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The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Cont'd: Unclear exactly what you're going to do with
your life when you graduate? It might not matter.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 The Michigan Daily 3B
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
CAREERS From page 5B
Senior year was complete with
investment banking interviews for
Cooper, but after writing his senior
thesis on documentary film pro-
duction, he decided to move to Los
Angeles and work his way up to
film producer. Cooper said he was
one of the only Business School
seniors he knew who didn't have a
job lined up after graduation.
Cooper was lucky in the sense
that despite the stiff competition
for entertainment jobs, he man-
aged to find one with prospects
for promotion soon after gradua-
tion. Not all graduates are so fortu-
nate. Especially in competitive and
popular fields, many people find
themselves pursuing careers only
tangentially related to their major
out of necessity - not choice.
Brian Spitulnick, who graduated
from the University in 2005 with a
concentration in musical theatre,
found himself straying from the
traditional path, but not voluntari-
ly. When he moved to New York
after graduation, Spitulnik, who
dreams of writing and starring in
his own shows, found himself tak-
ingavarietyofbizarrejobs to make
ends meet as he auditioned.
He sprayed perfume on pass-
ersby at Macy's and handed out
fliers for Freezer Aid at a gay pride
parade. There was also a stint play-
ing in the musical "Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes" to a restaurant
audience who was "sipping blue
cocktails and chewing steak," Spit-
ulnik recalled. He worked as a per-
sonal assistant for a while, helping
a famous Broadway face whom he
asked not be named. He sorted his
taxes, coordinated meals and even
convinced him to try out a dating
site. Later, he found himself in the
hit show "Beauty and the Beast"
- playing
"I rem
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end of 'B
thinking
do withn
As it ti
Pie
ent
are
th
Spitulnik
running;
cal "Chi
course, t
every gr
will nev
g a knife. and some will wait years before
nember being dressed as they get a reliable performance
doing that kickline at the paycheck. Even though the Univer-
eauty and the Beast', and sity's musicaltheatre departmentis
,is this what I'm going to one of the best in the country, with
my life?" many graduates going on to star in,
urned out, it isn't. In June, produce and write Broadway hits,
there are certainly musical theatre
majors, who find themselves in a
nty of grads less-than-glamorous performance
jobs. Several people have spent
er fields that time on cruise ships, which are
purportedly fun, and at least one
unrelated to graduate stripped to make a little
extra cash.
eir majors. This is where double majors,
which Poggi says are common
among theatre students, comes in
handy. It can hardly hurt to have
landed a part in the long- a fall-back plan. Many students
and wildly popular musi- discover early that their passion
cago" on Broadway. Of lies outside their major, but just as
hat's not in the cards for often, whether it's a midlife crisis
ad: Some talented people or the prospect of spending life on
er perform on Broadway a chorus line dressed as a piece of
cutlery, people switch careers mid-
stream. Without a double major,
some go back to school for an extra
degree, but most often, a special-
ized education isn't necessary.
The U.S. Department of Labor
estimates that the average 30-
something will have held nine full-
or part-time jobs. So while many
LSA parents might despair that
r uture their child's major is too vague, a
well-rounded education might be
just what graduates need to stay
e competitive when they switch
grams: careers.
Adam Benson, a former Daily
sports editor, graduated in 1990
Social Work with a degree in political science.
Afterward, he interned at the Los
Angeles Times and then worked at
CNN and ABC. He liked broadcast
journalism but said the life of a
broadcaster - the moving around,
the unusual hours - got old for
him. So Benson made a switch
that actually took him closer to
his undergraduate education, and
he became the director of public
relations for U.S. Rep. John Dingell
(D-Dearborn).
"Television is kind of a young
person's game," he said. "You
know, you do that for a while, you
)OL FAIR
p.m.
WRITE FOR TH
5999
E-mail us at thestat
move around a lot. You keep odd
hours and you get to a point where
you're like, you know, I need some-
thing a little bit different. I felt a
real need to do something that had
deeper meaning to me."
Benson is doing something he
likes, which means that, statisti-
cally speaking, he lucked out. Once
they settle in, it seems that many
people are hesitant to give up their
prospects for a pension, even if
they don't like the work. In a 2004
study conducted by the University
of Chicago, 51 percent of Ameri-
cans reported low job satisfaction.
Some people think switching
fields is harder than it actually is.
"Journalism is a great example
because we don't have a journalism
major, but we have plenty of stu-
dents who go into that field," said
Lynne Sebille-White, an assistant
director at the Career Center.
She said students' majors gener-
ally only loosely pertain to their
careers. There's nothing wrong
with that she said, so long as stu-
dents are able to prepare them-
selves in other ways.
It takes a lot of research though,
she said, and "getting tapped into
the network that you want to
become part of."
