Around this time last year, Gavin Aitken was finishing a summer working as a Flashguide, introducing first-year students to Kent State as he entered his own senior year. 

Aitken’s senior year was a balancing act. He was finishing a bachelor of arts in applied communication studies and a minor in public relations. He was making spreadsheets, trying to decide on a graduate program. 

All the while, Aitken worked as a student success intern, a student leadership consultant in the Leadership Center, the senator for off-campus and commuter students in Undergraduate Student Government, a University College ambassador, a student success leader and a trainer for Peer Leadership Training Course. 

With a life this busy, Aitken said it was most helpful to have priorities within his to-do list and give himself grace to take his time when figuring out life post-graduation.

“It really takes time and energy and really taking your time to figure out the things that you do want,” he said. “And understanding that something that you want right now – is it something that you might actually either need or something that you want six months from now?”

Shaunte Rouse finished her undergraduate degree in 2006. Although she graduated with a music degree, she knew what she wanted to do 60 years from then.

“When I was a senior, I did think I was going to literally die teaching a class … like, that’s how I’m gonna die,” Rouse said. “It’s gonna be this old lady who is 93 years old, and there’s just her TAs that are wheeling her into the lecture room.”

“I didn’t realize it until this moment: ‘Oh, this is why I’m getting my PhD, so I can be that old lady,’” she added.

Rouse has continued to work in higher education since then, sticking to her passions. Rouse is the academic director and assistant director of academic diversity outreach for Kent State’s College of Public Health, where she’s been for eight years. She’s been advising students, all while continuing her education. 

“If you lean into what your passions are, it typically works well, right? Because it’s the thing that you want to grind for,” she said.

In 2021, Rouse won the annual award given to an outstanding advisor by the Kent Academic Support and Advising Association. The students she advises nominated her in 2017, and she won four years later. Now, she’s finishing her Ph.D. at Kent State, working on a dissertation about making meaningful connections during educational experiences.

Having worked with seniors, she had several pieces of advice. First, Rouse focused on wellness.

“Having a counselor is important,” she said. “Going through a major transition of life and decision making, and having a mental health counselor or working with a mental health professional, I feel like it’s critical.” 

The first time Rouse saw a therapist was her senior year, which she said was crucial as she was thinking about her future.

There are a few big questions, Rouse said she had asked herself as a college senior: Where do I want to live? What job do I want? 

Both Rouse and Aitken suggested starting the process of job searching early. 

“I did spend a lot of time doing research, visiting schools, doing things like that,” Aitken said. “Going into my senior year, that was really the mindset that I had. I knew that I needed to be proactive because application season starts like mid fall semester.

“I knew that I was going to be busy so I wanted to do as much prep as I could.”

Aitken echoed Rouse’s advice to prioritize mental health and wellness during the “wild ride” of his last year. Although he spent time mentoring others, he recognized his need to have someone to support him as well.

“The one person who I always found myself going to was Jessica Roshak,” he said. “What I loved about my experiences with her is she checked in on me as a person, and then as a student, and then as a student leader. And then, as someone like a supervisor.” 

Roshak is the assistant director for leadership development in the Leadership Center, and she was Aitken’s supervisor.  

After graduation, Aitken immediately started as an interim advisor for Kent’s College of Arts and Sciences. Next, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is working as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Tennesee’s Jones Center for Leadership and Service. 

There, he will work with undergraduate juniors and seniors, called Knoxville leadership scholars. Aitken said the goal of the program was to connect students to the community, so they stay in Knoxville and give back. 

Now that he is mentoring seniors after his own undergraduate career ended, Aitken has more perspective on what he needed to hear as a senior in college. 

“Enjoy it,” he said. “And really live in whatever emotions you’re feeling: the excitement, sort of the melancholy feeling of like, this is really, really nice, but it’s also bittersweet.” 

Sophie Young is a contributor. 

Contact her at [email protected].