Graduation and deciding whether college is worth it?

By Dian Vujovich

Tis the season of graduations when thousands of young people will soon be throwing their caps into the air and getting out of high school. I remember that milestone day as if it were yesterday.

I also remember not having a clue why my parents wanted me to go to college. But I went. Learned later it was my mother’s idea: She was hoping I’d get an MRS. Degree.

Well, I didn’t do that. And I didn’t stay in the first college I attended very long. While there, however, I was rushed and became pledge class president of Pi Beta Phi sorority. But a year and a half later I hopped a plane and flew to Hawaii to live life in the sun.

Living on “The Rock” as it was called back then was a trip. The Viet Nam war was going on, guys were everywhere, the cost of living in Honolulu extremely high and young women pretty much discriminated against when it came to renting apartments.

In the nine months I lived there I learned about the cost of living, how puny paying jobs don’t get one very far and that living on an island in the middle of an ocean hours away from the mainland has its downsides. Oh, and that going to college might be a smart move even if I wasn’t 150 percent certain of what I wanted to earn a degree in.

I know that there will be many high school grads that don’t have an inkling about what they’d like to do with their lives. And that there are plenty of mom’s and dad’s willing to spend a fortune on a four-year education for their child knowing that their kid might not really be suited or ready for college immediately after high school.

For all of those folks I’d suggested thinking outside of the box. Colleges are not going away, nor are two-year institutions, trade schools, armed forces careers, etc.

Additionally, there are thousands of young people out there with talents whose futures don’t require a formal education and many with entrepreneurial spirits that will allow them the ability to carve out a unique path of their own.

So is college worth it right after high school? Maybe yes and maybe no. But one thing I’ve learned is that for those uncertain about what they’d like to do with their tomorrow’s, the world or work and travel can afford real-life experiences that could positively shape their futures.