Alumni Help New Grads Find Their Footing

Asking for help as a new grad can be daunting.

To help them feel more comfortable reaching out for guidance, Oberlin promised the Class of 2015 that alumni would respond to their asks on Switchboard.

Miryam '15 posted an ask on Switchboard looking for connections in the arts, and she heard back from alumni right away.

Now she visits the Oberlin Switchboard often, hoping to pay the favor forward to the Oberlin community.

Why did you start using Oberlin Switchboard?

I started using Switchboard as part of the "May Day" initiative. Ma'ayan [the wonderful operator of the Oberlin Switchboard] told me that Switchboard was doing a special promotion where all Class of '15 posts made on April 30th would be answered on May 1st by alumni.

I had heard about Switchboard before then, but the promise that a team would be helping me find an answer to my post definitely helped motivate me to post.

How'd it go?

The experience asking for advice was not as scary as I thought it would be.

There was a suggested formula that the May Day team sent out that I followed. I wrote a bit about myself and then detailed my question. The most difficult part was being as concise as possible while still standing out from the crowd.

I got two helpful comments pretty much right away. I was asking for help from a couple of different arts fields and I got replies from an author, a musician, and an actor, so it was really helpful to hear all of those different perspectives.

I've checked Switchboard often since then, replying to other posts.

Would you recommend Switchboard to your friends?

I would absolutely recommend Switchboard to my friends, especially those still at Oberlin or who have just graduated.

The alumni community is welcoming and knowledgeable, and it's a shame to not take advantage of that. The more people who use Switchboard, the more connections can be made.

Young Alumni Start Careers with Apprenticeships

Justin Farmer '04 created an apprenticeship just for Reed alumni at his inn in the Catskills.

Breaking into a new industry can be difficult for recent graduates, especially if they don't have connections.

To remedy that problem, Justin Farmer '04, a Reed College alumnus, established a culinary apprenticeship program for fellow Reed alumni.

Justin uses Switchboard to find his Reedie apprentices and help them get started in the restaurant business. Justin has taken on three apprentices since he made his first offer on Reed Switchboard last year, and he's committed to hiring more alumni in years to come.

Why did you start using Switchboard?

I think I started using Switchboard maybe two years ago. I have always helped fellow Reedies make connections if I can, and Switchboard makes that easier to do.

You started a culinary apprenticeship program specifically for Reedies. Could you share your story?

I have so far taken on three Reedies via Switchboard. One still works at my bar, Hill & Dale, in the the city. One is in China right now I believe, and she may come work for me when she gets back. The third is starting here at the Deer Mountain Inn next Wednesday.

Beyond that, I have actually brought many Reedies into the restaurant biz over the years, and many of them are still in it and doing great.

I started taking on Reedies for two reasons.

1. The talent pool of cooks is very thin right now, and it is hard to find good employees with intelligence and a good work ethic, two very important qualities for a cook. Tapping into the Reed talent pool seems natural since intelligence and a good work ethic are very much something you can expect from all Reed graduates and even most Reed dropouts, like myself.
2. Reedies are at a disadvantage starting in the food biz after graduation, and I know there are many interested in it so it makes sense to provide a bit of a boot camp that helps teach them the ropes.

I know that, upon graduation, many Reedies don't really know what to do next, especially if they decided not go to grad school or if grad school didn't work out for them. Of the type of Reedie that doesn't end up in grad school, I have noticed they tend to go towards a more entrepreneurial route with a decided bent towards the food and beverage industry and tech/software stuff.

While I am sure the transition into the tech world is a bit smoother for most Reedies, jumping into the food world is a bit more of a drastic change from the academic atmosphere of Reed.

Although their intelligence and hard work will eventually see them to the top, they are starting with the heavy disadvantage of joining a career path that many start in their teens who have already developed highly specialized skills and knowledge that the late comer Reedies simply do not have. So they have a huge experience gap to overcome.

Along with that is a culture that exists within the food and beverage industry, and especially in the restaurant industry, that can be difficult for many Reedies to accept and become a part of. You have to have "thick skin," as they say, to be successful in this industry.

This program provides an environment where I can integrate Reedies into the food business in a way that is a lot less shocking than simply taking a prep-cook or waiter job in the city.

Would you recommend Switchboard to other Reedies?

I would and have recommended Switchboard to my friends, two of whom have been actively hiring entry level people within the architecture world via Switchboard for the last year now.

Alumni Connect as Lifelong Learners on Switchboard

Every college hopes to instill its students with a sense of curiosity that endures beyond the classroom.

Ida '14 found their passion in linguistics at Oberlin. When they were sad to leave Oberlin after graduation, they turned to Switchboard to share that passion and reconnect with the Oberlin community at the same time.

Ida has connected with many students and alumni to discuss linguistics since they posted their offer last year. Their story is a tribute to the spirit of inquiry that shines throughout the Oberlin community, and to lifelong learners everywhere.

Why did you start using the Oberlin Switchboard?

Ma'ayan [the stupendous Oberlin Switchboard operator] told me to check it out right around when I was graduating last year. I trust Ma'ayan's recommendations to be excellent, and I was really sad about leaving Oberlin and was curious about other ways of community-building, so I wrote my first post last June!

You offered to talk to Obies about linguistics. How did that go?

It's been a delight to get to share my linguistics love!

I had a friend ask through Switchboard just for kicks; I've had strangers come with random little curiosities; I had a student ask about building an Individual Major in ling at Oberlin (which I did, and have a lot to say about); I even had a '67 grad come for advice about the implications of a PNW farmworker's association using written Mixtec—a language indigenous to Mexico—on a banner, which kind of stumped me, I have to say.

The questions have varied widely in topic and depth, but it's always been fun to see if I can rise to the challenge.

It's also honestly pretty nice to get small questions from laypeople—sometimes I feel like there's so much left in linguistics for me to learn, even in my tiny corner of my tiny subfield, that I'll never achieve anything like competency and will never have anything meaningful to contribute.

But then I get an ask here and have so much to say! 

And then I remember that actually, yes, I do know things, and yes, the world would be a better place if more people understood some of the things I understand about language, so I should keep talking.

Would you recommend Switchboard to other Obies?

Heck yeah!

On the offering end, you get to do that very Oberlin thing of sharing what you love and brightening someone's day in the process; on the asking end, it's a fantastic middle ground between just hitting up your friends for help (reliable but very limited) and casting your net into the depths of the unknown internet (vastly resourceful, but yikes).

I think if more people used it regularly, it could strike a singular balance of in-group trust and widely sourced help and thereby reach holy-grail levels of utility—so yeah, I would be all for more Obies getting on board!