ZU Magazine is a publication of ZU Media. Below is an article from Issue 3: Freedom.
Staff Writer | Dani Herrera
Senior year of college should feel like the light at the end of the tunnel. No more homework, tests, papers or having to wake up early for classes. In reality, it is one of the most terrifying experiences. The reason? A vast majority of us have no clue what we’re doing after graduation.
We committed to a major at some point in our college careers and we assumed that our lives would revolve around what we chose to study. However, in today’s changing world, many people happily find jobs outside of their majors.
Julianne Cordova went to UCLA and UC Stanislaus and has a Spanish major and a Latin American Studies minor. She lived in Mexico City during her college years to help perfect her Spanish. Like many people, Cordova didn’t have concrete plans following her graduation. She just knew what she was interested in.
After college she got a position at BMC, a software company. She moved up the corporate ladder and is currently a senior sales enablement manager. Although Cordova never imagined working at a software company, she couldn’t love her job more.
Though students with their bachelors degrees are seen as full-fledged adults, most graduates are only about 22, leaving plenty of time in life for some trial and error. The myth that we have to end up in a job that is in the realm of our major is just that— a myth.
Examples of this can be found close to home with Alexandra Avellino, the new booking supervisor at Event Services of Azusa Pacific. Avellino manages university ticketing and helps book campus-wide events. Before this, she helped coordinate events with Spartan Races.
Avellino’s college major was Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice and an emphasis in homeland security.
“I just needed something to bring me home and that would give me new experiences as well as challenge me. It never hurts to have something different on your resume than what you went to college for. It kind of shows that you can do many different things,” Avellino said.
People like Avellino and Cordova agree that the stigma about being indecisive pervades our lives; but, post-grad lives have proven that not knowing is sometimes okay.
Demetri Martin, a comedian who dropped out of law school to pursue comedy, and “Big Bang Theory” actress Mayim Bialik, who also happens to be a neuroscientist, are both public figures who found fulfilling careers outside their intended vocational paths.
Steven Wilkens is a philosophy professor at APU who jokes during his first classes that he is not qualified to be teaching a philosophy course. Wilkens majored in the humanities through college, then got his masters degree and doctorate in theology.
When a position in philosophy opened up at APU, he figured that philosophers and theologians were all talking about the same thing. He found the transition easy, yet unexpected.
“I think it’s better, particularly if you’re going to grad school, to find something outside your major. Pick something different so you get a broader base that will give you better preparation instead of getting the same thing twice,” Wilkens said.
Wilkens doesn’t see his previous studies as a loss because he followed his true love— teaching.
Life after graduation can be petrifying. But, we have the guidance of previous generations of people, people who followed nomadic career paths and still found contentment.
“Follow Socrates advice: ‘Know thyself.’ Ask yourself what it is that really gets you excited; pursue something you love and get as much as you can from that. Launch and see where life will take you,” Wilkens said.