Now that they've worn the honors of Honor, they must venture out into the world to find their way. Only a month after Graduation Weekend, members of the graduated Class of 2007 have gotten their first taste of life outside of the University.
Many graduates have already begun their first jobs, though some may have signed on the dotted line sooner than others.
Ladd Flock, Career Services director for the College, explained that though most commerce and engineering-related jobs were found by students last fall, many College graduates may only now be landing their positions.
"Employers that seek Arts & Sciences graduates begin to look around graduation when the [recent graduates] are available," Flock said. "Commerce and Engineering students [get hired earlier] in larger groups because [the employers] have to build training classes."
The new graduates will fill a number of different positions spread all over the world, Flock said, as he expects this year's graduating class to follow the same trend as the past few graduating classes. With regard to regional distribution, nearly one-third of the students end up moving to the Washington D.C. and northern Virginia area, he said. Another third generally moves to the New York and tri-state region, while others are positioned more sporadically.
"A lot of students are scattered all over the country and internationally," he said.
According to information gathered from the near 480 College students who have already responded to University Career Services' survey, students are choosing to fill a variety of careers and continuing with their education in assorted professional or graduate schools.
"The feedback we've gotten so far shows that a lot [of graduates] have found jobs through career fairs and HoosTrak, which is a big plus," he said.
Off the beaten path
Though the traditional job market is the route taken by many University students, some members of the Class of 2007 have found more adventurous employment options and service-related opportunities, such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America.
Peace Corps continues to be a major draw for graduating University students explained Stephen Chapman, Peace Corps public affairs specialist.
"The Peace Corps involves two years of government service, mostly in education, health, environment and community development," Chapman said.
According to Peace Corps statistics, the University ranks second among medium-sized universities in producing Peace Corps volunteers.
Teach for America is another very popular option for employment.
Class of 2007 graduate Sally Houston is currently in her third week of training in Houston, Texas as a Teach for America volunteer.
"Right now I'm teaching Texas history in summer school," Houston said. "It's hard ... I have to be up at 5:30."
Houston said she knew she wanted to work for Teach for America since her third year.
"I applied to a couple of other places but when I knew that I got Teach for America, I pulled all of my other applications," Houston said.
Houston said she feels more prepared for her Teach for America service in many ways because of the experiences she had while attending the University.
"During the training, we're not sleeping that much," she said. "It's hard for some of the graduates, but I'm fine because it is like a college finals week."
Back to school
While many graduates are starting new jobs, others are heading to back to academia to further their knowledge and escape from the real world for a few more years.
After finishing his summer-long volunteer job recent graduate Josh Cincinnati will begin his studies at Stanford Business School in the fall.
"I love U.Va. but it is very cool to be heading out to the West Coast to get a different perspective on a lot of things," he said.
Cincinnati said the activities he participated in outside of the classroom, such as his leadership positions, have been most influential in his life thus far after graduating.
"The activities and organizing events prepared me for [graduate school]," he said. "I think the only reason I am in business school is the work I did extracurricularly."
Staying in C-ville
Many graduates have opted to continue their education on Grounds at one of the many graduate programs available at the University, such as the Darden School or the Law School.
Though students just out of undergraduate schools are not allowed to directly matriculate at Darden except in a JD/MBA program, the school still encourages graduates to apply, Darden Director of Admissions Sara E. Neher explained.
"I would prefer for people to have some work experience but I would be happy for them to apply while they're still in school here," Neher said. "We would give them a deferral so they would work for one to two years and then they can come after that."
Neher said many of their students come from the University community.
"The University is our largest undergraduate school," she said.
Susan Palmer, associate dean of admissions at the Law School, echoed this sentiment.
"The University of Virginia is our biggest feeder by the largest margin," she said. "We call them 'Double Hoos' over here."
According to Law School statistics compiled over the last four years, the percentage of University graduates per class comes to about 13 percent.
Overall, 48 percent of the classes' students tend to have come straight from undergraduate programs, Palmer said. University students seem to exceed these averages, she added.
"University students tend to be a little bit younger," she said. "They also tend to be very active in the Law School's student government and the honor council -- they have a genuine devotion to the community"
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