What do you want to be when you grow up?
Albion prepares another class for their futures

March 26, 2004
by Jen Gass
Business and Advertising Manager

Reminisce back to when you were 5. Remember those countless hours you spent dressing up in red firefighter helmets or proudly displaying that shiny gold police badge? Maybe you spent time sporting a white lab coat with a plastic stethoscope or modeling a feather boa pretending to be the next Miss America.

However, most Albion students won’t become future Miss Americas or work for the NYPD; they’ll be pursuing visions they probably couldn’t comprehend at 5. As commencement nears, another group of seniors will be saying goodbye to Albion College and hello to the future.

Some seniors are still pondering the question, “What do I want to be now that I’ve grown up?” Others already know or have an idea about their plans.

Some students have already been offered jobs; others are opting to go to graduate or professional school. Hiring for new grads is up 12.7 percent from last year, according to Holly Justice, director of Career Development. Yet because the job market is still tight, many are considering graduate or professional school as the way to go.

“I believe that graduate schools have been more competitive for the last few years,” Justice said. “When the economy is bad, students try to hide out in grad school.”

John Schwartz, Clarkston senior, will be attending law school at Michigan State University. He will simultaneously pursue a master’s degree at the MSU School of labor and industrial relations.

“I’m happy to be graduating from Albion,” Schwartz said. “I’m ready to be done with Albion and this college life, and I can’t wait to get out into the real world, into a larger environment and put what I’ve learned at Albion to use.”

Kim Illg, Naperville, Ill. senior, will be attending Northwestern University next year working toward a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry.

“In the way future I plan to go into industry as a primary researcher, with the goal of eventually running my own lab,” Illg said. “I think moving out on your own can be a scary thing for a lot of seniors. I know I am going on to more school, but I will be a lot more ‘on my own’ than I am currently. It’s nice to not have to worry about a real job yet. I get paid to go to grad school.”

Liz Vogel, Grosse Pointe senior, was recently accepted to Loyola University in Chicago, Ill. for a masters program in history. She eventually wants to get her Ph.D.

“You know when we were little and our school teachers would ask us what we want to be when we grew up?” Vogel said. “Some would say firemen, others astronauts or ballerinas. I, on the other hand, never had a clue what I wanted to do and I still don’t! But I am entirely okay with that. So, when people ask me in a condescending tone what I plan to do with a masters in history, I just tell them with as serious a face as I can manage that I plan to marry wealthy. Who knows, there could be a senator in my future. I also think I’d make a stylish first lady. No one should have to know what they want to do with the rest of their life at 21.”

Andrew Wakefield, Ann Arbor senior, plans to work out east with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year.

“This is probably the best time in my life when I can devote a year to service work,” Wakefield said. “I feel that I have been given so many wonderful opportunities throughout my life, and this will be a chance for me to give back a little bit.”

Wakefield plans to put the experience he gains toward law school.

Kyle Lessl, Fraser senior, already had her pick of jobs. She had the option of choosing a job from three of the nation’s top accounting firms. Her final decision was Pricewaterhouse Cooper, where she will work in the Detroit tax department.

Joe Finland, Bloomfield Hills senior, will be working for the accounting firm Ernst and Young in their audit practice in Detroit.

“Being a senior and having to enter the real world is kind of scary, but at the same time it will be nice not being broke,” Finland said.

Jessica Gole, Hastings senior, is still in the market for a job.

“I have had a few interviews but most companies now want employees with experience, even for entry-level positions,” Gole said. “That’s really frustrating because that’s not who you think entry-level positions are meant to go to.”

The days of playing race car drivers and pretending to be movie stars has long passed. Real life decisions are now before seniors.