As spring graduation draws near, political science senior Patrick Humphrey is navigating his busiest college semester yet and is experiencing tunnel vision.
“I’m sure [everything] will hit me at graduation or after,” Patrick says.
Ultimately, leaving friends and the structure of academia will be hard, but he is willing to address that transition later.
“I’m not worried about finding a job. It’s just something that I have to do.”
Oral Roberts University boasts an impressive post-grad placement rate, according to ORU’s website, with 99.87% of graduates finding employment or enrolling in graduate programs after walking the stage at commencement. But what is the reality of life for ORU grads after their caps are thrown in the air?
Class of 2022 grad Laura Del Angel, a theatre major from Texas, feels like turning her tassel allowed her time to breathe. Her senior year was marked by “pure adrenaline,” Del Angel says.
“I told myself I deserved a break the moment I walked across that stage.”
However, the break did not last long, with the pressure to make ends meet taking precedence over the need to refuel.
“I needed income, period,” Del Angel says. “That pushed me into getting a remote sales job, which, surprise, I hated, but it paid the bills.”
Chris Shields, a 2022 history grad from Maine, shares the sentiment.
“Finances play one of the only roles in the job search [for me],” Shields says. “A job, first and foremost, is labor in return for money.”
Though Shields still peruses job sites for employment relevant to his degree, he has found fulfillment as a self-employed carpenter, making enough money through his woodworking trade to support his lifestyle.
However, landing a job, perfect or not, does not erase often unrealistic expectations graduates place upon themselves, Del Angel says.
“LinkedIn can be a double-edged sword,” she says. “On one hand, it’s inspiring to see people thriving, but on the other, it’s easy to want to compare yourself.”
Hannah Firestone, a 2024 psychology grad from Oklahoma, calls social media “propaganda.”
“There’s a lot of people online telling you that you need to be super successful and take life extremely seriously in your early twenties,” Firestone says. “But people I talk to in real life tell me that [your twenties] are all about making mistakes and figuring out what you like and don’t like.”
Figuring it out
Del Angel eventually left her sales job to pursue a career in marketing and build up a virtual clientele. Now, she is a marketing operations manager, working remotely by day to pursue her true passion at night: acting.
“I’m designing websites, running marketing campaigns, and I still get to do what I love: performing.”
Shields also enjoys his post-grad endeavors and attributes much of his success to his “support network” of family and friends. He remarks on feeling more “self-assured” after graduating, knowing he worked through one of the last “preparatory periods before real adult life.”
Firestone feels post-grad life has been liberating for her as well. She works full-time in brain research but also finds time after she clocks out to explore her hobbies.
“I’m not thinking of my life in semesters or four-month increments anymore,” she says. “Now, there are books to read for fun, music to discover, and plane tickets to spend too much money on.”
“I think if you’re panicking, get excited because it’s about to get really fun. It’s a little slow at first, but slow is good … and if you have good friends, they will stick around post-grad. I guarantee it.”
ORU’s 2025 Commencement will be held May 3 in the Mabee Center.
