I worry that our students are worrying. Rather than celebrating a successful Northeastern year or degree, feeling triumphant, our students are worrying that their futures are uncertain. They should not worry. During Admissions days, when students are considering Northeastern, I encourage them that a degree in Science is a hugely smart choice, as it’s a stepping stone to almost any career. Director of Marketing and Communications Caroline Leary built this great ‘future career’ word cloud that we share with all incoming COS students, and is relevant to graduating students also.
In fact, the fantastic Northeastern University College of Science education you provide is even more valuable in these uncertain times. With their experiential education, professionalism and problem-solving acumen, College of Science graduates are empowered with flexible skills applicable for employment or next steps in any economic climate. This is what I will remind our graduates at Commencement. I will encourage students that exploring many career options is great, and that every position is an opportunity to learn, earn your way, and build your next steps. THANK YOU for your roles in mentoring, teaching, advising, and supporting our wonderful students.
Every year for Commencement, I have picked a theme for the graduating students. My themes are always encouraging, and I stay away from stressful invocations such as ‘change the world’ ‘follow your passion’ or ‘be resilient’. This year I am tackling ‘Scaling your Future’, and it’s a work in progress. The Google AI entity tells me that ‘scale’ comes with a lot of shopping options, including weighing scales; there are also measurement scales, ratio and proportion, size or level, or music scales. Wikipedia includes scales that cover the skin of fish or reptiles, and the lime coating deposited in pipes. But for ‘Scaling your Future’ I mean the scale at which you want to work, and what number (or scale) of people is comfortable to you. A rule of thumb is that the larger the scale of your work, the fewer people involved you will know. In my view, finding a comfortable scale is crucial for being satisfied in your career, and careers at every scale are valuable. For example, politicians can work at scales ranging from hundreds to millions, while careers that build medicines or devices can touch millions. Doctors and teachers deal in the thousands over their careers. Some careers involve working with just a few people, or just you. As a teacher, I’ve taught about 10,000 students directly, and through online classes probably another 100,000 but I’ve never met any of the online learners. Some months ago, at an event, a person I did not recognize came over and thanked me for the perspective on life that I gave them while teaching a 350 student Introductory Biology class. I was so glad! especially since the scale of the class had prevented me from knowing each student. I’m working further on this Commencement thread and will share the final iteration with you. I do know that I’ll conclude with the beautiful Emily Dickinson poem that speaks so directly to scale:
If I can stop one heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
As we complete the Spring semester, a resounding THANK YOU for your outstanding work that is building the Good Power of Science for your students and our brilliant research.
