Some grads choose the road less traveled

As Feb Club kicks into gear, another major milestone is creeping up on seniors - May 18, when they'll say goodbye to life as undergrads.

Some will get their first job or pursue graduate work. A few others, though, will go on to do something very different, in very different locations.

Welcome to the world of the road not taken, an intimate club where post-graduation plans diverge from the mainstream.

In today's rocky economic climate, Career Services anecdotally observes a rise in students exploring options other than finance and consulting, associate director Claire Klieger said. But students aren't just branching out because of a tight job market - they're looking to find meaning, perform service and break away from routine.

Going away after graduation is nothing new. A third-year education policy graduate student, David Seidenfeld joined the Peace Corps - which currently sends over 7,000 American volunteers to areas in need - after graduating from Cornell in 2000. There are now 24 Penn alumni overseas, according to Corps spokeswoman Molly Levine.

Seidenfeld lived for two years in Zamibia's Jowell village, in a 12-by-15 foot mud hut without running water or heat, to work with community members on health education. The closest fellow volunteer was about an hour's bike ride away.

Siedenfeld was looking for adventure, but what really drew him to the Corps was putting some service under his belt. "I studied economic development [at Cornell], and after studying I wanted to be involved in it," he said. "The Peace Corps works with the most vulnerable people."

A different kind of service drew College senior Zach Roseman to his current post-gradplans.

In October, he'll enlist in the Israeli Defense Force through Mahal, a program that lets foreigners serve in a combat unit for a year-and-a-half.

Guided by his passion for Israel, Roseman decided to enlist last year, when he realized his dream to serve in the IDF was "not too crazy." He added that if he didn't, "I would regret it for the rest of my life."

His parents passively support his decision - "they know it's something I want to do, so they support me." And many friends, he added, wish that ideally they could do something similar.

Although he said he is slightly worried about enlisting, Roseman is also faced with finding a job in a slow economy when he returns to the U.S.

"My plan is to come back and resume where I left off and get a job. It will be in the business world, probably in finance," he said, acknowledging that he will probably have to work harder to gain access to interviews.

However, Klieger said, there is little reason going overseas would hurt employment opportunities so long as graduates maximize their experience. "Even when the economy is good, that's an option many future employers look kindly upon," she said. In the current economic climate, she added, time abroad gives the economy time to recover.

"You're gaining valuable skill sets that you can transfer to any kind of job," Klieger added. "As long as you have a sense of purpose what your plans are once you graduate, I don't think there are a lot of things you could do that are a bad idea."

Take College alumnus Patrick Hook, who left his first "out-of-college job," sold all his possession, and spent six months trekking across Italy.

"After working for three years behind a desk for 50 hours a week. . I just decided I wanted to see something more than what I was seeing in San Diego" Hook said from his current home in Rome.

He's now working with Klieger to translate the six-month gap in his resume into something attractive to employers, and is thinking of turning his travel blog into a book.

"The things you put on your life resume are much more important than what you put on your work resume," Hook added.

He's taken the road less traveled. And that has made all the difference.

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