By MEGAN MORRISON
Puget Sound ‘08
On May 15, 2008, I donned a black graduate cap, joined my fellow graduating seniors in Baker Stadium and walked across the stage to receive my diploma from Ron Thom.
As I descended the stage, my emotions surprised me. Instead of a sense of empowerment, I felt slightly lost. Staring out at the faces of friends, family and thousands of strangers, I wondered, “What now?”
Three months after graduation, I still hadn’t figured it out. Seeking advice from friends and family about love, money, friendship and a career after college, I wondered, “Why the hell isn’t there a handbook for this time of life?”That was the inspiration for The Graduate Guru.
In December, 2010, two years and many experiences after graduation, I created the website The Graduate Guru to help graduating seniors make a successful transition into the real world.
I have friends that are graduating in 2011 and 2012. The Graduate Guru is my graduation gift to them; I designed it to help them enter the real world feeling more prepared and empowered than I was. The website is a great resource for how to get started after college and to live an intentional life. Several Puget Sound students read the website regularly, including Courtney Weller.
“The Graduate Guru makes me feel better about entering the real world,” Wellers said. “By reading about what other people have done and experienced, I’ve come to believe that, even though I’ve never experienced life on my own, I’ll be able to succeed.”
On The Graduate Guru, I interview women from many different walks of life. Each woman has made a successful and fulfilling transition from a graduating senior to a participant in the “real world.”
The blog seeks women’s best advice on paying back student loans, conquering their biggest fears after college, relationships, careers and finances. It also asks each woman about her best and worst decisions after college.
So, is The Graduate Guru only for women?
Absolutely not!
Even though The Graduate Guru focuses on women, most of the advice is universally applicable.
All graduating seniors can benefit from advice on landing their first job or maintaining their friendships from college.
By catering to women, however, the Graduate Guru has also become a safe platform for discussing important and uniquely feminine issues, such as sexual harassment in the work place or safe sex in the emotionally vulnerable years after college. Few people are discussing those things and graduating women need to be prepared for them.
The website can be found at thegraduateguru.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.