fellow man. I’m happy to say that I discover more people who have realized this every day. For your personal career interests, do check AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps (for international interests). And if you’re still in college, find some ways to contribute while in school. On Twitter, I’ve recently discovered a really neat website that’s using a contest to encourage charitable involvement – Better World Books. They’ve got a way to use your time and website navigation to contribute to your favorite charities, and are even offering entrance into a drawing for an iPod as a thanks for your time and efforts.