Alumni Perspective: How Free Time Became a Full-Time Job

As the caps and gowns for graduation 2007 began arriving, Olivia MacKenzie ‘07 was unsure where life post-graduation would take her. After spending time putting her foot into the waters of “real life,” she has found her place in society.

“I graduated in June 2007 with BAs in both History and Spanish. I had no idea what I wanted to do and felt like I was flailing after graduation. So I embarked into the world and got whatever experience I could as part of my own personal soul searching/career counseling/life experience….whatever you want to call it.

I spent two summers as a nanny for a family in NYC then decided to spend some time traveling. So in the fall of 2008 I travelled solo through Argentina, Chile and Peru. I returned home in December of 2008 and was immediately discouraged by the outlook for potential employment (as were most other Americans at the time). I decided to begin by networking through volunteering at Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center in my hometown (Hillsboro, OR) so I could use my Spanish. I submitted a volunteer application and was called instead for a job interview for a seasonal position during the summer coordinating their migrant outreach program to farm workers. I was so impressed by the work I saw and so impacted by the patients and staff of the clinics that I continued to volunteer after my paid position was over.

I discovered through this process what I finally wanted to do with my life! I decided to go into development and fundraising in the nonprofit sector. I volunteered many hours with Virginia Garcia’s Foundation and applied for a job with them in the winter of 2009-10. Someone with more experience was hired. I kept my nose to the grindstone and decided to continue volunteering and proving myself and even worked alongside the woman who got the job over me. Six months later, she resigned and the job was immediately offered to me.

I am now six months in and working the job that I volunteered over a year to get! It was a long, strange and unexpected journey, but there are many rewards in risks taken and a lot to be said for sticking to your guns when you know you belong somewhere.”

To learn more about our alumni career services in Portland and get your career launched post-graduation, call (503) 412-3701 or e-mail careerpdx@uoregon.edu.

By Ayn-Marie Hailicka, Communication and Social Media Intern