Column:

How to get a degree in Ubuntu

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Oct. 16, 2009

I'm convinced this week, the media was out to remind the age 18 to 25 demographic about how screwed we all are in terms of post-graduation options. It's difficult to ignore the figures of unemployment rates, cautionary tales from older friends and relatives and the horror stories. The New York Times had a piece this week about twins who moved to New York to find work, only to discover there was little to be had.

The reaction to the story has been mixed, with responses offering sympathies or harsh criticisms. J. Maureen Henderson from True/Slant made a pretty excellent suggestion: The girls should try volunteering and use their skills for service as a way to keep them sharp.

Although volunteering might not be the most viable option in the long term, Thompson's comment gave me a thought. Not enough is said about service as an option for post-graduates. There's a fixation on the grad-school-or-job binary, but there is a great other option for those of us who will inevitably have trouble finding jobs.

In the midst of a long post-grad-option-hunting session not too long ago, I got a text message from a friend from home who graduated early and was still living in Chicago.

"You have to apply to do City Year next year."

I'd heard of the AmeriCorps-sponsored program, a year of service and civic engagement work with urban youth, but hadn't known anyone involved.

"What's it like?"

She responded with one word: "Ubuntu."

Ubuntu is a philosophy with roots in southern Africa that roughly translates to "I am because we are." It's this idea of being engaged in humanity to the fullest degree, treating all people as part of the same human family and working to bring out the best in all of us.

Granted, some of the larger and most sought-after service organizations — the Peace Corps, Teach For America, AmeriCorps and City Year — are becoming just as competitive as the regular job market. But groups like these often will have high-need areas for which they actively recruit, so if this is something that holds interest, it's definitely worth a shot.

But the government and corporate entities are hardly the only ones. There is a plethora of opportunities out there: domestic, international, faith-based, culturally based, assembled at random.

For those considering service as a post-graduation option, there are plenty of Internet resources available. Idealist.org has an excellent database of nonprofit and service jobs and fellowships, and you can tailor your search to best match the skills you have or want to improve.

In addition to being an alternative to the typical post-grad binary and doing something for the greater good, taking a year or two off for service work can help hone professional skills that will come in handy later.

I'm not saying the service year option is best for everyone, but it's something to consider for those of us about to be thrust headlong into the real world. And to the twins, instead of bribing with Buckeyes and busking for business cards, how 'bout a little Ubuntu?