REFLECTION ONE:

In talking about the role financial barriers play in higher education, we thought we would appeal to the people who experience these constraints firsthand: students. Reaching out to friends and friends of friends, we heard from university students in each of our geographic areas — Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, and Houston. Despite the distance, our discussions yielded similar results across the board: finances do affect students’ experiences, both coming to college and while in it.

For many students, the availability of financial aid or scholarship offerings was the single most important factor in their college decision-making process. In addition to seeking out schools with better financial aid opportunities, financial aid packages can also be the determining factor for some students in attending a private vs. a public school, since private schools tend to have more resources. Even students who did not face these financial barriers still had an awareness of their unusually fortunate circumstances.

Once on campus, however, most students did not see finances as a major influence in their choice of activities. Many said that their activities were free or school-sponsored. However, some students cited that money was a consideration or limiting factor in joining Greek life, since houses tend to have expensive dues.

The answers regarding whether or not students were aware of each other’s financial background varied. The general consensus was that students were at least “somewhat” aware of their peers’ economic circumstances, but it didn’t necessarily impact the social scene, although some students said that having less money to spend when going out impacted their ability to socialize.

Students’ decision to pursue a particular major also varied within the same communities. While some, especially those who came from economically privileged backgrounds, said they chose their major based on interest or passion, those who were more concerned with financial circumstances chose their major based on practicality or expected future income.

Overall, while answers did not vary significantly across geographic areas, one factor did seem to sway students’ answers one way or another: economic security. Those who felt they were from a privileged economic background tended not to view their college experience in terms of finances, while those who relied more on financial aid had a much greater concern for how money affected their decisions. While finances did not necessarily impact the quality of education students received (since we talked to groups of people within the same community), it did affect their path both to and during college.

 

 

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REFLECTION TWO:

For our second activity, we chose to focus on non-academic components of education, specifically civic engagement and leadership, and their contributions to the quality of secondary education. We were tasked to speak with members of sororities or fraternities or program directors of leadership centers, similar to CCL, and engage in a dialogue with them about their perspective on civic engagement, its prevalence on their respective campus, and its importance in the quality of education for a student.

In speaking with sorority members, it appears that the ability to get involved in community service was an important part in their decision to join Greek life. There were multiple mentions of choosing their particular sorority based on the associated philanthropy and the type of volunteer work they would be able to do (one works with Autism Speaks and another works with The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired). Interestingly, neither person mentioned any direct impact that being a sorority member had on their education. Both, however, implied that having a support network dedicated to the same goals and causes drove them to engage much more in their communities than they otherwise would. It appears that their educational benefits came from their non-traditional, experiential education, gained by being around “inspiring, driven people.” One person surveyed who goes to UT stated, in response to the being asked about the prevalence of community engagement on her campus, “…unless someone’s student group puts on a community service event or presents an opportunity to volunteer, most people would not [participate in community service], unfortunately.” In comparison, a student from American University noted, “we have a… school-affiliated community service group that notifies the student body of opportunities for civic engagement.” It seems as though fewer students participate in community service as institutions get larger. This may be because students must advocate for themselves more at these large institutions and can lose track of opportunities available to them among the hundreds of clubs/groups on campus.

Perhaps universities simply grind to a halt during the summer months, but several of us who attempted to contact the leadership of different schools’ civic engagement centers met a frustrating wall of silence. A representative from Stanford replied to our first email with a couple of perfunctory sentences, asking for some clarification on how specific our inquiries were. We also had some initial responses from program directors and coordinators at New York University and Barnard College. But after these initial responses, our contact abruptly came to an end. Though this created a stressful situation for us— we needed substance for our project, after all— we tried our best to glean some knowledge from the meager offerings provided, as well as from online resources. In the case of Stanford, the university has the Haas Center for Public Service to engage its students in serving their community, both local and global. This center is quite large, encompassing many programs and partnering with all of the student service organizations on campus. Its extensiveness probably factored into how its representative replied to our extremely general inquiry. In its own words, “the Haas Center engages more than 1,000 students annually in global service across diverse pathways— direct service, engaged scholarship, activism, philanthropy, public policy, and social entrepreneurship.” By taking this multifaceted approach to civic engagement, Stanford gives its students multiple ways to contribute to a greater common good, recognizing that not everyone serves the same way. Aside from the most common methods of direct volunteering, the university integrates research and policy into its programs. Similarly, New York University has two leadership programs, NYU Leadership Fellows (their equivalent of LRME) and NYU Global Leadership Summit. Both programs seek to promote leadership development and to cultivate these skills for use in community projects, mentorship, and other ways to enhance learning across campus.

