Life After Oberlin

Recent Grad Takes Foray into Capitalism

Well, it is September 21 and barring any second semester seniors graduating in December, most students are not racking their brains with the logistics of life after the liberal arts college.

Most of you probably warm yourselves with happy thoughts of your slowly approaching day of commencement, but those feelings of joy and anticipation always outweigh the plans for the day after you receive your pleather bound diploma, or perhaps six months after when fiscal responsibility comes knocking on your door in the form of loan repayments.

These are things you must worry about in the real world, the world outside this bubble of secure reality and safe spaces that a few Congregationalists called Oberlin College. Luckily you have me, an honest-to-god Oberlin College class of 2000 alumnus and recovering liberal arts student. Allow my experiences to guide you to a life full of your lofty Oberlin ideals, principles and rewards.

There are three final destination points for the Oberlin grad: New York, Chicago and San Francisco. I chose San Francisco, mainly because I wanted to bulk up for grad school at the San Francisco Art Institute before I shipped off to Chicago for the real deal. But like most Oberlin grads I sold out to capitalism and decided that for the time being I would choose stock options over critical thought and creativity.

Many students believe that the place to sell your soul is New York, but don't let the seemingly slow pace and liberal atmosphere of northern California fool you.

Around every corner there lurks a trigger-happy venture capitalist, and behind him there will follow a trail of dot-com CEOs sipping a hefty glass of Red Bull and vodka waiting to name you the new head of office administrative relations. I'm not going lie, $40,000 to $50,000 is a nice crash pad after college, but it comes with a price to pay.

Since departing the gentle seas of the Midwest I have met countless graduates who left Oberlin with a twinkle in their eye and a degree tucked neatly under their arm, only to find themselves slaving over a computer. Most of them have followed the path of the dot-com employee, which not only includes a package full of worthless stock options but a job turnover rate of about five to six months as well.

It's like locking a child in a closet during their formative years ‹ they are sure to emerge unsocialized and unruly. The dot-com workplace will certainly dull you razor sharp intellectual abilities and reduce you to ordering groceries via the internet while having cybersex with Ruth Ann in Wichita.

However frightful my depiction of LAO (Life After Oberlin) may be, there is a silver lining to this cloud. From the depths of Silicon Valley there rises a new generation of visionaries that I refer to as the dot-orger. Although the non-profit is not a new idea, the non-profit of today is benefiting from the bull markets of the late 90's in ways that would make the internet seem almost legitimate. These socially minded organizations offer barely enough to live on but a chance to do good and help those that are less fortunate. Plus, you'll sleep better at night.

I suspect most of you will seek that higher paying job, and that's okay, just don't lose sight of the reasons you went to Oberlin in the first place. If anything, I have learned that a liberal arts education teaches you to think both critically and socially. Sell out for a few years, it might be good for you, but remember to stick to your guns in the long term, I have.