Humor

This story was published in 2006 for FastWeb, an online education resource and scholarship search engine.

I’m always looking for new places to study, cozy bookshops or buzzy cafes. My new favorite destination is a cross between a library and a kindergarten playroom. It’s called University Career Services and it just might be your salvation.

Most colleges have some department like this, staffed by guidance counselor/librarian types. It’s meant to fill the gap when you left behind your parents, high school teachers and the administrators who know you. One of the most startling things about college is that there’s no one to check up on you. This is nice if you’ve skipped class or aren’t paying your library fines, but it puts all the responsibility on you when it comes to deadlines and meeting requirements.

I first visited UCS my third year to look at their resources on summer internships. They had a hefty collection of reference materials that referred me to other reference materials that referred me to company Web sites, which I like to think would have occurred to me without the help. Mission unsuccessful.

I returned this year to scope out how to prep for the GRE. I asked for help from one of the workers and had a much different experience. She plopped down on the floor with me and sorted through a stack of books taller and more formidable than Shaquille O’Neal. She was able to help find me the right study guides, but also work through the arduous task of signing up to take the test, finding the nearest testing site, and deciding whether or not I should drink seven cups of coffee beforehand. (My opinion was yes, hers was maybe.)

I’ve been back several times, once solely for this article. Almost every time I have seen a person sniffling in a corner. Poor downtrodden college students… they don’t know what to do, where to go or who to be. My feeling is that the students that shuffle into UCS are on their last leg. They’ve exhausted all their own resources and see seeking advice as a form of weakness. They’re fragile and one sarcastic comment could shatter them.

But UCS handles it. The workers swoop down on the soggy students like giant, mothering bats. They swab faces with Kleenex and block out anyone who might observe the tears. They’ll listen as you sob brokenly about how you’re a graduating senior and you’ve never had an internship and no company will want you because you’ve majored in astronomy and you ran out of résumé paper so you printed on normal computer paper and will that eliminate you automatically and …

Perhaps it is not a mistake that the acronym UCS could also stand for University Counseling Services. I’m not sure it was the University of Virginia’s intent to have a service that offers a shoulder to cry on as well as a helping hand, but that seems to be some function of the department. And I think it’s a niche that needs to be filled.

I would suggest visiting your version of University Career Services before you’re at your wit’s end. They are a valuable, under-utilized resource and will listen as you stress about whether you’re going to make something of yourself or not. They’ll be useful for technical questions about graduate school, internships, jobs, taking important tests, your own college’s administration or anything you would have asked your high school guidance counselor.

And take them something nice when you visit. They deserve it.

This story was published in 2006 for FastWeb, an online education resource and scholarship search engine.

It’s 90 degrees and there is a small breeze. Somewhere an insect is buzzing. I am in my recliner, reclining. It’s lazy out. And there’s still one gorgeous hour left until my next class starts.

Class? But it’s the middle of August!

It’s buggy, muggy and a million degrees. I arrive at lectures looking like I’ve spent the morning paddling around under Niagara Falls. (When the mosquitoes are whining, I feel entitled to join in.) But the worst part about summer is not how quickly it passes. In my mind, the stupid season won’t take the hint and leave. It hangs around, slowly pulling away from me like taffy from a finger.

I think the worst (and best) part of summer is deciding how to spend it. Which brings us to this week’s question – what’s the best thing to do during your college summers?

There are plenty of pleasant ways to while away the sunny months. Traveling is a wonderful choice. As a student, you aren’t shackled to a job, family or pet and your parents might still be feeling sentimental enough to toss a few bucks your way. Lots of kids go to Europe, but I’d rather choose somewhere off the beaten path. (Like Iowa. What’s in Iowa, I ask you? Go find out.)

Interning is the best way to snag job-oriented experience, though if you want to go into a popular field, an internship is a way to keep up with your peers, not get ahead of them. To find a gig that suits your needs, do your homework (I know it sounds alarmingly like school, but trust me). You want an offer that will allow you to 1) learn as much as possible and make as many connections as you can and 2) boost your résumé and help you get a job in the future. Interning is an intense experience and has the potential to teach you scads of helpful information. I want to stress, however, that no matter how competitive your field is, you have time to spend on less academic pursuits. Many employers value personal experiences – like travel or volunteering – as much as licking envelopes at a high-powered company.

I have a number of friends who use their summers to beef up the old bank account. Retail and restaurant work are the two most popular choices, and I fully admit to being jealous when these kids return to school flashing stylish new digs or the latest piece of cool technology.

The get-a-job plan sounds nice, but it has its pitfalls. One positive is that you get to spend time at home. This positive would also qualify as a rather large negative. You won’t do your own laundry, but you’ll have to be in by ten and explain every single pop culture reference you make. Total buzzkill.

Overwhelmed? Don’t despair. Choosing what to do with your summers is kind of like being in kindergarten again — options abound! You could be an astronaut or a firefighter or an athlete or a used car salesman or an intern or a waitress or a camp counselor or a roadie…

Do what you’re comfortable with, but don’t waste this time. As innocuous as they seem, these three vacations can be critical factors in determining what options you have in that most exciting of summers – the one after graduation.

If worst comes to worst and you get stuck with plans you hate, take comfort in the fact that in three months you’ll be back where you belong. In class.