First-Generation Students Find a Network on Switchboard

Graduating from college into the unknown is daunting, especially if you're a first-generation student without a personal network or financial safety net.

Switchboard makes it easier for students to find their way. New graduates use Switchboard to connect with their school's alumni network and find jobs, career advice, and places to stay.

Eric '14, the first of his family to graduate college, felt overwhelmed after graduating from Reed College. He turned to Switchboard for help.

Why did you start using Switchboard?

I'm a first-generation college graduate (class of 2014) from a low-income family. I grew up in a rural area in economic decline, and beyond my high school English teacher, I had no network to speak of, knew few people who had been in any line of work in which I might be interested.

That's how it seemed for a long time, at least. Networking through Switchboard has helped me learn how to reach out to a community when I need help or guidance. I've turned to Switchboard for everything from jobs leads to advice to hosts.

I've greatly appreciated the informality of Switchboard, as well as the fact that it operates as an online community forum allowing Reedies like me to efficiently see who's out there offering help and who out there needs it. I have been touched by the kindness, generosity, and hospitality of Reedies. Those values have been integral to my success in finding and pursuing professional and personal opportunities.

You posted an ask for career advice. Could you tell your story?

I've been considering going to graduate school one day to become a therapist. I was pretty indecisive about choosing a major at Reed, and only managed to settle on one when I hit my junior year and was required to do so!

I went to Switchboard seeking advice from Reedies who had gone on to become therapists in order to get as realistic a picture as possible of the "helping" professions: working conditions, the interface between theory and practice, the merits of different degrees that lead to certification, financial considerations, and using volunteer work or entry-level jobs to build therapeutic skills and quell (or confirm) any reservations about pursuing a career in mental healthcare.

I exchanged emails and Skyped with two Reed alumnae (thanks to you both!), and will be able to make wiser, more informed decisions about my career because of the insights they shared.

Taking the initiative to talk to them left me feeling empowered in my decision to slow down, to avoid rushing to fill that hole that graduating from college can leave in one's life, and to take as much time as I want to understand the different paths I can follow towards professional security and fulfillment.

Would you recommend Switchboard to your friends?

I would recommend Switchboard to anyone who hasn't tried it. I did not apply to Reed with a career in mind, by which I mean the idea of one day leaving Reed to start a career was never part of the fantasy that drew me to the college.

It was tough when I started feeling those structural pressures to prepare for graduate school or the labor market, since I felt compelled to plan, plan, plan before I really understood what I needed and wanted from my work. And as someone who knew I wouldn't be able to turn to family for my economic security, there were moments when I felt overwhelmed, disempowered, and shut out of whatever channels people followed to find fulfillment in their careers.

A lot of that fell away as I grew and learned more about my needs and priorities. Yet along the way, Switchboard gave me the chance to step into a network of big-hearted, community-minded Reedies that was there all along.

Switchboard has not only been key to finding concrete help at times when I needed it, but also empowering and confidence-boosting, a way of taking initiative without losing sight of my ties to a community.

Switchboard Operators Make Asking for Help Even Easier

Reaching out for help can be daunting, especially if you don't know the person you're asking.

Some Switchboard users go the extra mile to make sure that their fellow community members feel welcome reaching out.

Tiffanie '99 of Oberlin heard that current students were intimidated by the prospect of asking alumni for help and advice, so she posted an offer on the Oberlin Switchboard to connect students with people she knows—to serve as a switchboard operator.

Tiffanie's offer makes it even easier for Obies to find what they need on Switchboard. We asked her to share her story.

Why did you start using Switchboard?

I started because we (of the then-constituted Oberlin Alumni Council) were encouraged to use Switchboard to keep in touch with one another and with students through this new "Craigslist for Obies." I signed up mainly just to "see how it worked" and get a sense of it.

you offered to send people in the right direction if they don't know where to go—TO BE A Sort of Switchboard Operator. WHy?

I was recently on campus and heard from many students sentiments like, "I'd love to get in touch with alumni to ask about networking, job/career stuff, grad school stuff but I don't really even know how to approach an alumnus. I don't want to bother people/I don't know where to begin or how to open the discussion."

And while many of the alumni have said a thousand times to students, "Remember, we are all Obies. Every alumnus is an Obie like you. You already have this in common. Very likely people will be eager to help if you just reach out," I realized there was still a big hurdle for some students who just couldn't stop standing in their own way—they didn't feel confident to just reach out.

Instead, I simply invited them with an Offer. And somehow, that cracked the code.

I've had several email exchanges, several great phone calls with really enthusiastic students who have great questions or just want to hear ideas of things to look at and consider. I've connected people to others in my network (often other Obies, but sometimes not).

Would you recommend Switchboard to fellow Obies?

I would highly recommend Switchboard. It is a great tool to help people meet needs—their own or the needs of others. I've used it to send a friend a hug, to help students think about graduate school or career options, even to help friends get rides! It's simple and easy—it works!

Switchboard Will See Your Adventure Through

Our users turn to Switchboard to ask their communities for help planning everything from careers to nonprofit projects. Some of our favorite successes, though, are the adventures—road trips through the desert and moves to new jobs half-way across the globe. 

Sylvia is one such adventurer. The Wheelwomen Switchboard led Sylvia from Memphis to United Bicycle Institue's Bike School in Ashland, Oregon to take mechanics classes. Thanks to her experience at Bike School, Sylvia landed a job as an executive director of a bike shop in Memphis when she returned

Traveling to Ashland with her family, Sylvia needed some help along the way. We asked Sylvia to tell the story of how the Wheelwomen community saw her adventure through.

When did you start using Wheelwomen Switchboard?

I found Wheelwomen last March.

You used Wheelwomen Switchboard to find help while you were traveling. Could you share your story with us?

I've found the board extremely helpful. I love the information sharing and the chance to see job postings, questions, and info about what other women are up to in the bicycle world.

My big success was after my ask about going to Bike School. A woman in Portland reached out to me with the offer to borrow a bike. This was so helpful because I was shipping my bike from Memphis to Ashland, where I was attending Bike School. But my family and I (husband and 4- and 1-year old) were flying into Portland. We were purchasing an Xtracycle Edgerunner, in Portland, for my husband and the kids to ride. And then wanted to spend a couple of days exploring the bike-friendly city of Portland, before heading south.

But I needed a bike for those days. So, Helen McConnell, a Wheelwomen member, offered to loan me a bike. She brought it to me and picked it up. And she proved infinitely helpful when we realized that we had no way to get the Xtracycle from Portland to Ashland. We were renting a minivan, and my in-laws were flying in to drive down with us. We naively, I guess, thought the bike would fit inside the minivan with all of us. Helen contacted a bunch of friends and found us a bike rack to borrow and helped us attached it to the minivan.

All of this was made possible, thanks to Wheelwomen Switchboard and an excessively nice person in Helen!

Would you recommend Wheelwomen Switchboard to your friends?

I have and will continue to! In fact, I am now the director of a community shop in Memphis, and I'm changing out our links page on the website to have Wheelwomen as a top recommendation!