“Don’t Be a Squirrel.” Grandpa Talks Careers

Grandchild asks: “What would be your advice for people in their early twenties who aren’t sure of their career path? Did decisions surrounding your career become clearer with age?” 

Dear grandkids:

Many of you are between 19 – 25 years of age, have either completed or are in college, and believe that decisions must be made soon that will determine the rest of your life. Don’t be too sure of that. My life has been filled with changes, transitions, and transformations that could not have been forecast or planned. In most cases, you just charge ahead.

Don’t be like a squirrel crossing a street with a car coming. Cross? Go back? Cross? Go back? Just do it!

By the time I was 25 years old, I had no plan to be a coach, faculty member, or administrator in a college or university. At the time in 1965, my primary job centered around my role as a high school teacher and coach. 

My previous part time jobs included:

• Delivering newspapers (Joliet Herald-News) 
• Truck driver (Klover Trucking)
• Heavy equipment operator
• Mowing grass and cleaning motel rooms (Rossi Motel)
• Baseball and basketball official
• Coach at Buck Boys Club
• Writing tutor
• Sportswriter (the Spectator)
• Student worker in college

It was only after Coach Gillespie asked me, at age 27, if I would be interested in coming to Lewis College and start a soccer team, assist in baseball, and co-direct intramurals that a new career in education would begin. For the next 50+ years, my career would be in higher education.

In those 50 years, my employers beside Lewis, were Joliet Junior College, the University of St. Francis, and Regis University. Within each institution, my roles varied considerably and included teaching, coaching, administration, and new business ventures.

The foundation for a career in higher education was built not only on my high school teaching and coaching, but on the seemingly trivial part time jobs before I was 25. Don’t underestimate the valuable learning that takes place in each job despite the fact that they were brief, unforgettable, episodes that transformed you. (That is why I listed each one.)

“Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” 

Oscar Wilde

Knowing what I liked to do – as well as not liked to do – helped steer me to a fulfilling career. Of course, I had dreams and ambitions at an early age. These dreams were modified as I learned more about myself and the changing environment. Continuous learning (and unlearning) seemed to be critical aspects for surviving, staying current, and anticipating the future. Change, in all its iterations, is the only lifetime constant.

When I was 18, the world was different. Guys my age were choosing lifetime jobs at Caterpillar, insurance companies, fire department, Texaco, and Commonwealth Edison. And they seemed successful and happy, retiring at age 55. I wasn’t built the way they were. As with you grandkids, I had to choose a different path to make a difference in the world. 

“The two most important days of your life: the day you were born, and the day you learned why.”

Mark Twain

I wrote the following poem some years ago that reflects my thoughts on life’s journey.

Path Choices

I.
Most of us start down the path,
Smooth, well-worn, modest bumps,
Fully lighted marked, warning signs,
Few variations, depressions, and curves.
 
II
But one man felt crowded on this dusty road,
Fellow travelers jostled and competed,
Singing familiar songs and telling tales,
That evoked sameness and sadness.
 
III.
Gradually he found himself wandering,
Off the road onto untrammeled, unmarked ways,
Stumbling into dark woods,
Away from others, where no trails existed.
 
IV.
At once the brambles, bushes, and barbs,
Scraped, scratched, and slashed,
New sensations into his life,
Stung and burned him more alive than ever.
 
V.
Through the woods, into untraveled valleys,
With green rises and dark depressions,
He was enfolded with sunshine, clouds, and rain,
As he journeyed on with new spark.
 
VI.
After miles of trodding up and down,
He felt the need to recline on the ground,
To rest, reflect, review, and recall,
What he’d done, where he’d been.
 
VII.
The twilight afforded him the view,
A survey of the past landscape,
Shadow and shades dimly,
Highlighting trail tops, ignoring the depressions.
 
VIII.
He bathed in a sea of calm,
Soul filled with warmth and contentment,
Renewed in his faith and his choices,
Then rose and continued his path.

Sincerely and with love,

Grandpa K

“A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.