Krishnan, Elizabeth

Rossetti, Elspeth

English

epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 46 Article 22September 2014Vocation at WorkElspeth RossettiElizabeth KrishnanFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationRossetti, Elspeth and Krishnan, Elizabeth (2014) "Vocation at Work," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 46, Article 22.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol46/iss1/22Conversations 35A n education that pre-pares for employmentis paramount today inthe minds of studentsand their parents. Thevalue of higher edu-cation is increasinglymeasured in employ-ment outcomes. For example, thefour most attractive attributes ofSanta Clara University for our stu-dents are employment related.Our reputation among employers,high employment among ourgraduates, education for skillsthat employers value, andemployer networking all outranksmall class sizes, inspiring profes-sors, interesting courses, andstudy abroad. This focus onreturn-on-investment plays out onthe national stage as well. In anationwide survey taken byUCLA, 85.9% of the class of 2014state that “getting a better job” isthe reason they pursued highereducation. Today’s incoming stu-dents are under increasing pres-sure to make an immediate deci-sion about their major that willlead, as they perceive it, to alucrative job. The pressure students feel todeclare a major that they see ascareer worthy and their urgencywhen they embark on this pathcan seem to preclude the processof discernment that is integral to aJesuit education. How can weeducators in the Jesuit traditionreconcile these disparateapproaches to education andaddress employment concernswhile giving students the educa-tion for life that encourages theauthentic and conscientious deci-sion making that the world needs?Because of this heightened focuson career preparation our studentsoften feel trapped and bound bythe pressure to “get a job.” Theyfrequently draw misinformed con-clusions about the employmentvalue of a particular major. One student recently soughthelp in our Career Center, and hisstory with variations applies to aVocationat WorkBy Elspeth Rossetti and Elizabeth KrishnanElspeth Rosetti is the director andElizabeth Krishnan the associatedirector of the Career Center ofSanta Clara University. 1Rossetti and Krishnan: Vocation at WorkPublished by e-Publications@Marquette,36 Conversationsnumber of others. Scott, we will callhim, entered the business school asa freshman; he was not interested inbusiness but knew that transferringinto an impacted school later wouldbe difficult. He wants a financiallysecure job but does not want towork in a “corporation.” He is fairlycertain he will declare biologybecause he likes the challenge, notthe content itself. Science wouldlead to medical school, and Scottthinks he should go. But he doesn’treally want to be a doctor. Scottloves philosophy but would nevermajor in it because it is not “practi-cal.” He entered our office declaringhis decision to transfer to science,but everything inside him wasscreaming out because his thoughtprocess conflicted with a deeperknowledge about his real interests.Still, he made it clear that he wouldnever major in the humanities andany conversation on that pointwould be fruitless. Despite the clari-ty expressed in his thought process,his anxiety clouded hisability to trust his deep-er knowing. The implications offear-driven decisionmaking weigh on anentire university. Withthis example, the busi-ness school loses aspace for someone whogenuinely wants tostudy business, the sci-ences gain a studentwho is pursuing a pathagainst his nature, andthe humanities neverget to lay eyes on a stu-dent who would bringpassion to the subject.The danger here is thatstudents forsake theirvery selves in the pur-suit of perceived securi-ty of a job and thatfuture decision making will be moredifficult. And as educators, we are indanger of forsaking our students ifwe fail to step in and offer a newway forward. For the wholeness of our stu-dents and the well-being of our uni-versities, we are called to reimaginehow we introduce vocation discern-ment to resistant stu-dents. As Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach,the Jesuit superiorgeneral, stated in hisaddress at Assembly’89, “This changedworld of ours is theonly one in which weare called to workout our mission.”Twenty yearslater, Fr. AdolfoNicolás, Fr.Kolvenbach’s succes-sor, stated that weJesuit educators rec-ognize that “a carefulprocess of discernment” is a “non-negotiable element” of the Jesuit mis-sion. Discernment elevates our callingas individuals beyond career prepara-tion and toward “active life commit-ment.” Students who engage in athoughtful discernment process areable to articulate how their gifts andtalents align with the world’s needs,and they seek to express this align-ment in ways that extend far beyondwork. Our commitment as educatorsis to cultivate an emerging sense