Advice to First Gen Grads thinking about starting careers in the nonprofit sector
Steve Zylius / University Communications

Advice to First Gen Grads thinking about starting careers in the nonprofit sector

As I was nearing my graduation from college, my parents began to ask the inevitable question scary to any child of immigrant parents graduating with a liberal arts degree: What will you do after? Of course, I gave them the most appropriate response: First I’d go to grad school, then I’d land a job at the United Nations and eventually become a Diplomat. That’s the common career path for Political Science majors right?

The closer I got to that milestone, the more I realized I didn’t want it. What would working at the United Nations mean to me? Was being a Diplomat even something I really understood? There was something more alluring to me about leveraging the social sector and the reach these organizations have to enact change throughout communities.

So I turned down a full ride to study International Relations & Diplomacy at an institution that would help me eventually find work at the UN. I trolled Idealist after graduating and found an opportunity that put me on track towards my tumultuous and rewarding career in the nonprofit sector. I took the first step and never looked back.

For first gen students, we are here by way of someone in our family who wanted a better future for us, and the chance to really achieve what may have been unattainable for them. Our parents or their parents wanted us to have access to the greatest tool towards upward mobility: a good education. They sacrificed a lot to get here; they worked jobs that made us (or make us) promise ourselves that their hard work is not in vain. The weight of this responsibility reminds us that sometimes we don't have the luxury of pursuing our passions much less careers in the social sector that may offer little pay.

For this reason, there is a greater level of compromise first gen graduates encounter when thinking about pursuing social impact careers after graduating college. Some may opt to choose higher paying jobs that don’t quite offer the satisfaction of doing good, or giving back to one’s community for this very reason. It’s a trade-off that isn’t talked about often, and is forgotten under the age old advice of: “Live beyond your wildest dreams and always pursue your passions”.

 Initially, it was hard for me to commit to a career in the nonprofit sector because of the instability of the sector, and inability to have a salary that would allow me to pay back my student loans quickly. However, my decision to go down this route meant that I had to have ownership over my finances and research ways to pay off my student loans. That meant understanding things like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The decision was also somewhat alienating, because it conflicted with cultural expectations. Despite this, there are ways you can make this decision exponentially rewarding.

In hindsight, I realized that how I grew up and experienced my surroundings made me feel more inclined to go into the social sector.  Ultimately, I made this decision because it was informed by doing work that I found meaningful.  In the process, I learned lots of important lessons, but there are three I’d like to share with you that made this journey worth it for me.

 

1. It is so important not to deny who you are.

I knew early on that I was not going to be an engineer or scientist of any sort (not even a political one). As much as I knew my weaknesses, I also knew my strengths. I knew that I enjoyed advocating for underserved groups and working with different communities to help identify needs, and discover collaborative and sustainable solutions to shared problems. This  gave me a deeper understanding of my values. I’ve grown to appreciate how important it is for me to align myself with organizations and causes that are mission driven. This will make it that much easier for you to attract employment opportunities with values similar to your own. During job interviews, I was able to share my story with potential employers in a very authentic way because I knew my values or non-negotiables. This allowed me to work for people with professional trajectories that I admired. It's what helped me land my first internship out of college with @NadineHack at beCause Global Consulting working alongside a team of phenomenal women. Embrace what you enjoy doing and what you are good at. Use these things as absolute must-haves in your job search.

 

2. It encouraged me to create a life outside the 9 - 5 in order to nourish other parts of myself and expand my network.

I always looked for ways to keep growing outside of work. Because of that, I developed a few side hustles and found creative ways to volunteer with causes I supported. This unleashed a ferocious desire to create a space outside my job where I was in control over how I wanted to work. Having a side hustle or passion served as a great way to remind myself of what I enjoyed doing, and I developed what Carla Harris referred to as the hustle gene. I found creative ways to build skills that I could not get on the job and work with so many other nonprofits and their great leaders. I joined the Junior Board of a great organization, Girls Inc. of NYC in an effort to more closely support a cause I feel strongly about: inspiring young girls to be strong, smart, and bold. In short, if something is important to you, you will find a way to fulfill that need, if not, you’ll find an excuse.

 

3. It pushed me to find creative ways to incorporate meaning into my profession

My most rewarding job thus far was at a charter school in Newark,NJ called Link Community Charter School. There I worked closely with the school lunch program and was responsible for administering lunch program applications, collecting lunch money from students, monitoring and tracking payments, and using this information to submit to the state for subsidies. It had its not-so glamorous parts, but the most fulfilling was my interaction with the students. I really grew to develop relationships with the students in ways that made me so appreciative of my job because I found ways to work with some of them outside of my role. You won’t always be in love with the first job you get or internship out of college, but you are in control over what you can accomplish while you’re there. Find ways to creatively add value to your experience while also solving a unique problem for your organization. Don’t just do the nine to five; create meaning outside of what you are paid to do (being an intrapreneur is very underrated).

 

The irony of my journey is that what brought my parents here was their version of the American Dream: the opportunity to obtain a better education, a better life and lessen the types of obstacles their children would encounter. I will not have to struggle in the same ways as they have, but my version of the American Dream is tied to a path that is less structured than the one they envisioned I would follow.

I am always inspired by people who do more with less or in some cases with nothing at all. A very good friend of mine found a way to live beyond the expectations that her circumstances prescribed and is finding creative ways to re-imagine a life that balances her career interests with her passions.

You have to admit, we’ve made it this far because in some instances we were the first in our families to navigate and negotiate our way through circumstances that would have otherwise served as permanent roadblocks. We’ve grown to become resource savvy individuals adept at finding solutions to most of our challenges.

With whatever you decide to do after you begin your postgraduate careers, I hope you find a balance between accepting the necessary and sometimes challenging aspects of building a career, and engaging in work that you have a passion for. With patience you will come to find that you are capable of designing a future where doing what you love and having a career are not mutually exclusive. Build off of the calculated risks that your parents or their parents took that brought you to this moment. After all, it’s in your blood.

Loan N.

Researcher, Writer, & Entrepreneur

8 年

Thank you for also acknowledging the shoulders of those we sit on.

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Loan N.

Researcher, Writer, & Entrepreneur

8 年

Such meaningful advice you offer, Hawwa. What I've always admired about you is that in your pursuit of social good, you've never allowed it to box you into the "non-profit sector" label. I look forward to updates on your fashion and other entrepreneurial hustles.

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Wilai K.

Growth mindset Leader who focuses on creating a legacy of making a difference in health care space while building up people along the journey.

8 年

Thank you for sharing! Your post gives me a different angle of the same perspective, first generation student perspective. I am the yougest of nine and the first to attend high school and college. I fought my way into Engineering field where everyday I can make a difference by doing what I enjoy doing. Hope our paths cross someday!

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Lejorne Leys

University Recruiting Strategist || Career Coach || Speaker

8 年

Hawwa, this was a fulfilling read. Thank you for sharing, they're so many 1st gen grads out there that needed this--right now. I agree with all of it! You literally put my thoughts into text. Please, please, please... KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK! -- You are appreciated!

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Brenda-Lea Morrison, MPA

Servant Leader| Advocacy and Policy Strategist|Experienced Community Engagement Professional | Social Impact Leader

8 年

This is such a great post and I just want to say thank you for sharing! I too, am a Political Science major with hopes of possibly working for the Department of State. Even though that's not something I'm 100% sold on doing, I have to start going through my options of what I will do once I get my degree, because I too, have immigrant parents who have sacrificed a lot for me to have the opportunity to get the education that I've been give thus far. Thank you for sharing your experience and I will definitely make use of the advice given!

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