Class of 1999 Launches into Professional Life
Survey Shows Grads Move into a Variety of Careers

by Anne C. Paine

Everyone says that an Oberlin education prepares students for professional careers in a wide variety of fields, but the proof is in the pudding... or rather, the survey.

Last year, Oberlin's Office of Career Services administered a survey asking members of the Class of 1999 about their immediate post-graduation plans, and the results show graduates accepting a wide variety of positions with many different types of employers.

A sampling of titles includes research chemist at Eli Lilly & Company; counselor at Planned Parenthood; section editor at Fox News Online; information services trainee at National City Bank; research assistant at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation; business analyst at McKinsey & Co.; Peace Corps volunteer in Africa; research assistant at the Brookings Institute; productionassistant for Rain Media/PBS Frontline; staff assistant for Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun; research assistant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; and assistant music director for the Anchorage Opera.

"There is still a leaning among Obies toward social causes, and a significant interest remains in non-profit and human-service fields, as well as education," said Career Services Director Wendy Miller. "There's long been a feeling among Obies that business is a negative word. But business encompasses a lot of fields. If you add up all people in business categories, it surpasses the percentage in education." (See accompanying table.)

About 58 percent of respondents reported employment as their immediate plan, while 42 percent intended to go to graduate or professional school. "Many who go on to graduate school immediately after graduation are performance majors," Miller said. "It seems to be a trend that many arts and sciences graduates take some time to work before they attend graduate school."

A number of graduates contacted by e-mail reported that their Oberlin education -- both inside and outside the classroom -- prepared them well for their current occupations. Kim Brockway, who graduated with a German major, is now a gallery assistant at the Galerie St. Etienne in New York City. "I speak German at work (one of my directors is from Germany). I spent a year in Munich through a scholarship from the German department, and this experience influenced my professional life, as well as my personal life," she wrote.

"In Munich, I deepened my appreciation for art and came back to Oberlin to write one of my honors papers on Käthe Kollwitz, one of the artists that the Galerie St. Etienne represents and regularly exhibits. I never thought I would actually be able to handle Kollwitz' art or see so much of it!" Her work at the Allen Memorial Art Museum and her minor in art history also helped her gain this position, she believes.

Aimee Lee, a visual arts major, is manager of education and outreach services for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; she manages the Greater Newark Youth Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Community Chorus, among other tasks. "I ran the Oberlin Music Coalition for three years," she wrote, "and it was basically a microcosm of what I am doing now. Everything I did with the coalition prepared me for this position."

Economics major Florian Gerhardt is now a consulting associate with the Parthenon Group in London, where he does financial analysis and market research for corporate clients. "The courses I took in my major naturally have served me the most in having been prepared for the work I do at Parthenon," he said. "Having been exposed to a diversity of cultural, historical, and philosophical issues has enabled me to compare and contrast a variety of problems when dealing with different client work in different industries. How-ever, having taken Introduction to Western Art and Architecture with Professor Richard Spear, for example, also enriched me, allowing me to take full advantage of London's cultural treasures."

Another graduate who has entered the business world is psychology major Ruchi Srivastava. Her position as client services associates at Leo Burnett USA's Chicago office "is a really fun job involving interaction with everyone from the CEO to creatives and graphic designers." Oberlin, she said, "provided me with a wealth of knowledge and analytical ability -- so never underestimate your discussions at midnight in Mudd Library."

Devon Powers, now an editorial assistant at Teen People magazine, published by Time, Inc., also cited critical thinking skills learned at Oberlin. "Nothing prepares you better for the work world than having the ability to take your own ideas seriously, to think critically, and to learn efficiently," the women's studies and English major said. "I can't imagine a better place than Oberlin to have been constantly engaged in these activities, in the classroom and outside it."

Career Services Director Miller said the skills taught at strong liberal arts colleges like Oberlin make graduates competitive in the job market.

"There's no question that the job market has been good," she said. "There's a need for good candidates so employers have been looking to liberal arts schools more than in the past. There's more recognition of the value of a liberal arts education. If the economy goes into recession, I think liberal arts graduates will fare well. They have great skills -- they're flexible and adaptable, they have good communication and analytical skills, and they can grow with an organization. These skills will continue to make them attractive to employers. That door has been opened and employers are not going to go back."

Read, Jane, Read!

Oberlin, says President Nancy S. Dye, is "a community of readers." Many of those bookworms tutor in local public elementary schools. A recent grant from the State of Ohio will boost Oberlin's literacy efforts. Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Education challenged the country "to help all of our children learn to read well and independently by the end of third grade." Oberlin's America Reads program, coordinated by the nonprofit Oberlin Community Services Center and the College's Center for Service and Learning (CSL), was part of Oberlin's response to that challenge. Tutors with the America Reads program work in two local elementary schools. Thanks to the two-year, $28,327 grant, the CSL will build on this work with a new program, Everybody Reads. Trained tutors will be provided for more than 400 children, nurturing a new community of readers.