ofstudents’ vocation – a meaningful pur-pose reflected in all aspects of theirlives, including work, family, commu-nity, and relationships.To release students from the tiesthat bind them to career decisionsand invite them into deeper explo-ration of their interests, we must firstallay their fears about employment.Their need for reassurance ofemployability must be addressedbefore students can hear any talk ofvocation. At Santa Clara, we beginthis process by gathering and com-municating data that highlights thebreadth of employment opportuni-ties available for all majors. Forexample, employers value intern-ships and employment during col-lege more than major when they2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 46, Iss. 1 [], Art. 22http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol46/iss1/22Conversations 37recruit candidates. We showcase thisreality by letting our students knowthat Google, Apple, and Cisco – thetop three employers of SCU alumni– hire more of our nontechnicalmajors than our engineers. Googlefor example, hires for skillset, notmajor, and particularly values ourliberal arts students. Our CareerCenter has also developed acampuswide marketing cam-paign to showcase the workof recent alumni, particularlythose in the liberal arts. (Seesample: http://bit.ly/sam-pleprofile) Our alumni pro-files are highlighted on all ofour campus screens and inthe residence halls.Fear is a strong emotion,and data-driven argumentsare cognitive approaches thatdo not address students’ feel-ings. As we saw with Scott,who refused to consider hisinterest in the humanities, noamount of data would havetouched the anxieties thatwere paralyzing his decisionmaking. But experience canrelease students from fear-based paralysis. Experiencein the form of internshipsraises awareness of the broadopportunities available to studentsand builds trust in their capabilitiesin a very concrete way. Internshiprecruiting for lower classmen pro-vides a unique opportunity to givestudents an early experience thatcan transform how they think aboutmajors and open their eyes to newpossibilities. Students who have pur-sued internships during their fresh-man and sophomore years quicklyrealize the breadth of opportunitiesavailable to them that are notdefined by any particular major.The introduction of employmentdata and experiential learningopportunities liberates students andreassures them that they are employ-able. Students are then more willingand able to explore the deeperquestion of vocation, the hallmark oftheir Jesuit education. To paraphrasethe theologian Frederick Buechner,they are now ready to explorewhere their “deep gladness and theworld’s deep hunger meet.” Returning to the example ofScott, we saw a readiness to consid-er alternative options only after hepursued an internship freshman year.After a summer internship in healthpolicy with Kaiser Permanente, hereturned to our office excited tolearn more about alternative oppor-tunities in healthcare and open toconsidering majors outside of busi-ness and science. He was now readyto engage with the questions ofvocation and explore the intersectionbetween his gifts and the world’sneeds. We could now suggest that heconsider opportunities like theGlobal Medical Brigade and our uni-versity’s Healthcare Ethics Internshipprogram. This student’s developmentmodels the purpose of a Jesuit edu-cation as recognized by Fr.Kolvenbach in his address atCreighton University: “Our educa-tion was never solely for your per-sonal development or to prepareyou for a career. The goal of Jesuithigher education is always in thecontext of the wholeworld and the role of thehuman person in it. Thevision of Jesuit educationis that we can make a con-tribution to the world byequipping you to make acritical analysis of the con-dition of our world today,with compassion and com-mitment. The success ofour Jesuit education isdetermined by what youbecome.” Once releasedfrom his own careerexpectations, Scott wasready to take full advan-tage of his Jesuit educationand blossom into an indi-vidual capable of authenti-cally discerning his fit inthe world. He has experi-enced authentic discern-ment, and we can trustthat he will continually “becomemore” as he revisits questions ofvocation throughout his lifetime. When students are able to con-sider the bigger question of whothey are in relation to the world, theentire educational landscapebecomes a lab for vocation discern-ment. Students are able to makemeaning out of immersion trips,classes, study abroad, and communi-ty-based learning and apply thismeaning to an emerging sense ofhow they wish to live in a purpose-ful way. With this integration, workbecomes just one expression amongmany against the much larger back-drop of vocation. ■Illustrations by Santa Clara student Kate Lassalle-Klein.3Rossetti and Krishnan: Vocation at WorkPublished by e-Publications@Marquette,

Vocation at Work

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