Graduation🧑‍🎓 (Thoughts on Education and it’s Value)

Graduation. It only took four years, but to be honest, the last four years felt like ages. I can barely remember what it was like not to be in college. Once you do something for four years, while living in the same predictable environment, everything becomes routine. Fortunately, in college my habits were relatively cohesive for maintaining a good GPA, and avoiding the all-nighters considered quintessential to a college student's experience. I think I may have “reverse procrastination.” Rather than feeling the pressure of a looming deadline hours before its due, I instead feel it much farther in advance of the due date, sometimes weeks. If I’m being honest, it’s probably an advantage to experience “reverse procrastination,” so I shouldn’t complain.  

After four years of college, what did I even learn? First and foremost, I’d attest that Kenyon College improved my writing skills. Freshman year, writing a ten page paper felt a bit daunting; by senior year it was commonplace. The experience of the “Capstone projects,” required for graduation, teaches students how to handle long-form research projects, at least in my majors of History and German. 

Communication and public speaking are also skills I improved during my stint at Kenyon. In all of my classes, routine participation was encouraged, if not required. The ability to speak in front of peers with confidence and grace is an important skill in the classroom and life.

My favorite skill, something that definitely takes developing, is critical thinking. I came into college with a LOT of preconceived notions. Kenyon taught me to challenge my own beliefs, something for which I will forever be grateful. I didn’t realize until a few years into college what “critical thinking” really meant. The ability to process complicated material and formulate my own thoughts and ideas around any variety of topics makes me independent. I don’t rely on others to tell me my beliefs or opinions, I process them on my own time, and in my own way, and of course, critical thinking has taught me to question my own “foundations.” I don’t define myself by immovable, rigid beliefs. Ironically, I feel like I barely know anything about how the world works, especially after four years of learning.

Anyway, three measly skills for four years of work? Doesn’t seem worth it. The current administration’s decisions to rescind research funding from colleges, prohibit DEI programs, and arrest foreign students exercising free speech; shows they don’t value higher education. Higher education is reportedly contaminated by the liberal, progressive agenda. Whatever that means. Even my own institution made it to the backwater “reporting” of FoxNews for allegedly violating Ohio’s new mandated single gender bathroom requirements. If the so-called “liberal agenda” professed at colleges teaches me values which make me more empathetic, and gives me perspective outside of the narrow environment in which I was raised. Then I'm all for it. 

Albeit, long before this administration, I was questioned on my decision to attend college. Throwback to a few summers ago, I was working a manual labor maintenance job at my local pool, cleaning it, and the local parks in the mornings. Many of my coworkers asked, “Why are you going to college?”; “What are you going to do with a History and German degree?”; “Are you going to be a history teacher?”. A college education, especially a liberal arts college education, which mandates that students take courses in a variety of fields: natural science, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts is undervalued because it doesn’t provide a clear career path. The mindset so often professed by the average American focuses on making money, and getting a 9-5 that pays. Education, for the sake of education, is underappreciated and seen as a waste of time. At the same time though, a college education and a B.A. degree opens up tons of job opportunities. So is it a waste of time and money when it’s required for higher paying work? 

College, and a liberal arts degree provide better work opportunities and networks with alumni. If you can afford it, college can be a worthwhile fiscal investment. Just look at LinkedIn. The website where everybody leaves the same auto generated “Congrats!” comment underneath their random connections, job or achievements announcement. Sometimes, I browse it for a laugh. The scripted interactions taking place on the platform demonstrate the soullessness of the job industry. LinkedIn is good for job searching, but a vast majority of the interactions on the platform are prescribed, odd nonsense which people participate in, not because they value the achievements of their peers, but because it makes them a competitor in the never ending social class climb. 

Beyond fiscal value, college expanded my horizons for what is possible to pursue in your adult life. Before college, I felt trapped by the prospect of a traditional office desk job and retirement plan. Why would I work 40+ hours a week for the prospect of an unpromised, potentially unfulfilling retirement? I don’t live to work, I work to live. Education teaches perspective, individualism, and independence. Instead of accepting that a 9-5 is an essential part of life, you have the opportunity to question why we have a system that encourages working 40 hours a week. You learn about other cultures, and societies that haven’t followed the same system, both in the past and globally today. Working a 9-5 is not inherently bad, in fact, I believe it can be very fulfilling if you have a job which you value, or gain something from, whether it’s fiscal or emotional fulfillment, or hopefully both. If I had never gone to college, it would have been much more difficult to learn about other people, their way of life, and the breadth of human experience. College teaches people about the human experience and its diversity. For me, this has been invaluable both in expanding my capacity for empathy and understanding how people live outside of America and before it. Critical thinking and absorbing knowledge are essential. Particularly now, when college education and its value is being threatened by the highest office in the nation, we need to step back and question their claims. Why is college education under threat? Does the administration’s claims have merit? Too often, people accept the words coming out of others mouths without a second-thought. College teaches you to question.

College also gave me other hard-skills, beyond the three I listed above. I learned to speak German, which is key for my professional and personal life. I could move to Europe, use cross-cultural fluency to form new relationships and understand other cultures, and speak with my family members, not to mention countless other advantages and opportunities. History taught me research skills, and how to formulate arguments, or simply analyze trends and make observations/draw conclusions. The experience of college itself is valuable. Living with your peers, studying together, building community can be foundational for your future. Not to mention, the opportunity to make life-long friends and the added social benefits. 

College offered me a multitude of opportunities. I can say with 100% certainty that college changed me. I underwent a Verwandlung. But, do we even need to justify education? Colleges have their faults, particularly the step price and it is a privilege to attend one. But I don’t need to justify my college experience with the fiscal advantages. That misses the point entirely. Life, in my opinion, is about experiences. College helped teach me about the diversity of human experience and prepare me for my own. College itself is an experience. With retrospect, would I do it again? Absolutely. I don’t live in service to foreordained paths for my life. I want to choose how I live. Too often society and others tell you what you need to do, why something is worth it, what values you need to have. College, particularly a liberal arts education, teaches you to create your own.

Sources:

Joseph, Jamie. “Ohio College ‘illegally Forcing Students’ to Share Bathrooms with Opposite Sex: Watchdog.” Fox News, March 12, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ohio-college-illegally-forcing-students-share-bathrooms-opposite-sex-watchdog.

Rosenberg, John S. “The Trump Administration’s Impact on Higher Education.” Harvard Magazine, April 15, 2025. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/05/harvard-trump-federal-funding-education-diversity-speech.