Graduating seniors choose alternative career paths

By Michael Moeschler

After June 15th, many graduating seniors will trade in their caps and gowns for business suits and briefcases as they begin their journey in the business world. For some seniors, the idea of working nine to five in the corporate world isn't what they see in their future. Some graduates are opting for a different career path-one of service.

Senior Joe Albers is one of these people. As a Spanish major, Albers entered Santa Clara with the intent of one day becoming a Spanish professor. It was through his involvement with service projects and community action that Albers became interested in devoting the rest of his life to community service.

His interest in helping others began the summer of his sophomore year after living with a small community in El Salvador for seven weeks. The immersion trip gave Albers the opportunity to live with a family, work in the fields with the tamarindos (the natives) and teach English. After his third visit to El Salvador this past December, Albers decided he wanted to be back with the community for an entire year.

This summer, Albers will return to El Salvador where he will be working with youth groups from across the nation while continuing his dedication towards helping the tamarindos.

"It's not something that I'm just doing this year, but it's something I want to continue in terms of my life in doing service," said Albers. "My career path is a commitment to the community to make the world a better place in everything that I do."

Alber's friend and housemate, Stephanie Barr will also be committing her efforts towards helping others. Barr will begin her commitment to service through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) starting next year.

JVC, founded in 1956, has had over 7,000 volunteers dedicate their lives to working with the poor and mrginalized. Jesuit volunteers work directly with the homeless, the unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled. JVC has become the largest Catholic lay volunteer program in the country.

Barr will work with the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Hillsboro, Ore. She will spend 40 hours a week working with abused women and children, offering counseling. Barr will also work in advocacy and education against domestic violence in the local schools. Barr is looking forward to living in a community of other Jesuit volunteers, where prayer and reflection can foster her spiritual growth.

A philosophy major and women and gender studies minor, Barr believes the environment that she surrounded herself with influenced her decision to take an active role in service.

"Living here [Peer House] and having peer ministry, it has affected what I want to get out of the next couple years and what I have to put in," said Barr. "I think JVC is a good opportunity because it means being involved in a completely different level than I have ever been able to be in college"

On June 26th, senior Kelley McCann will begin working in a program called the P.L.A.C.E. (Partners in Los Angeles Catholic Education) Corps, offered through Loyola Marymount University. The P.L.A.C.E. Corps is built upon three pillars: spirituality, community and professional development. This two-year program incorporates full time teaching in an inner-city Archdiocesan elementary or high school while participants earn their Masters of Arts in elementary or secondary education.

McCann's desire to work in education will take her to an under-resourced school in East Los Angles where she will teach inner-city students. For McCann, teaching was the best way for her to continue her work to raising awareness of social justice issues.

"When I found out about this program I was really excited about the diversity that was there," McCann said. "The thought of being a teacher and educating students is great."

Whether Santa Clara graduates' jobs take them to the offices of Ernst and Young or the streets of El Salvador, the class of 2002 will take with them the education of competence, conscience and compassion. The senior class has their entire lives ahead of themselves to make a difference.

As Barr reminded the class, "who needs a career at 22?"