Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Letter to the Editor: Persistence and Success Post-Whitman

The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Associate Dean of Student Engagement Noah Leavitt. 

Last week’s Pioneer had an essay about the importance of student persistence that merits further exploration.

In her column, “Tinder and the Job Hunt,” senior Katy Wills reflected on how she learned that she needed to bring a particular skill to her quest to find an internship or a job. She described how she came to realize that many of her applications might be rejected but that she needed to stay in the game – just as sometimes might be the case in online dating – because “handling rejection is a crucial skill for millennials whether we’re communicating virtually or in person.”

Katy is right. That ability to endure through aggravation and disappointment will pay off in realms ranging from dating to job searches to many others. In addition, that tenacity will be especially appreciated by employers and supervisors, more than a few of whom have been known to be skeptical of millennials for not thinking that they can endure through a challenging project or assignment.

We recognize this commitment to being tenacious in the face of setbacks as a positive outcome of a Whitman education.

Whitman’s mission is to “foster intellectual vitality, confidence, leadership, and the flexibility to succeed in a changing technological, multicultural world.” And it is indeed a changing technological, multicultural world out there – perhaps more so than at any point in Whitman’s 130-year history. In a powerful Feb. 13 LinkedIn column, higher education commentator Jeffrey Selingo writes, “entire industries are disappearing almost overnight. Legacy companies are quickly changing course, all disrupted by technology and globalization in recent years, even stalwarts like law, accounting, and medicine. One recent study predicts that nearly half of American jobs are at risk from automation and artificial intelligence.”

While this shifting landscape may sound daunting, because of their four years of intensive and diverse academic and co-curricular involvements Whitman students are well prepared to thrive in this world, and not just immediately after graduating but far beyond as well.

Moreover, because of this tumultuous and unpredictable global economy, today’s Whitman students are likely to make many professional moves within and across sectors. Thus the ability to cultivate and nurture a highly transferrable set of assets including critical thinking skills, effective communication skills, an ability to collaborate (especially with people from different backgrounds) and a deep commitment to completing a project will be vital wherever someone winds up and no matter how long they stay in any particular role.

In her Installation address, President Murray told the students in Cordiner Hall that Whitman isn’t training you just for your first job, or even your fifth. She meant that we’re preparing students for a lifetime of professional involvements in many realms of the world of work and beyond.

And she’s exactly right that Whitties frequently adjust the ways they participate in and contribute to their professional roles. Last year Whitman’s Office of Institutional Research analyzed LinkedIn data from the Class of 2009 and found that on average those graduates had: had 4.5 jobs; worked at 3.9 companies or organizations; and spent 1.2 years at their first job before moving on.

One of the wonderful aspects of Whitman is that students are given opportunities to make many choices about majors, friends, activities, identities and other significant aspects of life. Whitman provides our students with the ability to deeply explore each of these options and what the implications of choosing one versus another might lead to.

Similarly, Whitman students have many options about what to do after graduation. Therefore, the College’s responsibility is to prepare all of you to effectively pursue the choices that seem most meaningful and compelling.

One of the ways that we prepare you is to let you know what your future employers are likely to be thinking about when they first meet you, such as helping you appreciate that they will be keenly interested in whether you have the ability to persist through a challenging major or internship or leadership role because that is exactly what you will need to be able to do at their organization. We can then help you practice communicating your Whitman experiences in ways that will let them appreciate your experience in doing exactly that.

Last Sunday’s “New York Times” included a terrific interview with Joshua Reeves, the CEO of a technology start-up called Gusto – a company very much like the kind that many Whitties are eagerly seeking out (and finding success in) after they graduate. Musing about one difference between college and the world of work, Mr. Reeves observes, “In school, it’s very clear what success looks like. There’s a framework called grades, and that measures success. In life, there is no rubric or metric. A lot of individuals wrestle with that transition.”

What Mr. Reeves is saying is that students who have the ability to persist through a complex and ambiguous assignment without needing external drivers but instead because of their own internal passion or curiosity are a very close match for what an employer is looking for. Regardless of whether we agree or disagree with that employer’s preference, the ability of a Whittie to demonstrate that tenacity will carry a high value in the professional world.

Having the persistence to complete a task is vital for dating, for securing a coveted internship and for being successful in your first or fifth job and beyond. Congratulations to students who are able to realize this important lesson while you are still on campus because with that insight you will be able to reap many personal and professional rewards throughout your lifetime.

-Noah Leavitt, Associate Dean of Students

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