At over 7,000 enrolled undergraduates, Stanford’s estimate of 1,000 students involved per year with the Haas Center shows that a majority of students still do not spend time in civic engagement. Presumably, most students focus on their studies, but as our group has discussed, a quality education consists of more than mere academics. The opportunity to volunteer in service to their community is a valuable component of a student’s education, but even if those opportunities are available, we see that students may not choose them. Students’ concepts of education are primarily grounded in academics, and some do not see the potential valuable learning experiences one can gain from civic engagement and relationship development within your school and local community. Regrettably, we were unable to establish substantial contact with Stanford, New York University, Columbia University and some of the other universities, but we had hoped to ask them about best practices and about methods they used to draw students into their programs. How are they promoting service? How are they making service attractive and feasible for students already so overbooked with commitments? If we could obtain answers, maybe we could apply some of this knowledge to our own student body at Rice.

 

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REFLECTION THREE:

Education is an integral and influential part of our lives, as it provides us with the foundation and skills necessary to perform at our best in society. Throughout our common interest project experience, we each saw different perspectives and problems encompassed in the word “education.” While there are multiple potential avenues that we could have chosen to investigate, for the purpose of this common interest cohort, we decided to focus upon higher education, namely, college/university level, and the factors that contribute to a quality education at these institutions. As we are all undergraduate students at a top-tier institution, we wanted to reflect upon what aspects of Rice influence our experience and compare these to universities in other parts of the country (New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C.).

For our final project, we decided to focus our efforts on how institutions of higher learning help to shape the career choices of students. We decided interviews were the best means to record the thoughts of the subjects in the least intrusive manner possible. The SMARTEST goals strategy helped to guide the details of our endeavor. The group decided that we need to be specific in the target interview population, choosing young alumni under 30 who have the closest connection to their college experience. The goal was measured by the standard questions provided to all group members allowing for comparable results. The goal was attainable because the LRME locations of Houston, Washington DC, San Francisco, and New York have a large number of young professionals. The relevance of the project is that for many of the subjects interviewed, college served as both a qualification and a factor which influenced employment decisions. The goal was time bound due to the project deadline. Finally, it was exhibited because it provided young professionals with an opportunity for their own individual reflection on the impact of college on their lives. The common interest cohort members supported each other’s efforts, along with CCL staff and geographic cohort. The obstacle was that young professionals may be unwilling to engage in reflection.

For the majority of people we interviewed, college clearly had an effect on career trajectory. Two out of eleven people surveyed stated that their career trajectory changed between the time they began college and post-graduation. Experiences ranged from knowing exactly what they wanted to do before college and having that change by graduation, to having no idea what they wanted to do before college to finding some sense of direction by graduation. Many people mentioned that their career trajectories were influenced by opportunities that happened to be available, exposure to certain fields and areas of study as they progressed combined with their personal interests. Regardless of location and career choice, college and all the opportunities and experiences that come with it did indeed play a significant role in influencing students’ career trajectory.

Financial stability was also a key factor in career choice; all respondents agreed that it played a role in job opportunities they pursued. Some were split on academic focus as well as interest/passion, however overwhelmingly financial stability seemed to be the most important factor. This creates a disconnect between being told to pursue passion and dream jobs, while still being grounded in reality and financial demands. As future young professionals, these will most likely be the same factors that we must consider when choosing our career paths and attempt to balance different priorities while we navigate life after college.

Though our sample pool is obviously rather small, a couple of trends still emerged when we asked our respondents for career advice they would offer to young college students. Several people talked about finding and following your passions and about knowing yourself and your interests. When our group discussed our results together, we noted that for the most part, our respondents seemed very independently minded. Perhaps because the majority of young folk in their twenties have yet to have a family, they tend not to worry about financially supporting dependents like children; their parents also presumably have not reached an age where they need caretaking. Accordingly, a lot of this advice seems to be about looking internally and discovering who you are and what you care about.

A couple of people said that students should not fixate too much on their majors, since aside from engineering and other technical fields, what you study in college is not the most important for a job; rather, it is more important to be adaptable. The respondents took different approaches with this idea, but the commonality remains. One emphasized the constantly shifting “state of affairs in the 21st century” as a reason to choose an interest/vocation rather than a specific job, since the latter may not always be available. Another said to “keep your options open,” and yet another wants to remind students that “your first job isn’t everything!” One young professional urges students to not be afraid of compromise. Regardless of the deeper implications of this advice, something most of the survey respondents agreed on was the importance of practical experience and just doing, whether that be through job shadowing, internships, or something else. Ultimately, students will not know what they really want to do unless they just try it for themselves.

Generally, this final project demonstrated that college definitely has the power to change a person’s trajectory, though the reasons for the shift can be very different amongst a pool of individuals.  Financial security seems to be a key factor in many of the decisions leading up to career choice, however, young alumni are also quick to point out the importance of “finding what you’re passionate about” and trying to pursue that as much as possible.  While our mission centers on equality of educational opportunities, this activity showed us just how idealistic such a mission may be.  Finances are a driving force for decisions made by some students and a non-issue for others, and career choices aren’t limitless for everyone.  Regardless, we now know that the learning and “doing” done in college seem to have a significant impact in shaping students for their future careers.