By Heather Monahan
Staff Writer
As Dr. Seuss says in “Oh The Places You’ll Go!” “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
With graduation rapidly approaching, students in the class of 2012 will be able to take these words to heart soon.
Even though some seniors have not secured jobs in their fields of study yet, most at least have an idea of where they would like to work or what kind of job they would like to apply for.
“I really don’t know exactly what I want to do as of now,” said Joe Pechie, a senior history major from Hilton, N.Y. “But I know I want to work with kids.”
While he’s still unsure of what he wants to do right now, Pechie said he hopes to work with the Hillside Family of Agencies in the near future. Hillside, a Rochester-based organization near Pechie’s home, works with varying age groups that have been faced with life challenges.
In addition to his Hillside goal, Pechie has a dream job set for his future.
“My dream would be to work as a principal for a school that caters to the needs of special needs children,” he said.
Although Gerard Conyers has yet to lock in a job, he said he isn’t concerned.
“I have been taking life as it comes,” the education major said. “I need some time to get myself grounded and get used to the real world.”
For now, Conyers said he would be satisfied with a temporary position while he awaits a long-term teaching position, which could open up due to other teachers’ pregnancies or circumstances. In addition to this, he will also return to work at his alma mater, Dundee (N.Y.) High School, as a junior varsity basketball coach. This position is a step toward his dream job.
“My dream job would be a fourth or fifth grade teacher, as well as a varsity basketball coach,” Conyers said.
Others seniors, like Courtney Cobb, are still not completely finished with their schooling. The elementary education major plans on attending Bonaventure again next year for graduate school.
“I plan to go more in depth in my job search next year during my graduate studies,” Cobb, a Palmyra, N.Y. native, said.
Although she is not yet searching for a job due to continuing her education, she said she is already trying to reach out and make connections with professionals in the education field.
Kimberly Hlavaty also plans to continue her education at Bonaventure, but in a slightly different fashion.
“I will be moving back home to Buffalo, New York and attending St. Bonaventure’s satellite graduate program on Hilbert’s campus,” she said.
Hlavaty, an elementary, early childhood and special education major, plans on continuing to work at a Tim Hortons in Buffalo, as she has been the last five years, in addition to substitute teaching.
Chelsey Fera, a journalism and mass communication major from Niagara Falls, is focused on a different aspect of her future. Once she finishes her language credits in Italy this summer, Fera said she plans on moving to Australia.
“The problem for me moving so far away and finding a job is that Australian companies want to know that I am legal before I can apply,” she explained.
Although Fera is moving from the United States, her dream job is in New York City at a fashion company called People’s Revolution. She said this will not affect her decision about moving.
“I love Australia so much,” Fera said. “I have more contacts in Australia than I do in the USA.”
Emily Tronetti is also preparing to move after graduation. She and her boyfriend will be moving to Denver during the summer.
The journalism and mass communication major, who is also a professional photographer, said she plans on being a paid assistant to a photographer in Colorado for a while after the move.
The Arkport native said her ideal job would be working for the magazine 303 in Denver. However, Tronetti is faced with a problem.
“Unfortunately, many magazines seem to be paying their photographers less and less,” she said. “I’ve heard this magazine is one of them.”
For juniors, sophomores and freshmen who are still not quite thinking about graduation, seniors said the most important thing employers have looked for during their job search is experience.
“You need to tell them why they want you, and don’t be shy about it,” Tronetti said.
monahahm10@bonaventure.edu
