What’s in a name?
I can imagine furrowed brows in response to a career services blog named after those pliable polymers that make up so many of our daily objects. A blog called plastics is in need of some explanation. But actually the word plastic has a much older signification. It once referred to an art form alongside painting and architecture, one of sculpting figures from pliable materials. To engage in plasticke was to bring form and purpose to something natively full of possibility.
As an emblem for what we offer at Wabash College Career Services, plastics is as apt as any. We are, after all, a part of a liberal arts institution, and we are guided by the same mission to help sculpt young men who think, lead, act, and live as free gentlemen. We help Wabash men imagine, construct, and enact the plans that bring their education and aspiration into contact with the world outside of Wabash, with their futures.
Why So Worried?
So I can’t resist another reference. In the 1967 film The Graduate, we see a young college graduate intensely worried about his future. Just watch this. Then go watch the film.
If “plastics” wasn’t the word Ben wanted to hear, this doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right word for him. Ben gets the point that, ultimately, his life is what he makes of it and what he carves out from his possibilities. This is in part why he is so worried about his future. But what he seems to miss is the importance of building relationships that help him along the way.
Career Services is not a silver bullet—there is no silver bullet—but at a small liberal arts college, we are a potent touchstone for students and alumni who want to make the most of themselves by building a relationship with us.
This blog will run the gamut of career services. It spans from the art of seeing possibilities and making plans to that part of an art which is a science—writing a resume, polishing a cover letter, finding funding for an internship, and on and on. At once practical and educational, Plastics is here to help you make your future.
–James Jeffries