The Heights
Monday, October 21, 2013
Preparing for post-grad career Careers, from B10 is through internships. “Internships are the new entry level,” Gaglini said. It is through these internships that students can foster relationships with employers that can translate into fulltime opportunities. Alex Christenson, CSOM ’14, explained how her internship turned into a postgrad job. “I am fortunate enough to be returning to the bank I completed an internship with in New York this past summer,” she said. “The firm has a strong BC connection, which has been a tremendous help both in the recruiting process and my decision to return. Beyond that, the firm I worked for seeks to hire all of their full-time employees directly from their internship program.” When looking for internship opportunities, students can use UCAN, an internship exchange database. This database was created through a consortium of 22 colleges, including BC, as a way to share the over-9,000 internship opportunities of which these schools are aware. The Career Center also offers students the opportunity to go on externships which involve a day of job shadowing in a field they are interested in. “You get the privilege of experiencing just one day on the job,” Gaglini said, “to really see if it is something you want to do or an industry you are interested in.” These externships often translate into summer internships, as well. A good resume is an extremely valuable asset students can have as they go about their job search. The Career Center offers one-on-one resume critiques as well as workshops that provide tips on how to write a resume. Students should also consider practicing their interview and networking skills. “Interviewing and networking is the ability to sit down with someone person-to-person, face-to-face and have a productive conversation,” Gaglini said. The Career Center offers in-person practice interviews as well as virtual practice interviews through the online system, InterviewStream. Students should also recognize the value in the BC alumni network when looking for a job. There is an alumni database available to students through the Career Center’s website. When interviews are conducted on campus and networking events are held, it is often BC alumni that come back to talk to students. As associate director of employer relations and recruiting, Gaglini sees the critical nature of BC alumni. “There is an instantaneous commitment on their part. I really don’t have to market BC too heavily to our alumnae, that piece is already done.” One of the most important resources for students on campus appears to be EagleLink. “I would say to any sophomore, junior, or senior login to EagleLink at least once a day,” Gaglini said. “EagleLink is critical for a student right now.” EagleLink provides information on which companies are on campus everyday. It allows students to plan ahead and see the events, workshops, specialty discussions, and information sessions that are occurring. Thousands of job positions are also posted directly on EagleLink. For seniors contemplating what they want to do following graduation, “you really need to start to define where would you like to begin your career. Not what you want to do, but where you want to begin your career,” Gaglini said. So as stress may begin to pile up and uncertainty seems likes one’s worse enemy, post-graduation is just the start to one’s job journey, not the end point. n
B9
The Heights throughout the century
For The Heights With classes, clubs, jobs, friends, and planning for life after college, repaying student loans may be the last thing on a Boston College student’s mind. It is important, however, for students to start planning for repaying their loans now, and BC’s partner organization, SALT, can help students do this. SALT was formed in December 2011 by the American Student Assistance (ASA) and has been a partner with BC since February 2012. The SALT website describes the program as “a game-changing new membership program that helps students and families navigate financing a higher education, successfully manage any resulting debt, and build money skills for life.” It is designed for college students and alumni transitioning from being in college to being out in the “real world” and having to manage money for the first time. SALT offers various services for debt management and financial education. The ASA Director of Corporate Public Relations, Allesandra Lanza, describes SALT’s three goals: to help students learn how to borrow less for college, to
The power of saying ‘no’
Lonergan Institute preserves legacy of Jesuit’s contemporary religious ideals By Daniel Perea-Kane For The Heights Students here at Boston College may have heard of the Lonergan Institute, a multi-disciplinary program at the University that offers courses and seminars, sponsors the PULSE and Perspectives programs, and is housed in the Bapst Library. Students may not know that it is Rev. Bernard Lonergan, S.J., a Canadian Jesuit, who gives his name to the Institute. Lonergan was a noted philosopher and theologian and also a professor who served from 1975 to 1983 as a distinguished visiting professor at BC. The Heights has run a number of articles about the famed Jesuit. Although Lonergan’s life spanned the 20th century from 1904 to 1984, the first mentions of him in The Heights seem to come only in the late ’60s. Prior to that time, he established himself as an educator and thinker, working at Loyola College in Montreal, the Gregorian University, and Regis College in Toronto. Even prior to Lonergan’s appointment to the faculty, BC professors revered his work . He first made an impression on them during lectures he gave in the ’60s. A picture of him appears on the July 19, 1968 issue