Conversations With My Dad

By Julia Plevin '09

Like most Dartmouth students, I am internally driven, perhaps to the point of neurotic. My parents never told me to do my homework in high school. Instead, they told me to relax. Now that I am graduating from college, I keep looking to my parents for some guidance and help in the job search. I keep expecting them to put pressure on me and tell me I am wasting my Ivy League education. Instead, they are being completely laissez-fare. My lawyer father tells me that I should not try to go to law school right away. I am shocked at how much my parents believe in me. For every worrisome email that I send to my father, I receive wise words in response. While I never let my dad know how much I appreciate his perspective and encouragement, I thought I would share it on this blog:

4/10/09: I wrote the list of Ten Things I Could See Myself Doing Next Year, but the truth is all of those things seemed impossible because I had already been rejected for so many different jobs, from Teach For America, to Facebook, to Princeton In Asia.

Me: Right now it is hard to imagine myself doing anything because I’m so defeated and all my lofty dreams are being shattered

My dad: Lofty dreams are not applicable to your first job out of college. It's what you work toward once you get into the work world. Some people get there quickly, some more slowly. Some, I admit, never get there at all. Sometimes a person's lofty dream changes as they get older, more experienced, and have changed priorities. BUT NO ONE ACHIEVES HER LOFTY DREAMS RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE (unless you get drafted in the first round of the NBA or NFL drafts). This is a process, and you're just starting out. Careers go on for a long time. I'm in my 28th year, for example. I'm still working toward goals, too.

4/17/09: Today a Dartmouth alum who works for NBC told me about the NBC Broadcast Journalism program at the New York Film Academy. This sounded interesting to me so I forwarded the link to the website to my parents. My dad’s response was as practical as ever:

My dad: Do you have any idea if the graduates of this program have any success finding journalism jobs? It seems like a lot of what they teach is what you would learn if you got a job -- where you get paid, instead of paying -- working at a TV station. There are lots of TV stations in the country.

Me (feeling defeated and being typically melodramatic): Yeah, that is probably true. I think I just need to move somewhere, start waitressing, and then try to get a job. Or maybe I’ll just stay in Peru for a while after our ten-day family vacation.

My dad: If you stay in Peru, you can join the Shining Path guerillas. I hear they're hiring. Also, you can begin practicing your waitressing skills when you get home from Peru, at Mama's Ristorante, 10408 Bridle Lane, the house you have lived in since you were five years old.

4/20/09: I sent my parents the link to the New York Times article that quoted our very own Skip Sturman: "Business Grads Looking Beyond Wall Street". This was my dad’s response:


My dad: I liked this part:
Some students have grown frustrated and suspended their job search. As a result, Patricia Rose, the University of Pennsylvania's director of career services, recently sent out a message saying:
"We are hearing from some students that they are discouraged, and have stopped applying for jobs because so many other candidates are competing with them, some undoubtedly more qualified. Resist this impulse! By not applying, you are rejecting yourself."

She reminded them, "You are attending one of the world's finest universities."

"So hang in there," she concluded. "And, most importantly, believe in yourself."

I know you're working hard, but we believe in you. You will find your pot of gold.