Back in May 2014, Purdue collaborated with Gallup, the public opinion baron, to publish a report on the factors of postgraduate well-being. The result was a beautiful 24-page document that looks for a “holistic view of college graduates’ lives,” one that departs from the typical college metrics of statistics and rankings and “reflect[s] the myriad [of] reasons why students go to college.” Purdue and Gallup wanted to find if college was doing as much as it promised to help grads attain satisfying jobs and happy lives.
The study polled college graduates to identify several parameters that are crucial indicators of future general well-being. Gallup found that students who form a personal connection with a professor, one in which they feel cared about and encouraged to learn, are nearly twice as likely to be satisfied with their life post-graduation. Students active in extracurricular activities or those who find a job that applies their skills obtain similar results. However, these rather straightforward traits seem to be elusive. Gallup found that overall not enough students are having the experiences that will lead to an engaging life down the road.
Fret not though, there is hope.
The report also mentions what a student does in college is important but what is perhaps even more important is how the student is doing these things, how the student is experiencing college. This is where we come to the devotional leap. College is an amazing place to chase one’s interests. It’s an oasis from the world, an incubator for life’s possibilities, a place where academic and social cultivation go hand in hand. Where else in society can one study cartography just because she thinks it’s interesting, with no purpose in mind other than a love of learning and desire to know more?
New York Times columnist David Brooks calls this the “enchantment leap.” He says, “This is when something dry and utilitarian erupts into something passionate, inescapable and devotional. Sometimes a student becomes enraptured by the beauty of math, and becomes a mathematician … Anybody who has started a mere job and found in it a vocation has taken the enchantment leap.” This devotional gap—finding something you are struck by, something that keeps you up late at night—is pivotal to having a successful college experience (no matter what Gov. Scott Walker might say).
So where are we going wrong?
Students are in a rush. Too often we grind through weeks trying to meet deadlines and fulfill obligations without setting aside time to take stock and evaluate our actions. Everyone has something—perhaps a club or a class—that they attend faithfully every week but never rethink why. There was probably a good reason you joined, but is the commitment still worthwhile? Is it fulfilling? Those that go on to feel unfulfilled after college do so because they never took the time to get to know themselves while in college. We should challenge ourselves to live thoughtful lives now because as Bessie Glass says, “I don't know what good it is to know so much and be smart as whips and all if it doesn't make you happy.”
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