Some in the media would have their audiences believe that a major in English, creative writing or comparative literature may render a college grad unemployable. As was evidenced  in a discussion with recent graduates on Feb. 24, that perspective is quite off the mark.

I worked hard to earn my first job, but I wouldn’t have actually gotten it without Mark Zuckerberg.  That may sound counter-intuitive, since all we usually hear about Facebook and job hunting is that they don’t mix. Allow me, then, to explain.

There are countless scholarships, fellowships, prizes, and grants for people who are already good at things to become even better at those same things. The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is not one of them. On the contrary, the Watson Fellowship provides the license to spend an entire year in unfamiliar places with complete strangers making mistakes and being bad at things.

Last year, the Career Center launched an initiative for sophomores aimed at assisting them with career exploration and decision making by offering the opportunity to “shadow” (observe) a Hamilton alumnus/a or parent in the workplace for a day or part of a day. HamiltonExplore gives students the chance to see what a professional in a selected field does on a typical workday. By observing the nature of the work first-hand and asking questions of the sponsor, students can acquire insight into a career field and determine the suitability of that career.

I never would have thought that what ended up landing me my first job would be a guinea pig on a skateboard, but I guess a lot of the time you can't predict what's going to happen with life after Hamilton.