Shape your “real world”

Planning for your career and future is an important part of the college experience. You will likely struggle over a number of significant decisions: what academic path to choose, whether to study abroad, how to make an unpaid internship feasible, or why go to graduate school. You will draft numerous versions of the perfect resume, curriculum vitae, statements of intent, and cover letters. You will prepare rigorously for interviews and other elements of job and grad school application processes.

During your time at William & Mary, you will decide how much time to devote to this planning process and how hard to work at it. Those decisions will help to shape the “real world” you’ll inhabit after you leave Williamsburg.

In addition to the efforts you’ll make in your own interests, you also have an enormous amount of power to shape the world beyond college, and it lies with your ability to vote.

The issues at stake this election season will undoubtedly shape the world you will step into after walking across the graduation stage. The economy you will encounter as you enter the job market will look different based on the policies enacted by our next President. The quality and availability of healthcare in the “real world” will be affected by this election. College student loan repayment, pell grants, and other federal initiatives concerning how Americans pursue higher education will be affected by this election. These are only a few of the many issues that you must consider this year as you prepare to vote. All of them will impact what the “real world” will look like for you after you graduate.

Last year, a record number of young adults ages 18 – 24 voted in the presidential election. That record, however,  meant only 49% of young adults eligible to vote did so. More than half stayed home, didn’t register, forgot to turn in their absentee ballot, or otherwise missed the opportunity to have their voices heard, despite the fact that their futures would be affected by the result.

Whatever your political persuasion, please don’t miss the opportunity to let your voice be heard on Tuesday, November 6. Current college students will inherit a country being shaped by those in positions of power today. By voting, you can show the rest of the country that you understand the implications of this election and care deeply about the “real world” that awaits you after William & Mary.

Hark upon the ballot box, Tribe.