With the economic crisis affecting us all in some way, and with scary headlines sweeping our newspapers everyday, it may feel like a pretty dark time. However, although it might be hard to believe, this is also a time of unlimited opportunity. As the saying goes, “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste” (Paul Romer, economist). Let me explain.
This week, Luke Russert interviewed former President Bill Clinton. And you will not believe the advice Bill Clinton gave to young people who are about to finish their 4-year degrees! Read it and get excited:
- Stay in school if you can or want to
- Volunteer
- Go abroad
- Any combination of the above options
Because of our shaken-up economy, now is most likely not the moment you are going to find the career that allows you to save millions of dollars. Though that may seem to be a gloomy fact, that reality also frees you from obligations of normal societal expectations, such as embarking upon your career path. Now is the time that you have nothing to lose, which awards you the freedom to take risks, to follow your dreams and to do the things that seem unwise and unsafe when you have a secure office job at stake. A crisis truly is a terrible thing to waste, as it allows you to remake and redefine the reality of your life.
So what are your options? If you are graduating, programs like AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps are amazing options. So are shorter-term volunteer opportunities, such as Visions in Action .
(photo taken from Peace Corps website)
(image taken from the AmeriCorps VISTA site)
There are also some certification programs that you can embark upon either before or after graduation that can lead to altnerative career opportunities, such as a job within the emerging and highly-demanded green economy. One of the best of these programs that I can recommend is Green For All, a vocational program (for which you DO NOT need a 4-year college degree!) that trains people and helps to place them somewhere in the alternative energy field. Another interesting option in this genre is Green Corps, a very cool one-year program that teaches its trainees to organize environmental service and volunteer drives within communities, campuses, and more. Let me know if you are interested in any of these programs and I can help to give you more information!
(photo taken from the Green For All site)
And of course, what else can you do?? Enchanting Challenge service trips!!! We are getting ready to embark on the first one next month in Tulum, Mexico; we are busy plotting away the second one in August in Mendoza, Argentina; and we are putting together the pieces for the third one scheduled to take place in October in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Get ready for tomorrow’s post, as it will be a re-cap on all of these amazing service destinations!!!
