For the 309 graduates of the Cornell College class of 2007, June 2nd was a milestone day. After receiving their degrees on stage in the Small Multi-Sport Center, and singing the alma mater for the first time as Cornell graduates, the college’s newest alumni and alumnae ventured out into the world full of hope and promise. Two months later, The Walking TACO checked in with a handful of these young alumni to hear how life post-Hilltop is really like.
In a graduation day survey conducted by Career Services, approximately 7 out of 10 graduates planned to enter the workforce immediately after graduation. For Chris Knudsen ’07, his liberal arts education is exactly what he needs to be extraordinary in his new job with the Boy Scouts of America.
 “Cornell has prepared me for life after college by providing me a respected education that encouraged leadership in school and community activities,” said Knudsen.
As a District Executive for the War Eagle District based out of Sioux City, Iowa, Knudsen will be responsible for a wide variety of tasks with the Boy Scouts. From growing the membership and fundraising to recruiting volunteers from diverse backgrounds and writing reports, he feels confident about the preparation he received at Cornell, “I have the liberal arts basis that will help me in my upcoming job, one that will require many different skills.”
An important skill enhanced by the liberal arts is the ability to effectively communicate, and it’s the skill that Daniel Harcey ’07 relies on as a program administrator in a residential community serving individuals with developmental disabilities.
“I feel very competent writing a treatment plan, communicating concerns and directions, and processing complex legal statutes,” Harcey said.
The confidence gained from a Cornell education also applies to alumni going into education. “My Cornell experience has done a lot for me,” stated Daki Moore ’07, “I feel more confident in my ability to handle new challenges inside and outside the classroom.”
Moore’s confidence will soon be tested as she travels to Japan where she will be a mentor and teach English for a year before returning to her hometown of Chicago to pursue graduate school.
 For some Cornellians, however, life after college takes some unexpected twists. Jessica LaSusa thought she would start her own dessert/coffee/used bookstore and started work right after graduation in the dessert industry to learn more. However, after some time she’s discovered that her passion does not lie in desserts after all and is considering a career change.
While she discovers her life path, LaSusa feels fortunate that “Cornell has prepared me for life by linking me to other Cornellians who have become my best friends and lifelines when everything gets overwhelming.”
While most graduates go into the workforce, about one-fifth of the class of 2007 planned to enter graduate or professional school. Erik Jensen ’07 relocated to South Carolina and Samantha Golden ’07 to Seattle to pursue master’s degrees in higher education and student development at the University of South Carolina and Seattle University, respectively. Both have already started their graduate assistantships in housing for Jensen and orientation for Golden.
Looking back on his liberal arts education, Jensen commented, “When I graduated, I was afraid that people would look down at the liberal arts, but it’s quite the contrary. The liberal arts teach intellectual versatility that make us valuable members of any team, able to see different approaches to problems we’re facing.”
Golden’s appreciation for her Cornell education is similar, “everything that I learned has been transferable to my short experiences thus far at Seattle U’s orientation and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Cornell.”
While Jensen and Golden are on the coasts, Echo Liu ’07 has chosen to stay in the Midwest. Liu is pursuing a master’s degree in economics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She hopes to eventually earn a doctorate in economics one day and believes her liberal arts education “is a good foundation…and I will strive to be a well-rounded person.”
Instead of working full time or doing graduate work some of the 2007 Cornellians— about six percent—planned on volunteering, conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar in New Zealand, traveling, or are seeking additional undergraduate education following their time at Cornell.
 For ten weeks, Jessica Rundlett ’07 is volunteering her time as a Naturalist through AmeriCorps in northeast Iowa at Pikes Peak State Park and Yellow River State Forest.
“If anyone had told me that my first job out of college would be as a Naturalist, I would have told them they were crazy,” said Rundlett, adding, “Yet, I’m having a great time.”
Following her time with AmeriCorps, Rundlett will clerk in the Iowa Legislature for a state representative and is considering another season of naturalist work next summer.
Encouraging students to become involved in service and working to better society has been a hallmark of a Cornell education, and it’s a practice that Cornellians take with them long after their time on the Hilltop. Erin Collins will soon be moving to Chicago to spend the next two years teaching kindergarten to 6th grade at a low-income charter school on the south side of the city.
To prepare for the experience, Collins spent 5 weeks teaching kindergarten in the Philadelphia school district summer school as part of her training with Teach for America. The training was intense according to Collins, “I basically had to learn about the country’s achievement gap, work with a collaborative of other teachers, and do my student teaching in 5 weeks. It was like learning to teach on the block plan times 10!”
Fortunately for her, Cornell prepared Collins well for the challenge, “Not only did the knowledge and skills I gained at Cornell help me out, but having a solid work ethic and sense of urgency definitely made my experience less stressful than that of other participants.”
Whether it’s the working world, graduate school, or helping society through volunteerism, the class of 2007 is finding ways to utilize their liberal arts education from Cornell. As Lisa Lefebure ’07, a credit analyst with GreatAmerica Leasing in Cedar Rapids explains, “I am very proud of the last four years and thankful to have been given so many unique opportunities to differentiate myself from the rest of the college graduates in the class of 2007.”
For Lefebure, Knudsen, Harcey, Moore, LaSusa, Jensen, Golden, Rundlett, Collins, and the rest of this spring’s graduating class, Cornell really was one extraordinary opportunity of a lifetime.
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Editor's
Note: Data reporting post-graduation plans from the Class of 2007 was collected as part of the Career Services Graduation Day Survey. Approximately 75% of the 2007 graduates participated, N=233.
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