My life after Carleton

It is the elephant in the room for all college seniors, the question everyone wants to ask about: what are you doing after you graduate? And for readers of the Admissions Blog, I am sure the question extends to: how does Carleton prepare you for life after Carleton? In this (lengthier) post, I hope to answer both questions; in doing so, perhaps I will give you one more reason to apply to Carleton!

I, like many Carls, entered college as a first-year without a clue as to what to major in. So it is remarkable that I am now 5 months away from graduation, with two majors and a minor, a job offer and a fellowship for graduate school. 

Last August, I signed a job offer with WSP as I was wrapping up my summer internship. As the top-ranked international design firm, WSP provided me with the opportunity to work as a consultant on major public transit projects all across the US. It is the perfect combination of the skills and passion I have developed as a liberal arts student at Carleton: I get to use my problem-solving, writing, and data analysis skills to create more equitable, sustainable, and livable cities.

But then – I deferred my dream job because Carleton’s Fellowship Office helped me land a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the Rotary Global Grant Fellowship. The scholarship will fund my graduate education and living expenses abroad. Now, I plan to receive my Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Amsterdam, before returning to WSP as an Associate Consultant the following year. 

How did this happen? The answer is simple: Carleton set me up for success, providing me support every step of the way. Carleton Profs have earned their ranking as the best faculty in the nation; always invested, not just in teaching us but also getting to know us. I am better off for the relationships I have built with my professors; I went from a shy first-year too scared to ever go to office hours to a confident Senior enjoying the opportunity to chat with any of my Profs inside and outside class. 

Naturally, this means the quality of the courses is unparalleled. My writing is one area that has improved tremendously over my time at Carleton because my professors have challenged me with engaging assignments and provided extensive feedback. For example, last Fall I got 1.5 pages of feedback to help revise my 9-page policy position paper for Professor Al Montero. The assignment gave me a chance to write about a topic I am passionate about (affordable housing) and develop a comprehensive policy proposal (addressing supply-side limitations in affordable housing at the federal level through joint-HUD/DOT loan and grant programs). The added benefit is that these assignments make for great writing samples for job and graduate school applications.

Moreover, the culture of caring at Carleton is ingrained in the student body. If I have trouble with my code in R, I can count on friends and classmates to help out. In return, if they were struggling with their essay, I am always happy to read it over and give suggestions. Beyond my friends and Profs, my baseball coaches have always challenged me to become the best student-athlete I can be. They have encouraged my academic pursuits, whether it was studying abroad, working as a research assistant, or taking a lab course that would’ve conflicted with baseball, and found ways to do this without compromising my athletic experience.

I have already written a bit on how amazing the alums are and how helpful the Career Center is (a more in-depth blog post coming soon!), but I have to shout them out again. The Fellowship Office provides incredible one-on-one support through the competitive process of landing fellowship and research opportunities, something I also hope to cover more in a future blog post!

I could go on and on about how Carleton prepared me for life after Carleton (such as how the liberal arts requirements encouraged me to take classes from 13 different departments). But I think this is enough text (and promises for future post topics) for one blog post. 

TL;DR: Apply to Carleton; the support you receive throughout college sets you up for success! I am so grateful that Carleton has lined me up for a dream combination of grad school, job, and lifelong friends. 

It seems like just yesterday that Kai (he/him) first arrived at Carleton. Yet now, he is a Senior Political Science & Psychology major with a Public Policy minor. Kai loves Carleton’s friendly campus culture, spending much of his time hanging out in Sayles, studying in the Atrium, taking walks around the Lakes or in the Arb, volunteering for Project Friendship, and pitching/playing infield for the baseball team.