Graphic by Michael Batkin
ATHENS, GA – Recent graduates of Tufts University, Lauren Smith, Dylan Friedman, and Sonya Terrence, have decided to go where no Tufts student has gone before… a job. Guided by Goals, God, and Jumbo, this trio of English majors, with equally irrelevant minors, were selected for an emerging program through the Tufts Gordon Institute.
“This is the first time we’ve tried anything like this,” wrote program director Eliane Jacobs. “The Student Entrepreneurial eXperience Service (SEXS) will provide students with first hand job experience, something that the pure, overworked souls of Tufts students have always dreamed of.”
Tufts grads are notoriously challenged when it comes to employment. Since the school’s founding in 1852, less than 1% of graduates have received job offers. Even then, only 0.01% have retained those jobs three months after hire. The SEXS program allows graduates to get up close and personal with work. “We want SEXS to help graduates perform and last in any position,” Jacobs remarked. “Interestingly, we’ve noticed that students assigned male at birth have a harder time lasting.”
What’s Jacobs’ solution to Tufts students’ premature firing rate? Putting graduates in professional settings… covertly. “You think an English major is ready to be monitored in an office? They’ve spent the last four years learning a language they already knew. These graduates need to be slowly inserted into the workplace,” Jacobs announced during a meeting with the Tufts Board of Directors. The SEXS program places students into professional settings to complete behind-the-scenes work that most neglect.
“I honestly feel empowered, like I could blow job interviewers away,” shares Terrence, who has spent the last four weeks with the program. Friedman also emphasized the new networking opportunities he found in the program. “So many options open up when you know how to handle the closeted parts of a business.”
Through this foundation, Jacobs and the Gordon Institute hope to prepare Tufts students for a brighter and more employable future. This weekend, the graduates will celebrate all their hard work with a party. Concerning the end of the program, Jacobs said, “We’re ecstatic with how the students have performed and we want to celebrate the job’s completion. We hope they’re satisfied with all they’ve done and want to give them something sweet to finish with.”
