{"id":33044,"date":"2024-03-18T11:13:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=33044"},"modified":"2024-03-18T11:13:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:13:41","slug":"esaki-smith-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/esaki-smith-college\/","title":{"rendered":"What My Winding Career Path Taught Me About College"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">I struggled with what to do after graduation\u2014but in our data-heavy landscape, today\u2019s students are much more empowered<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Anna Esaki-Smith \u201983<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">During my senior year, I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do after I graduated. I had majored in Asian studies, largely because I had taken a lot of Japanese language classes and needed a way for all those credits to count. I told people who asked about my future that I wanted an international career; that sounded legit, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before graduation, my roommates and I plastered the walls of our Cayuga Heights apartment with the many \u201cding\u201d letters we received from companies that didn\u2019t want to hire us.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Anna Esaki-Smith\" class=\"wp-image-33042 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-1264x1580.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-632x790.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-316x395.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-280x350.jpg 280w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-140x175.jpg 140w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-70x87.jpg 70w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-400x500.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-200x250.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A-100x125.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/esaki-smith-author-photo-color-cropped-A.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I racked up my fair share\u2014from banks to magazines to consumer goods companies\u2014as I cast a wide net to find an employer that might see something in me and my degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I even wrote to the manager of the English rock band The Police when I heard they were planning a tour in Japan, offering my vague services as an on-the-ground coordinator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite incredibly, the manager wrote a kind letter back, informing the na\u00efve, soon-to-be Cornell graduate that they had already hired someone who could help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Homer Simpson would say: <em>D\u2019oh!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Anna Esaki-Smith in Japan during a college summer.\" class=\"wp-image-33043 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-768x961.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-1228x1536.jpg 1228w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-1264x1580.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-632x790.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-316x395.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-280x350.jpg 280w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-140x175.jpg 140w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-70x87.jpg 70w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-400x500.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-200x250.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A-100x125.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/summer-study-abroad-in-tokyo-A.jpg 1279w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><figcaption>In Japan during a college summer program.<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Yes, Cornell provided me with a truly fantastic and formative college experience, one that I treasure to this very day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But with today\u2019s tech-disrupted economy, it matters less if you went to an Ivy League school than bringing specific skills and knowledge to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being innovative and unafraid to fail are big pluses, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While a university\u2019s brand and global ranking are still a powerful draw, elite institutions are no longer the sole gatekeepers to a graduate\u2019s ability to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But nowadays, high school students feel more pressure to know what they want to do before even starting college than I did when I was about to graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With high tuition fees, there is little time\u2014or money\u2014to \u201cfind yourself\u201d during your four undergraduate years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I were starting college now, maybe all those hours I spent throwing a Frisbee with friends at the old \u201cDust Bowl\u201d on West Campus would have been spent Googling careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>If I were starting college now, maybe all those hours I spent throwing a Frisbee with friends at the old &#8216;Dust Bowl&#8217; on West Campus would have been spent Googling careers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I eventually did find my way, but not before stumbling a bit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a few jobs here and there, I got a master\u2019s in journalism at Columbia and became a foreign correspondent with Reuters in Tokyo. Hooray, Asian studies degree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My less-than-linear career trajectory inspired me to write my book about navigating the college admissions landscape: <a href=\"https:\/\/rowman.com\/ISBN\/9781538184110\/Make-College-Your-Superpower-It's-Not-Where-You-Go-It's-What-You-Know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Make College Your Superpower: It\u2019s Not Where You Go, It\u2019s What You Know<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>aims to support students in what\u2019s become an anxiety-ridden application process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>I was in many ways lucky. But students today don\u2019t need to rely on luck as much in terms of taking those initial post-graduation steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, there is a lot of data students can tap when deciding where to go to university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They have a wider variety of ways to get an education, and they can readily see the projected salaries for various majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Georgetown\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cew.georgetown.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Center on Education and the Workforce<\/a> ranks 4,500 colleges based on their return on investment, and even offers that rating from the perspective of low-income students. It examines the economic value of business, journalism, and communications programs, too.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"773\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A.jpg\" alt=\"The cover of &quot;Make College Your Superpower&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-33041 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A-255x395.jpg 255w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A-323x500.jpg 323w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A-162x250.jpg 162w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/college-superpower-book-cover-A-81x125.jpg 81w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I still have some of those \u201cding\u201d letters, which at this point are about as parched and worn as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Maybe today\u2019s university graduates, hopefully a bit more focused than I was, are getting fewer of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Anna Esaki-Smith \u201983<\/em><\/strong><em> co-founded the research consultancy Education Rethink and helps universities and edtech companies with their internationalization strategies. She&#8217;s also a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/annaesakismith\/?sh=24be05226dc6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>contributor to <\/em>Forbes<\/a><em>, writing about higher education. After many years living and working overseas, she resides in Westchester County, NY\u2014and, happily, was able to attend her 40th Reunion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(All images provided.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published March 18, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I struggled with what to do after graduation\u2014but in our data-heavy landscape, today\u2019s students are much more empowered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":33040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[639],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-33044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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