Take a Break!

In conversation, the current economy inspires grimaces and anxiety.  More people than ever are cutting back on spending and trying to tie up loose financial ends. Most people would assume it is time to stick to traditional paths to success and find a job, any job, right after graduation. Or, if you’re up to it, maybe wait out the tough times in graduate, law or medical school.  However, three Hamilton women recently took less traditional paths after senior week and graduation were all over.  Sara Bryant, class of 2008, Jess Mariglio, class of 2007, and Liza Rueckert, class of 2008 share their commonly different post-graduate experiences to prove that a non-traditional outlook can sometimes prove most successful.

Sara Bryant fell into a unique opportunity to travel to Ethiopia the summer after graduation and spend seven weeks living with families while teaching English in rural areas.  She traveled with a program called Learning Enterprises but she said, “I didn’t necessarily select Ethiopia, it pretty much chose me. There was a last minute opening in the program and a friend of mine asked if I would step in, only three weeks in advance!”

Jess Mariglio drew upon her experience abroad in Granada, Spain to apply for the Bristol Fellowship and “study the way spoken word poetry is used by young people to express their views, experiences and culture.” She traveled across the globe for ten months, stopping in places like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Czech Republic and Ireland.  Though this trip was well researched and planned, it also turned spontaneous when two weeks into the fellowship, she said, “my plans pretty much all went out the window.  At first I wanted to study the different ways people used spoken word in each country and culture.  But I quickly found that the more interesting and important perspective wasn’t through difference, but through similarity.”

Finally, Liza Rueckert spent the summer after her graduation working at a dude ranch, called Eaton’s Ranch in northern Wyoming.  Even though this post-graduate decision may seem just as spontaneous as Sara’s and Jess’, Liza said she actually “always wanted to move out west and when I was little I wanted to be a cowgirl.  A dude ranch seemed like the perfect place for me to go.”

Each of these women experienced things they never before dreamed of and were immensely happy with their trips.  Throughout each trip, all three appreciated the people they met along the way more than anything else.  Liza said she “absolutely loved the ranch and all the people there, it confirmed my love for the West and I knew that I had to stay out there.” Sara left Ethiopia feeling connected to the country and the people, even though the culture was drastically different.  She said she “will always have a family there” and that eventually she would like to bring her own family to meet them. 

Even though she traveled throughout the world in a whirlwind, Jess also felt a deep connection to all the people she met and was amazed by the similarities she saw across cultures.  She described one interview with “a 15 year old emcee in Mexico City, who was said the exact same things, and used his art in the exact same way as an 18 year old poet/activist whom I had interviewed in Ottawa a few months earlier.” From that point she said she realized “Beneath culture, language, identity, political persuasion and religion- beneath all these little categories we set up to separate ourselves from one another- beats a common rhythm we can all relate to: the need to be heard, understood and appreciated.”

             Of course, there are always bumps along the way in any adventure.  Ask any recent graduate, and they will surely remind you that Hamilton is safe, secure and to try to stay here as long as possible.  Even those more adventurous among us will find things after Hamilton may not be as packaged or easy as we had hoped.  In Ethiopia, Sara struggled with the incredible amount of fleas and flies swarming around her on a daily basis, as well as meeting the frequent stares of curiosity as locals encountered the first white person they had ever seen.  In her self-designed journey, Jess found the freedom daunting.  She was shocked by the transition from a structured, familiar, college atmosphere to a time where she did not always have exact details on lodging, travel or even who she was meeting.  She described this shock as a “feeling of free falling”. 

Yet no one said these so-called worst parts of their experiences at all changed their positive impression of the decision to go a different way after leaving the hill.  Liza actually said she could not think of a worst part; she loved being outside and in the mountains all day.  Jess eventually began to cherish the alone time and feel more confident as an individual, as the experiences instilled in her “a strong sense of independence and self-reliance.” Jess’ comment is indicative that sometimes the toughest parts of adjustment can eventually be the most endearing parts of travel. 

Some may say that Liza, Sara and Jess were only putting off the inevitable: settling down and getting a 9-5 job that might include a cubicle.  While this may be an upside, each graduate still highly recommends this step in any Hamiltonian’s path.  Liza intends to return to Eatons Ranch this summer, after she finishes her job as a nanny for a family in Aspen, Colorado.  She said she does not believe a dude ranch is for everyone but encourages everyone to follow even his or her most far-fetched dreams.  “When I was little I wanted to be a cowgirl,” Liza admitted, “I always wanted to move out west.”

Sara does not directly incorporate her time in Ethiopia at her job with the Fundraiser for Friends of Terry McAuliffe in Washington, D.C. but she said it was the “perfect transition piece out of Hamilton College and into the real world.” She also hopes to incorporate her experience with African culture in her interests in international service and public health later in her career. Jess, also residing in D.C., works as the Youth Outreach intern at the United Nations Foundation for Public Affairs.  She said the fellowship inspired her “to use the art of storytelling (through poetry, visual art and music) to create positive change, especially while reaching out to young people.” She worked with Rock the Vote before her current position where she continues to use media to reach young people and educate them about global issues.

All of these women are extremely passionate about their adventures and where they led after graduation.  Each story was ultimately a success because the trip involved something sought after, something each woman felt strongly enough about to follow.  Finally, Jess wrote this advice to Hamilton students, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and gutsy decisions: “Before you sign yourself onto the fast track to success, I challenge you to look inside yourselves and think about what your own personal mission is in this life. Is it to be secure and successful? Or is it something else, something deeper? We live in an incredible, great, big world. We can be safe and secure when we’re old. While we’re young, I say, take a risk. Go explore.”