As the last half of the spring semester approaches, seniors at Butler University send out piles of applications.
These masses of paperwork go to employers, internships, volunteer organizations and graduate schools.
I am lucky enough to have an adviser and several other professors who have offered extensive help in the graduate school application process.
Professors from my department (and others) critiqued my various writing samples and personal statements, as well as suggested which programs worked best for me.
But not every department can offer such comprehensive help.
Especially in programs where many courses are cross-listed, students may not necessarily have many of role models or potential sources of advice.
This is not to imply that any department is being unhelpful.
Professors have a lot on their plates, with many of them serving as advisers and educators while also pursuing research and, of course, living their lives outside of Butler.
Internship and Career Services offers workshops, resume critiques and even a one-credit hour course for students to help them learn about finding employment, internships and “gap-year” programs.
The last of these refers to organizations like AmeriCorps or Teach for America.
The “gap” is between undergraduate life and whatever the individual wants to pursue.
Many students in my acquaintance, though, feel as if they are pursuing specific things that go beyond simple resume reworking.
Everyone can benefit from a more professional resume.
But someone who wants to go into warzone coverage for a newspaper needs very different career advice and experience than another student who wants to manage local broadcast journalism.
ICS does a fantastic job, but a major burden is the specific needs of each student.
No one group can effectively work with 4,000 students to address each one’s goals.
To me, I thought there were very few alternatives for students without clear post-college goals or ones who were looking at further education.
If I were in a larger department where the teachers did not personally know the students, I am not sure I would have the options I do.