On Jan. 24 at 12 p.m., the Vocatio Center hosted a “What’s Next…” event in the Carl Grant Events Center where Union University graduates Emma Cate Hare and Avery Lopez led a discussion around preparing for life after graduation and Tamarin Huelin, the director of Counseling Services at Union, spoke at the end about wellness.
Fran Thomas, the assistant director of the Vocatio Center and the person in charge of the occasion, explained the heart behind the inaugural “What’s Next…” event.
“I wanted to create an opportunity space for conversation for students to begin to consider and to think about what’s next after I graduate. Yes, we know we’re gonna get a degree. Yes, we know we’re gonna try to find a job. But there’s so much more than that after you graduate,” Thomas said. “What does life look like relationally? What does life look like going from a college student’s lifestyle to a working lifestyle? What does our spiritual life look like after we graduate? Community, what does that look like after we graduate?”
Hare and Lopez began by discussing their own college experiences and what they do now. They then transitioned into explaining how those experiences are connected and influence their lives now. They also discussed practical ways of staying in touch and building community outside of the college environment, how the habits you form now are important in life after college, and the transition from college to the working world.
“’Oh, it’s gonna be a totally different season, and I’m gonna be, you know, a totally new me,’” Hare said about what she thought the transition would be like. “But really you’re the same person, and you have the same sinful tendencies. And so, prioritizing time with the Word, asking people to talk to coffee, being a connector and an initiator, you can practice those things now, and it’s gonna really benefit you.”
Thomas said that the response from attendees was very positive and the Vocatio Center is hoping to have a second “What’s Next…” event in April.