of The Heights with an accompanying article by then philosophy department chairman Joseph Flanagan. Flanagan is now deceased, but directed the Lonergan Institute for many years. Flanagan’s article reiterates one of Lonergan’s essential points about the Catholic Church, that it needs a new cultural context rather than a new theology. In t he article, Flanagan discusses Lonergan’s radical ideas about theological methods. “Lonergan argues that the most basic and far-reaching problem for contemporar y theologians is the problem of method,” Flanagan writes. “Theology has everything to gain and nothing to lose by discarding the Aristotelian notion of science, and the method based on that notion, and working out procedures proper to its own tasks.” Lonergan places emphasis on groups over individuals in the future of the church. “To grasp the contemporary issue and to meet its challenge calls for a collective effort,” Lonergan said in Flanagan’s article. “It is not the individual but the group that transforms the culture.” One of the earlier mentions of Lonergan in The Heights was in a Nov. 6, 1969 issue. The article announces an upcoming lecture to be delivered by Lonergan on “The Contemporary Crisis of
Faith.” Throughout his life, he was concerned with applying modern thinking about faith, economics, science, education, and other topics. He examined not only these fields of knowledge, but also knowledge itself during his life. Lonergan is perhaps most well known for attempts to reconcile reason with faith, using Thomas Aquinas as his model. An article from The Heights from Sept. 15, 1975 describes his appointment and his role as both a lecturer for undergraduates and seminar teacher for graduate students. Lonergan passed away on Nov. 26, 1984 at the age of 79. The Heights ran an obituary on Dec. 3, 1984 to memorialize his life and discuss his lasting impact on the University in particular. “[His] importance to Boston College is that his general methodological and theological world view has been the supporting background of what is going on here in the interdisciplinary Perspectives on Western Civilization Program,” then theology department chairman and current professor emeritus Robert J. Daly, S.J., said in the article. Daly goes on to praise Lonergan for his role in fostering interdisciplinar y discussion, both at the University and in the world. His influence was great, especially in academic communities, as illustrated by the over-100 doctoral dissertations and over 1,000 scholarly articles written about his work, at the time of his death and the many more published since. His work still remains extremely important in the formation of curriculum at the University, especially in the philosophy and theology departments. After his appointment to the faculty, he began giving yearly workshops about his work, and these workshops have continued even after his death. The workshops have held lectures for the wider campus in recent years including one on Christian Mystic Meister Eckahrt, written in The Heights on Dec. 9, 2002, another on the faith of Catholics in their church during the clergy abuse scandals of the early 2000s, written about in The Heights on Jan. 20, 2003, and one on Augustine and the liberal arts from earlier this year, appearing in The Heights on Feb. 10. The University established the Institute here in his name in 1986 to honor one of its most famous professors. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the institute utilize resources that the Institute has, including original manuscripts by and about Lonergan. n
SALT lessens burden of repaying student loans By Caitlin Slotter
Editor’s Column
borrow smart for college, and to repay their loans successfully. The hope is that students and alumni learn to take control of their student loan debt, become more financially successful, and become more active in their debt management. SALT can be used by all students, not just by those who have taken out student loans. Articles, videos, comics, and tools are available on the SALT website and offer “tips and guidance to help you make smart decisions about tricky loan stuff,” as stated on the site, as well as information on how to be smarter with money, good career advice, and tips for interviews. A look at the homepage brings up headlines such as “How to Ask for a Promotion,” “The Upside to the End of Summer,” and “5 Factors that Make up a Good Loan Repayment Assistance Program.” The website is varied and applicable to all college students and alumni. From lessons and infographs on budgeting, credit, paying for college, and jobs to articles on financial attitudes, saving, banking, and large purchases, there is something for everyone to learn from on the site. BC students are also eligible to set
up free accounts on the SALT website, which offer more personal guidance on managing student loans. Members have access to a scholarship search tool, as a way to find private organizations offering money to help students pay for college and reduce loan debt. SALT also has a job/internship search tool that members can use to find work that will help cut down on borrowing. Members who are getting ready to or have already started repaying student loans can use SALT to compare loan repayment options and find the one that suits them best. Further benefits of being a SALT member include money management tools, an individualized dashboard to track loans, advice on loans from SALT counselors, and “My Money 101,” a training tool that teaches strategies for financial management, such as budgeting and managing credit. So why should you make a SALT account? “A lot of students, when they are paying for college and are in school, they don’t realize the impact college loans will have on them once they are out of school,” Lanza said. Student debt problems can have a huge impact on
