Serve next

Service or Salary?

Jun 27, 2008 Posted by Zach Maurin

The NY Times published a story this week examining the dilemma (or maybe it's not a dilemma for some) that many students are facing upon graduation from top colleges: go into public service or get paid lots of money on Wall St.  One student put it well.

He said, "We came to Harvard as freshmen to change the world, and we’re leaving to become investment bankers — why is this?"

Well known education professor Howard Gardner is leading reflections at Harvard and a few other schools that "he hopes will push undergraduates to think more deeply about the connection between their educations and aspirations," wrote Sarah Rimer in her piece.

Anthony Marx, Amherst's president and who is on the leadership committee for ServiceNation, says, "We’re in the business of graduating people who will make the world better in some way.  That’s what justifies the expense of the education.”

Read the rest of the article here.

tags public service, college (all tags)

Full discussion: http://blog.servenext.org/story/2008/6/27/93430/5701