Setting New Priorities

I started with the jobs outlook. There's more to life than money, but money's on a lot of people's minds. I say this because employment and money seemed to dominate the media discussion.

To my surprise, there were several optimistic takes on employment for the Class of 2015. Forbes.com featured a recent Michigan State College Employment Research Institute report that surveyed 5,700 employers. The CERI report estimates that hiring for new grads with bachelor's degrees is expected to increase by between 16 and 20 percent this year.

Another report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers offered a more modest, but still encouraging, figure: US businesses will be hiring 9.6 percent more college graduates this year than in 2014.

But, like I said earlier, statistics can hide as much as they reveal. And, in considering the 2015 graduates' futures, it was what went unaccounted for by these articles, and their statistics, that bothered me. Teaching at a fairly large public institution, which serves a significant in-state population, affords me some unique opportunities to observe what national statistics may often miss.

The previous employment trends are promising. I am sure I'm not alone in thinking it's about time college grads got at least a little good news. But these employment and jobs reports don't tell the whole story about how millennial graduates judge their futures.

I have been heartened by the civic commitments and professional priorities I have observed in graduating seniors during the past several years. While employment is important to them, indeed to us all, most place their quality of life and personal fulfillment above money in their future careers.

This, despite the fact that most of these students are saddled with loan debt for their educations, even those who work several jobs while in school. Many are nontraditional or returning students who have seen the financial ground shift beneath their feet. With these shifts, their own priorities have changed.

These students rank professional goals by personal fulfillment, public service and what opportunities they'll have to give back to their communities of origin as among their most important concerns. Many of them have explicitly stated they wish to do work to correct many of the challenges they have faced as New Mexicans becoming educated, finding employment and having fulfilling careers.

Here's the thing: As I read through the various articles and national forecasts for the futures of 2015 college graduates, I found many optimistic employment/money reports but little else to address the political, cultural and environmental realities that today's graduates face. While access to employment is important, and certainly implies some measure of opportunity for graduate success, it's not the whole story.

For years, we have heard cultural and political grumblings about the ills of American materialism and the bemoaning of the impact of several consecutive "me" generations. I hope what I've witnessed is a cue that there is a shift in priorities for tomorrow's leaders. To the proud parents of graduates, and graduates across the state, I hope you joyously celebrate these academic accomplishments. Education is worth celebrating, because it makes us more well-rounded, informed and engaged human beings. While money is an important matter, these factors matter, too.

Santa Fe Reporter