the rest of a student’s finances. If student loans are not successfully repaid, a student’s credit will worsen, wages can decrease, and tax refunds can be seized. Furthermore, many employers check their job applicants’ credits when hiring—so not properly managing your loans can even affect your ability to get a job after school. By creating a SALT account, students can learn what “things [they] can do while in school to lessen the impact” of having student loans, Lanza explained. SALT teaches its users to pay less, borrow less, and how to start repaying loans once they get out of school. “[Students] don’t realize there are great repayment options to make repayment more manageable,” Lanza said. “Students don’t have the information they need. This was why SALT was invented, to give students that resource, to help them become more involved in the repayment process.” So why call the program SALT? “We chose it as a name because it was unique and stood out from the crowd,” Lanza said. “Also, salt was actually one of the world’s first forms of currency, so it fits nicely for a money management program!” n
Cathryn Woodruff Last weekend I went to Boston University to hang out with one of my best friends from home. She lives in an apartment that is a 15-minute T ride from BC, and it was the first time I had seen her this fall. Although we were shocked we hadn’t yet seen each other, we were also suddenly aware of how busy our separate lives had become. In the midst of our junior falls, we both had neglected the promises we had made during our laid-back summer home together that we would meet up consistently once we both returned to school. Last weekend with my friend was carefree and fun, and we parted with renewed promises to make more of an effort to stay in touch. Arianna Huffington, chair, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, continues to promote her new initiative, “The Third Metric,” which aims to redefine success beyond money and power to encompass well-being, wisdom, the ability to wonder, and to give back. She notes how the “hurry-up culture” and its subsequent promotion of multi-tasking are not effective. In an attempt to combat the modern dependence on technology, Huffington promotes meditation and mindfulness. She believes in sleep and recharging as effective ways of increasing the efficiency of a workplace and increasing personal happiness. I was struck by a video I came across recently of Huffington speaking to a women’s business audience in Toronto in September. “Did you know that you can complete a project by dropping it?” she said. In her talk, she made the argument that dropping a project can actually be a really healthy thing. It can free you to pursue things you genuinely care about. When we set aside ambitions of power and financial success, we can pursue projects and engage in activities that truly make us happy and fulfilled. Huffington explained that dropping a project “doesn’t mean ignoring my other needs, but it means when I’m in it, I’m really in it. And that means often saying no to good things, to things that you might want to do, but get in the way of sleep, or get in the way of being with your children, or whatever it is that’s also very important to you.” There is a definite stigma attached to failure in modern society—especially a society that allows people to present their best selves and write and rewrite their words, hidden behind a screen. In a sense we have lost sight of the idea of failure as a necessary and healthy motivator. The pressure at BC to constantly be doing more, volunteering more, and setting the world aflame more can become extremely overwhelming. Some days I wake up and feel guilty for not being productive right away. I sometimes find myself beginning research for a paper on a topic, only to realize half way through that I am no longer interested, or that the research hasn’t proven extremely fruitful. Rather than start from scratch with a new thesis, I sometimes soldier on, too intimidated by the idea of starting over. Because wouldn’t beginning again mean I had failed? Recently I’ve been bombarded with emails about career and internship opportunities, talking about EagleLink and about my future. I’m beginning to feel the pressure when people ask me if I have found my passion yet. But I don’t think I need to have an epiphany in which I all of a sudden “find my passion” through some sort of soul-searching exercise. I have many passions, and I am becoming more comfortable with the idea of trying different things, rather than settling on something I am familiar with, something that I could never fail at. I’m learning that sometimes it’s perfectly healthy to say “no” to doing things that won’t make me happy. I’m finding that spreading myself too thin only leaves me feeling suffocated. When I’m most fulfilled is when I am involved in fewer activities, but truly and genuinely invested in them. Eventually I will begin the internship search, and I will get to those things on my to-do list that have been pestering me. But for now, I want to focus on things that make me happy, and say “no” to things that I grudgingly feel obligated to do. So rather than spend an upcoming Saturday stressing about how much is on my plate, maybe I’ll head to BU again and spend time with one of my best friends—a project that definitely brings me happiness. Narrowing the projects I pursue will allow me to be more focused on them, and happier doing them. In terms of what I am currently focusing on in my life, bring on the failure. I’m ready for it.
Cathryn Woodruff is the Asst. Features Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.