AngieJustianknewshewouldn't
be putting her degree in business
to its conventional uses when she
graduated in 2007. So right out of
college, instead of pursuing riches
or fame, she started work at a
non-profit organization, Teach for
America.
Now Justian works 7 a.m. to 7
p.m., providing a math education
to seventh graders in New York
City, many of whom haven't mas-
tered English or pre-algebra.
The job lets participants earn a
master's in education for free, but
the compensation falls far short of
the paychecks commonly associat-
ed with a Business School degree.
That doesn't bother her, though.
She'd rather be in the ranks of the
people who like their job.
"Right out of graduation, I didn't
really see myself at a desk all day
typing in Excel," she said.
iE STATEMENT
ementaumich.edu.
TALKING
POINTS
Three things you can talk about this week:
1. Wiretapping powers
2. The appendix's function
3. Ayaan Hirsi Ali
And three things
you can't:
1. The Diana Inquest
2. Steroids
3. Google phone
"This first murder,
it's like first love, it's
unforgettable."
- ALEXANDER PICHUSHKIN, of Moscow,
at his trial where he admitted to murdering 63
people with the goal of marking all
64 squares of a chest board
"George Bush just
vetoed Abby."
- AMERICANS UNITED FOR CHANGE in
a national ad featuring images of children,
one presumably named Abby, that criticizes
Bush's veto of a children's health care bill
DRINKOE
THE WEEK
The Black and Blue
The Black and Blue is for those
who appreciate a good beer. Prop-
erly enjoying it gets a bit technical
and involves ruining a spoon, but
it's exploitation of the physical
properties of liquids will wow any
guest you serve.
The black represents the black
Guinness label and the blue is for
Blue Moon. Contrary to intuition,
the Blue Moon is actually more
dense, so add it first by filling a THEME P
glass halfway. Then take a metal
spoon and bend the round part so Columbu
that it lies at approximately a 90- observe ti
degree angle from the stem.
Next, positioning the concave found Ind
portion like an umbrella 2 inches
above the glass, slowly drizzle celebrate
Guinness over the top so that it Herjolfssc
slides off the rounded top and
splatters into the Blue Moon with-
out being mixed. Have your o
-ARIKIA MILLIKAN
"If we're talking about hot
pursuit, then there is no
need for parliamentary
authorization."
- VECDI GONUL, the Turkish defense minister, on
the power of Turkish troops to cross the Iraqi
border to pursue Iraqi rebels
"I am now a heavenly body."
- GEORGE TAKAI, who played Hikaru Sulu on the
original "Star Trek," on having an asteroid named
after him by the International Astronomical
Union's committee
on Youx
Sarah Lawrence College offers eight distinctive master's degret
programs, two unique dual degrees and two new certificate pro
Art of Teaching
" Child Development and Dual Degree with NYU School of;
" Dance
" Health Advocacy
" Human Genetics
" Theatre
" Women's History and Joint Degree with Pace Law School
" Writing
" Applied Research Ethics Certificate
" Public Health Genetics/Genomics Certificate
ARTY SUGGESTION
s Day Rediscovery - Take the day off to
he day Christopher Columbus thought he
ia. Later in the year, pick a random day to
the discovery of America by Viking Bjarni
on.
wn suggestion? E-mail TheStatement@umich.edu.
BY THE NUMBERS
Value of the American dollar against Canada's loonie
Years since the American dollar's value last fell below the loonie
Value of the Euro against the American dollar yesterday
Source: NPR.com and XE.com
I
i
WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
"Gene targeting"
Gene targeting is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to change an endogenous gene.
The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, and introduce point mutations. Gene targeting can be
permanent or conditional. Conditions can be a specific time during development /life of the organism or limi-
tation to a specific tissue, for example. Gene targeting requires the creation of a specific vector for each gene of
interest. However, it can be used for any gene, regardless of transcriptional activity or gene size.
Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies were declared laureates of the 2007 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine for their work on "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the
use of embryonic stem cells", or gene targeting.
Gene targeting methods vary depending on organism. To target genes in mice a rough outline of the neces-
sary steps is as follows: First, a targeting construct made out of DNA is generated in bacteria. It typically con-
tains part of the gene to be targeted, a reporter gene, and a selectable marker. This construct is then inserted
into mouse embryonic stem cells in culture. After cells with the correct insertion have been selected, they can
be used to contribute to a mouse's tissue via embryo injection. Finally, chimeric mice where the modified cells
made up the reproductive organs are selected for via breeding. After this step the entire body of the mouse is
based on the previously selected embryonic stem cell.
Sarah Lawrence College, 1 Mead Way, Bronxville, NY 10708-
www.sarahlawrence.edu/graduate
914-395-2371 * grad@sarahlawrence.edu