Every year just before commencement, Sweet Briar's director of career services, Wayne Stark, surveys the graduating class about post-college plans and reports on the results. In what is frequently described as the worst economy since World War II, the 2009 numbers look strikingly similar to recent years, when the job market was robust.

 

Ninety-four percent of this year's seniors responded to the survey, one percentage point behind the previous two classes. Of those, at the time of commencement on May 16, 78 percent had either secured full- or part-time jobs, been accepted to graduate school or other advanced study programs, or were pursuing "personal endeavors" such as internships or traveling abroad.

 

According to Stark, the remaining 2009 graduates are searching for jobs, including some who received offers but kept looking. On these two measures — those whose plans are known and those actively seeking work — the numbers are nearly identical to last year's class, 78 and 22 percent respectively. In 2007, 71 percent had settled on plans, and 29 percent were looking for jobs.

 

Stark noted there is a difference, however, if you further break down statistics. The number of students engaging in personal endeavors rather than employment is down from previous years, while the number taking part-time versus full-time work is up. He said this helps account for the Class of 2009's high overall employment rate.

 

"I think that shows students are cognizant of a tough job market," he said. "They need to have some money coming in while they are continuing their search [for long-term employment]."

 

The employment numbers for SBC graduates are on par with the most recent benchmarking analysis available from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, Stark said. Citing NACE's 2008 Career Services Benchmark Survey for Four-year Colleges and Universities, which covered the Class of 2007, he said 48 percent of graduating students nationally reported having jobs in hand at graduation. In comparison, 44 percent of Sweet Briar's Class of 2009 had accepted full- or part-time work, which is an increase over the previous two years.

 

While there is no national benchmarking data available yet for this year, a preliminary NACE survey shows the numbers are depressed. According to a May 6 press release, "just 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job actually have one."

 

The release compares that figure to an employment rate of 51 percent among 2007 graduates who were surveyed during a comparable time frame.

 

Sweet Briar also exceeds NACE's national average reported in the benchmark survey when it comes to continuing education, Stark said. Twenty-eight percent of SBC's 2009 class members are seeking higher degrees or advanced study, compared to 21 percent reported nationally among 2007 graduates. In 2007 and 2008, Sweet Briar reported that 24 and 30 percent of its graduates respectively went on to further studies.

 

"Judging by the above information, I would say that we are looking at above average graduate school/further study numbers, and probably a bit above or right around the average employment figures," Stark said in an e-mail.

 

"When all is said and done, after looking at upcoming institutional survey data like the [College Senior Survey], etc., I would not be surprised if we come out above our peers in employment as well. This is actually positive information for the tough economic times we are in."

 

2009 graduates take diverse paths

 

Brione "Bree" Smith graduated a year early to pursue a dream she's had for as long as she can remember — to be a pastry chef. She is headed to The French Pastry School at City Colleges of Chicago, after earning the "real" degree her parents insisted on in case she changes her mind about her career. In an e-mail, Smith acknowledged that many chefs burn out from the stress and long hours, but she expressed no worries.

 

"I think that it has to be more than just a hobby. It is your life. For me, I dream of desserts all the time and read as much as I can," she wrote.

 

Smith, who hopes to open her own patisserie one day, may simply have baking in her genetic makeup. "The funny thing is, my grandpa owned a bakery and my dad grew up working in it," she said. "I don't think he ever would have thought I would be following in his footsteps."

 

Meanwhile, SBC Engineering is bidding farewell to the young program's first official graduating class. Two students — Kaelyn Leake and Sarah Smiley are headed for graduate programs. Amanda Baker is going to work for Straughn Environmental Services Inc. and Lauren Guyer will be working in mission support at the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville.

 

Guyer will be using her engineering management degree to market NGIC products to active military personnel. A job in defense contracting piqued her interest while she interned at the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research in Lynchburg her senior year.

 

Speaking by phone from her office at CAER recently, she said working there led her to consider companies such as airplane maker Boeing or Babcock & Wilcox, which makes nuclear components for the Navy. Then the opportunity to work in intelligence popped up at a job fair.

 

"I knew I wanted to do defense work," Guyer said. "I've always had a lot of respect for people who give up part of their lives in military service. Guess I'm too much of a sissy to do that, but giving back in this way is the next best thing."

 

The CAER internship helped her know how to get things done as well as what she wanted to do, especially interacting with numerous government agencies. She learned "things that only an internship can help you with," Guyer said.

 

Read on for a sampling of the Class of 2009's plans at the time of graduation:

 

• Rebecca Adams will be studying chemistry at the University of Maryland.
• Megan Behrle will pursue a master's in international social change at Clark University.
• Katherine Bird will study communications at the University of Maryland.
• Carolanne Bonanno will be at Northern Virginia Community College working on a historical preservation certificate.
• Amanda Bradley has a position in event planning at Oak Ridge Estate in Nelson County.
• Emily Brown will join Uprooted Dance, a Washington, D.C., contemporary dance company.
• Paige Cantfil, a December graduate, works at the Close Up Foundation in Washington and will go to nursing school at Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall.
• Pia Cho has a job at the International Monetary Fund.
• Petra Dacheva will be an associate economist at Welch Consulting.
• Julie Dandridge will study in Germany this summer.
• Ann Dowdy has taken part-time work at a fitness center while she looks for permanent employment.
• Jessica Echols is starting her own cosmetology business.
• Logan Fitzgerald will be an analytical chemist at Fleet Pharmaceuticals in Lynchburg.
• Sarah Goldstein will be working as a pre-school director at Rainbow Station in Richmond.
• Audrey Hogan will be working on her Master of Science in Library and Information Science at Kent State University
• Kaelyn Leake will be studying bioinformatics at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
• Reda Masincup will be a part-time guide at Luray Caverns as she looks for full-time employment.
• Doreen McVeigh will study conservation marine biology at Hood College.
• Bethany Melendy will study Arabic language in Amman, Jordan.
• Stephanie Nance will study physics and chemistry at New Mexico Tech.
• Margaret Nicholson will be a nanny for a German-American family.
• Julia Patt will be working on a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Florida State University.
• Brittany Patterson will be a museum educator at Amazement Square in Lynchburg.
• Jessica Pisciotta will be "teaching for America" in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
• Sara Rothamel will be a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biology technician.
• Lara Salyer will be interning with a public health advocacy organization.
• Caroline Sapp will be at St. Andrews University studying international security.
• Elizabeth Schell will be working on a graduate degree in history at the University of West Florida.
• Kimberly Shrader will be working with AmeriCorps VISTA in Washington.
• Sarah Smiley has been accepted to study graduate engineering at Dartmouth, the College of William and Mary and the University of Vermont.
• Rachel Sullivan plans to strengthen her accounting skills at the Vanderbilt University Summer Business Institute.