Guest blogger and Institute for Nature & Leadership partner, Tess Barton, comments on her fearless step into her future as a servant leader of new college grads and learns something that serves us all! Happy Holidays everyone!
This fall I had the pleasure of returning to the cozy campus of my alma mater as an outsider looking in. I was there to speak with students interested in social and environmental change about the topic of authentic career paths. Why? It wasn’t just about empowering the students; it was also about exploring my own passion. There’s a Howard Thurman quote that really speaks to me:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what brings you most alive and then do that, for what the world needs is people who are fully alive.”
I often reflect on my time facilitating personal development in backcountry settings for this same campus community as the gig that enabled me to have the greatest impact. So five years later, I was back on campus exploring an evolution of that work that I suspected might be a way that I could make a similar difference today.
I knew that student attendance would be pretty strong due to the efforts of the campus career center, but I questioned my own abilities. Why was I qualified to speak on this topic? This was my first time presenting on this and I’d had no formal career coach training. What if the students were totally disengaged or knew everything I was about to tell them? My fears vanished after a few students told me that it was great to hear someone who is young enough to know what it’s like to make the transition and also in the workforce so in touch with the current dynamics of the real world. And while they didn’t always appear fully engaged during the presentation – students, ya know!!, - subsequent conversations calmed my nerves and proved that the topic really got them thinking.
During several small group discussions I was surprised to hear how few of these students had done a deep dive on their real passions and interests. Hardly any had taken advantage of the resources and tools available to them – for free – right on campus! I sensed in these students a fear of the unknown but a genuine excitement for change. Without knowing how to make the type of change they truly want, they were defaulting to thoughts of traditional paths (paths that people they knew have taken), or ones that might be more familiar (a graduate program), and rule out the dreaming that will ultimately allow them to discover their right path. They’re thirsting for the tools and nurturing that will enable them to explore an authentic path. They need to know how to get started – and once they do, I have confidence they’ll be on track in no time.
These soon-to-be grads need to spend some time on the Wild side. Now, I’m not talking about them letting their inner wild child out during their last few months of college. What I am talking about is them envisioning their ideal future. Getting lost in their own imaginations about possibilities would do them good. I know that our conversations at least got them thinking about authenticity, but I fear it’s a blip on their radar of normalcy – papers, exams, and pressure from parents.
How can I continue to support them in this way without being part of their day to day? They’re all inclined to be pragmatic idealists but seem to be getting too much influence in the way of pragmatism and not enough in the idealism. Their parents and professors – the very folks who should be encouraging them to discover their true calling – tend to (understandably) reinforce suggestions of what they themselves are familiar with, along with concerns of job security and a tough economy. The transition from college to career isn’t an easy one. It takes effort and, more importantly, intention.
Getting started doesn’t require a head first dive into deep, dark waters, but rather just a safe wade out along the shoreline. Once they get waist-deep, the dive doesn’t seem so frightening. My intention is to point to the trail which leads to the lake and keep them exploring until they find their own dream island destination. Their struggle is that they just can’t find the trailhead. But once they’re on the trail, it unfolds rather naturally. Our universities have taught these students very well how to use their heads; it’s now a matter of helping them realize that their right brain is also an important tool in the process of embarking on their career path. How else can we change the paradigm of unhappy employees that clock in and clock out, misaligned with the work they do? We need to empower this newest generation of passionate young men and women to be the change in order build a healthier society and natural world. It’s time to build a new “real world”!!!
In guiding the students, I helped guide myself. I walked away from the experience with clarity on my mission and confidence in my abilities. More to come from me on this front as I dig deeper, so check back for additional posts.
Stay tuned for more by following the Corner of Main and Wild blog by email, subscribing to INL’s newsletter at the top of our homepage, emailing me at tess@natureleadership.org, or submitting a post below.
Check out INL’s newest program offering tailored for this audience that I’ll be guiding along with Beverly. The Reality Trek is a 4 day immersion in the natural world and into career empowerment tools dedicated to helping recent grads discover their purpose and prepare for their career search upon their return home. We’re offering a holiday discount of $100 off the price thru Jan. 2, 2012, so spread the word!
