/ GRADUATION GUIDE / THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Wide range of options available for new graduates
BY CLAIRE MCINERNY
editor@kansan.com
As some seniors are preparing for jobs and planning their lives after school,some students are experiencing a different scenario: the end of college panic.
Four years of classes and one degree later, some students do not know what they want to do post-college, and instead of turning right to the work force find other alternatives.
termatics.
Becca Ingraham, a KU graduate from 2009, decided the right choice for her was to continue her education. She is now a graduate student studying higher education at the University of Iowa. Ingham thinks she wants to teach at the collegiate level, but still wants her options to remain open.
"To be honest, I think I'm still figuring it out," Ingraham said. "As a junior or senior it's scary to think the thing you're majoring in isn't something you'd want to do forever and one of the big things about being in grad school is you can still figure that out."
TEACH FOR AMERICA
A popular road for college graduates is to become the teacher. One opportunity that enables students to make that happen is through Teach for America. Teach For America is a program that allows recent college graduates to teach in public schools in low-income communities. The assignment lasts for two years.
Gina Littlejohn, the campus campaign coordinator for Teach For America, said the program accepts people of all majors, and applicants can teach any grade level.
Ashleigh Lee/KANSAN
Littlejohn said if students are accepted to the Teach For America program, they can teach in cities all over the country.
all over the country.
Teach For America provides its participants the same job experience as any other teacher, including full benefits and a regular salary based on the average pay for teachers in the area. It also gives college students a short-term way to help people and figure out what they want to do after their assignments are over.
a way to prolong having to find a job, but rather look at it as a way to find new opportunities and new ways for students to use their passions. She said a lot of politicians who now work in Congress were in the program and are now fighting for education rights.
"I think it helps a lot of students because we have a lot of connections with a lot of medical school-sand graduate schools," Littlejohn said. "A lot of grad schools offer scholarships just for Teach For America alums."
Littlejohn said Teach For America should not be confused with
PEACE CORPS
Like Teach For America, the Peace Corps is another way for college grads to help people while gaining a unique experience after school.
Shana Haines points to Cote d'Ivoire, where she served for two years in the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps gives graduates time to focus their futures while serving in developing countries.
The Peace Corps is a program run by the government and its purpose is to serve communities in developing countries abroad. Participants serve these communities for two years after a three-month training process.
Wiechman spent his two years in Saint Lucia doing community development. He helped a farmers' cooperative develop a grant proposal to get funding for a composting project from the United Nations and also taught reading and music at a school.
The different services a participant can provide are lessons in English, health services (including health education and immunizations) or different community development programs.
Ben Wiechman, a Peace Corps recruiter at the University, works for the organization now but was also a participant a few years ago. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2009, Wiechman traveled to Fond Saint Jacques, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean.
The Peace Corps was an attractive option for Wiechman because he did not have a clear direction for his future at the end of college. The experience proved to be a positive one for him and helped change his perspective.
"The biggest transition was going from a place that takes things day to day and enjoying life," Wiechman said. "I really learned the importance of having a balance between working toward something but living in the moment."
After returning from Saint Lucia, Wiechman found that his time spent with the Peace Corps helped him focus on a career path and figure out his future. In addition to being a campus recruiter for the Peace Corps, Wiechman also works part time at a hospital and credits this to his Peace Corps experience.
perform.
"All the jobs I've applied for, all the interviews are asking about my Peace Corps experience." Wiechman said. "You can really bring
an application to life talking about Peace Corps."
Wiechman said he found his Peace Corps experience to be invaluable, and that it helped him find the right career path after graduation.
direction," Wiechman said, "So if you are kind of unsure what you want to do it's a great way to get some good experience and be able to explore and not focus yourself so early."
"No matter what field you're going into it helps form your future
Edited by Emily Soetaert
COMMENCEMENT
Traditions stay alive as KU prepares for 139th ceremony
BY NADIA IMAFIDON editor@kansan.com
This year the University of Kansas will have its 139th commencement ceremony. Students look forward to the day they get to walk down the hill.
Starting in 1907, the commencement tradition was to walk from Fraser to the old Robinson gymnasium (now Wescoe Hall).
Now,the walk begins at Memorial Drive, crosses through the World
War II Memorial Campanile and continues down the steep hill that leads to Memorial Stadium. Then the ceremony begins.
the ceremony begin. Students often bring balloons with them on their walk down the hill while thousands are dressed in decorated caps and gowns.
Tassel colors for undergraduates depend on students' majors. The same colors are worn across the nation, as they are standardized in the United States by the American Council on Education.
While some students are skeptical, it is believed across KU campus that students should not to walk under the Campanile until graduation day.
graduation day.
Legend says that if students walk under the Campanile before that day, they will not graduate on time, if ever. Some students, like graduating senior Katie Aucott, don't take the myth too seriously.
"I have gone under the Campanile because I know it won't actually keep me from graduating, but I like the idea because it is a
THE CEREMONY
Graduates should assemble on Memorial Drive at 10 a.m.
The procession will start promptly at 10:30 a.m., followed by an introduction by the herald trumpeters near the Campanile.
Check out KU's commencement page for more information on the program order and seating arrangements according to each respective school.
Source: www.commencement.
ku.edu/2011/procession.shtml
part of KU traditions," Aucott said. Before you get your cameras out and pose under the Campanile, ask yourself whether or not you are willing to risk your education. Maybe just stand in front of it just to be sure.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Edited by Emily Soetaert Legend has it that walking under the Campanile before graduation will jinx prospective graduates.
WHO WEARS WHAT?
The American Council on Education has standardized the colors worn by graduates across the nation.
Allied Health: Light green
Architecture: Light purple
Business: Drab
Education: Light blue
Engineering: Orange
Journalism: Crimson
Fine Arts: Brown
Law: Purple
Medicine: Green
Music: Pink
Nursing: Apricot
Pharmacy: Olive green
Social Welfare: Citron
Liberal Arts and Sciences:
White
Doctoral and master's candidates: Black
Source: www.commencement. ku.edu/2011/grads/regalia.shtml
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