Hey! Seniors out there! You guys ready for a round of twenty questions?

I am certain it has already begun for some of you. Those infamous queries – “What are you going to do?” and “What is next after graduation?” – can cause any senior to close their eyes and wish to rewind back to freshman year, even willing to regain the “freshie 15” just to avoid that Doom’s Day in May.

While applying for graduate schools and fishing through the job market almost always make a senior’s “Beyond graduation” options, a year or two of service rarely makes the list. Sure, community service like the Peace Corps and Teach for America are on the rise for recent graduates (especially with the economy struggling even more than Lindsay Lohan these days), but those only “employ” a teeny, tiny fraction of college grads each year.

Why??

Becoming a volunteer after graduation is a way to expand your worldview and options for your future, while giving you an experience that won’t soon be matched. Trust me, the stories you will have to tell will dominate any dinner conversation from this point forward.

As I am currently volunteering for a year with an organization in NYC, I know firsthand how intimidating the leap towards giving a whole 365 days worth of time and a solid salary can be. To help you discern whether or not you were made for volunteering, allow me to give you all the facts. And I mean ALL. Read More »

Your cell phone alarm is going off in your ear to the tune off She Bangs by Ricky Martin, inducing the hangover you worked so hard for last night (note to self: change to something MJ immediately). Your body pillow is the most obliging (and loyal) bed partner you’ve had in months, and the monsoon outside is actually starting to lull you back to sleep. So what’s going to keep you from repeatedly hitting the snooze button and subsequently infuriating your roommates and failing out of school?

The oh so delicious piece of man meat awaiting you at that 9 am roll call.

Now, there’s not going to be a prince charming lurking behind every door, but we came up with a class schedule that is sure to make the grade. Read More »

Want some options? Try an engineering class. Lots. of. men.

Your cell phone alarm is going off in your ear to the tune off She Bangs by Ricky Martin, inducing the hangover you worked so hard for last night (note to self: change to something MJ immediately). Your body pillow is the most obliging (and loyal) bed partner you’ve had in months, and the monsoon outside is actually starting to lull you back to sleep. So what’s going to keep you from repeatedly hitting the snooze button and subsequently infuriating your roommates and failing out of school?

The oh so delicious piece of man meat awaiting you at that 9 am roll call.

Now, there’s not going to be a prince charming lurking behind every door, but we came up with a class schedule that is sure to make the grade. Read More »

"Dude, we totally should have done the 10 year plan."

God, am I lucky to still be in college.  And no, I’m not just talking about the amazing carefree, party animal, parent-less lifestyle of mine (life literally does not. get. better).  I’m talking about the luxury of not having to deal with the real world in a currently not-so-great world.

As if graduating and moving on to becoming an adult and a real person (ew) isn’t bad enough, struggling to get a job doesn’t make it all any more appealing.  Nothing sucks more than going for an interview and then waiting to hear back…only to realize there is a great chance you won’t. Ever. At all. Just imagine how the class of 2009 feels, as fewer than a fifth of the graduating seniors have job offers. A fifth!!  The frustration and aggravation is awful, and people are being forced to completely alter their original life plans.

As a result, graduates are looking for alternatives to work, such as volunteering and participating in public service programs (applications for the Peace Corps were up by 16 percent this spring over last year!) and even going abroad to find other options. Others are expecting to attend graduate or professional school.

Even the lucky ones who do actually get offers aren’t so lucky.  Jobs for new college grads are paying less than in previous years. Read More »

I love Oprah. I DVR her show every day, I read her magazine every month and I have even flown out to Chicago to see her.

Obviously, when her new show, The Big Give, kicked off on Sunday night I was sitting in front of my TV to see what my diva friend was up to now.

For those of you who don’t have shrines to Oprah in your bedrooms (not that I do or anything…) the premise of The Big Give is quite simple: each week contestants are given a large sum of money and a picture of someone in need. The contestants must then use the money (and a whole lot of help) to come up with a way to make that person’s dreams come true.

In other words: a total tear jerker.

And while there are many things wrong with the show (the fact that these people are on an Oprah show allows them to enlist the help the corporations and celebrities), it really did infuse me with a desire to give back. There are so many ways to help those in need – both big and small – and Oprah’s new show reminded me that no matter what we are capable of, everyone can and must do something. Read More »