As a senior finishing out her fall semester, I recall plenty of times I have heard this question: “What are you doing after graduation?” I know as spring comes around, I will hear it plenty more. I wanted to write about my personal experience and give advice to anyone thinking about this topic themselves. There are so many people feeling the same way you are, and we’re all in this together!
I usually respond to the question with a joke that has some truth in it: “I plan on taking a gap year, or 2, or 5!” While I do want to go to graduate school in the future, I just can’t decide what I want to study yet. Law school? Or perhaps study philosophy, women’s/sexuality studies, or religious studies? These fields all hold strong interests for me, and I just don’t know what career I’d like to pursue yet.
I have found a few gap year options that I think will work for me and help me transition into life after college. First, I’ve applied for a Fulbright award to teach English in Spain. Having studied Spanish for thirteen years, loving travel and working with youth, I thought this opportunity would be a wonderful way to gain real world experience after college! Fortunately, if this doesn’t pan out (*update: it didn’t), I’ve already been accepted into a service year program. I don’t know where I’ll be placed yet, but locations could include New York City, New Orleans, South Korea, or Scotland! Each of these sites has some work I could envision myself doing: working in a UN office, tutoring kids or adults, or maybe even serving at a school or church. Regardless, next year, I’ll have the opportunity to try something new professionally and allow that to guide my next steps.
While I have chosen to step away from school for a bit, everyone’s path looks different. I have some friends in law school, some friends in a career, some applying to grad school now, and some in Master’s and PhD programs. There is no perfect solution. For me, the grad school options looked uncertain, but I found Fulbright through DePauw and the service year program through my summer fellowship.
My biggest advice would be to take your next steps based on what seems the clearest to you. Professional experience can be a great catalyst to finding an organization or a similar role! Or maybe you’ve researched with a professor you trust to give you helpful advice. If nothing sticks out to you, I’d recommend mapping out three potential options and seeing if that points you toward anything.
To be totally candid, I’m not sure what I will be doing two years from now. I think in our twenties especially, life can be about focusing on one step at a time. I feel reassured that I have a plan, and making these big decisions builds my own self-trust that I can do this all over again when the next time comes around. I wish all my fellow seniors the best of luck in figuring out their next steps! I hope we all find ourselves one step closer to the lives we want to lead.