“Our quest—a weekend road-tripping across southern Indiana—proved to be the most transformative experience in my understanding of a purpose-driven life.” —Stephen Batchelder ’16, reflecting on a trip he took last summer with two other Wabash students to talk with alumni about their callings as part of the Quests and Questions program. Charlie Kelly ’11 meets with students during the Entrepreneur Summit. photo by Corey Egler
arts—of how many directions an idea can go when taken seriously and probed deeply. From my vantage point in Career Services, I see in these skills much of what a liberal arts student needs to face his future with confidence. When done well, each selection of a thesis hones the ability to make a choice; each argument develops communication and persuasion; each paper reveals something of the person behind the idea. So when an employer posts a job description, I tell my liberal arts students to see it as an essay prompt. Of course, the form of the “essay” is different, but the standards are the same. Language must be clean, precise, and absolutely free of mistakes. Claims must be made and defended with evidence. The conclusion must be clear up front: that this job was made for this student. Only those points most Nantucket Bike Tours founder Jason Bridges ’98 salient to the argument photo by Corey Egler survive a ruthless revision process. Job candidates must respond to the job posting with their strongest possible case. The resumes, applications, and interviews resulting from this process are specific, exciting, and memorable. Done well, they are convincing. I strive to help our guys earn their jobs based on the arguments they make. BUT HOW DO WABASH STUDENTS know what arguments to make? How do they know a job was made for them? The Schroeder Center for Career Development is not a placement office. We do not tell students what slots they best fill. There is more essential work for Wabash to do. Our imperative? To counsel freedom. The liberal arts put into practice often leads to unconventional lives after Wabash, like 2004 graduate Michael Bricker’s prolific and eccentric excellence in urban development, architecture, and production design for films. Or consider Curt Schmitt ’81 and his decades-long journey through teaching religion and art to becoming a master woodworker, or Jeremy Bird ’00 and his path from religion major to community organizer to top-level political advisor. These men made their lives from the scratch of values, skills, challenges, and opportunities that life provides. They were able to make connections others had missed.
You’ll find similar levels of discernment and sense of purpose in Wabash men who have gone through this process to more conventional careers, whether you’re talking with entrepreneur Kelly Pfledderer ’96, attorney and civic leader David Shane ’70, or doctor, ethicist, and The Atlantic columnist Richard Gunderman ’83. Their everyday actions make the best argument for the lives they’ve made and the liberal arts education that shaped them. This is the kind of choice-making a Wabash education makes possible through its cultivation of the whole person. These men’s lives—and those of thousands of other alumni—are templates for today’s students. Wabash men face a Scylla and Charybdis. On one hand, the fixation on a few roles (Pre-med or pre-law? Banking or consulting?) can limit a liberal arts man to too few options, with the risk that none will work out. On the other hand, the sheer number of possibilities in a world still inventing itself can overwhelm even the most level-headed student. Yet, like Odysseus, students must press forward. With the right questions and the opportunities to experiment, we can help students consistently get the most from the risks they must take. “What am I going to do for a living?” becomes “What am I going to do with my life, and why?” “What am I going to do when I grow up?” becomes “Who am I, and how will I grow?” These liberal arts questions prompt the intensive self-examination and yearning to experiment that can result in a genuine vocation. As the theologian Frederick Buechner put it, “Vocation is where our greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.” These passions arise from the integration of strengths, values, and self-image and are discernible for those who do the work. The liberal arts provide the training ground for discerning vocational callings. But all good training needs practice in the world. IN THE SCHROEDER CENTER we have bolstered our approach to helping students train for their futures. We now offer StrengthsFinder to give students insight into their talents and how to apply them. We’re building our Career Test Drive program to provide opportunities for students to experiment with their interests on the ground. We are also helping students coordinate their passions in unique ways through for-profit and non-profit
Franciscan friar Jim Kirchhoffer ’55 photo by Steve Charles
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