Entering the real world
Alumni share post-grad insight with students
February 20, 2007
Rhoda Dyck, Staff writer
According to Trinity Western University alums, the post-TWU experience is one mixed with special challenges and unexpected turns.
TWU alumni recently spent an evening dialoguing with students at the Ramada Plaza in Abbotsford. The event, called “Marketing U,” was held on Feb. 6 and featured a panel of alumni, including two keynote speakers, financial advisor Paul Lermitte and author Sam Beckford.
Hosted by the Alumni Department, the evening was meant to show students what they have to look forward to upon graduation. Without downplaying the more daunting aspects of post-university life, the panel of speakers expressed mostly positive sentiments about their post-grad experiences.
Erin Mussolum, a 1995 alumnus, who is currently a film producer and Senior Media Relations Specialist at TWU, was part of the alumni panel at the event.
“It’s not easy out there, but TWU prepares you for it,” she said. “TWU was paramount in my network after I graduated. It was a fabulous resource.”
Alistair Young, who also was part of the panel, echoed Mussolum’s position, making the point that his current career as a realtor has been enhanced by his TWU degree.
“You are gaining so much more than just the academics,” he said. “Employers know about TWU and have a very high opinion of it. That was one of the key reasons I got a job after I graduated.”
TWU’s Brenda Evans works to facilitate the availability of these networking possibilities. As Special Events Coordinator of the Alumni Department, she has been developing a number of initiatives with the purpose of linking TWU grads through business and social connections. However, as Evans stated, “We’re stretched.”
Currently, TWU’s Alumni Department consists of just one full-time and one part-time staff member who have their hands so full that they have been unable to track the successes and challenges of most TWU grads.
Thomas Cairns, who completed his degree last year, is one of many grads who have experienced some of those challenges, particularly post-degree financial pressures.
“I’m happy with the choice I made to attend Trinity and feel like I did get a lot out of it,” he said, “but I’m definitely paying for it too as it has limited my options significantly in the short term.”
According to Cairns, landing the perfect job is more elusive than most grads expect it to be. Though he is now working as an ESL teacher, taking a landscaping job proved to be his most feasible option immediately after graduation.
“When you’re carrying a lot of debt like I was when I finished my time at Trinity, the ability to pull in some decent wages in the short term is very attractive,” he noted. “A lot of graduates spend a lot more time than they thought they would being unemployed.”
However, Rod Ross, a former TWU professor and member of the Marketing U alumni panel, questioned the assumption that grads need to worry so much about finding work in their field of study.
“Most people really don’t know who they are [when they graduate],” he told the crowd of students. “If you look 10 years from now, is your major even relevant?”
This questioning rang true for Cairns, who feels that most graduates aren’t sure what career to pursue. In the end, he prefers to describe his post-TWU experience in simple terms.
“Being an alumni means patience and hard work,” he said. “It means making sure you have enough money to pay the rent.”
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