The Corner Starbucks was busy this morning. And that means that Spring Break has officially ended; which means that graduation weekend is only 9 weeks away. Yes, a meager 9 weeks until the University graduates the Class of 2011. Just the anticipation itself is overwhelming. Thankfully, the friendly staff at Starbucks managed to distract me from this fact; however, I couldn't help thinking how, soon, universities all over the Union will graduate students who have completed their degree programs, sending them out into the world. This thought, paired with the natural disaster in Japan, has spurred me to consider just what it means to be an educated person in the modern, global world. If you're like me and are reaching the end of your four years as an undergraduate, you're likely searching for jobs - well, less job searching and more facing that childhood question everyone asked you at every developmental stage of your life: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Frankly, I haven't the slightest clue. The statement itself implies that I'd have to grow up; that somehow, when we reach the end of a milestone, we're different than we were before. Implicit in this statement is the sentiment that "growing up" exists as a static point in the life of a human individual; that at some point, whenever that point arrives, we're suddenly grown up. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not quite there yet. It's okay, I confess - I have zero, nada, nilch, ideas what I'd like to be when I grow up; but the more I think about it, the stronger pull I feel towards this zenith. Currently, I'm living in a penultimate, liminal plane where I don't have to get there if I don't want to. And I suspect that, on some level, many of us feel that way; however, how do we - as the formally educated - employ such a privilege for the betterment of the world.
When I was 14, still bright eyed and bushy tailed, my Algebra I teacher (who was more of a sage than a math instructor) impressed upon all his students the importance of getting an education. Yet with that conviction came also the grain of salt; that to receive that education meant that you were bound to serve others in your life. He put it something like "You go to school so you can get a piece of paper to hang up on the wall. And the more pieces of paper you have, the better educated you are and thus, the more obliged you should be to use them." Sometimes I think he meant that we should use our powers for good and not evil. Maybe he meant we should always remain aware that with great power comes great responsibility (to borrow a line from the live-action Spiderman film). People with degrees are certainly helping to solve the nuclear crisis of failed power plants in Japan. But what about closer to home? Of course, I don't mean to discount the focus and work being channeled into Japan at present; but a question that always takes me by surprise asks how can I use my education to effect change my own community? I'll refrain here from quoting Jefferson (affectionately T.J.) because the quotations, while well intentioned, can easily be misconstrued given the time in which they were written and the context with which they concerned themselves.
At the very least, though, I think it bears merit to consider how those of us with formal educations can use them for the social good.
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