Higher education exposes one to previously unexplored ideas, opening new worlds of inquiry and information to make students — those pursuing a four-year degree and those earning master’s degrees and doctorates — well-rounded, lifelong learners with a hunger and respect for knowledge.
Nicollette Petersen, striding toward her future
But education should also lead to rewarding jobs and fulfilling careers. And a Lesley education does.
The 2015 employment rate of undergraduate degree-holders is 92 percent, while those who completed Lesley’s graduate programs show an employment rate of 95 percent. The figures are based on surveys conducted 6-10 months after graduation.
Lesley alumni are working in a wide range of fields, including human services, education, business, and the arts.
“Honestly, I would not be where I am today without the help and support I got while at Lesley,” says Nicollette Petersen, a graphic designer and 2015 graduate of the Lesley University College of Art and Design.
“I was out of school one week before starting my first job, and now have only been out of school for one year and have already moved on to the company I’ve always dreamed of working at.”
Nicollette Petersen with her senior thesis project.
Petersen works as a junior designer for acquisitions at Rue La La, an “invitation-only” online store in Boston’s Seaport District. She said that, growing up, she wanted to be the creative director of a high-fashion magazine in New York, and would still like to be an art director in the fashion industry.
And she believes she’s on the right track.
“I love my job,” Petersen says. “My five-year goal is pretty simple: I want to work my butt off … and move up in this company. There are so many opportunities here and I can’t wait to see where my journey takes me here.”
Petersen’s experience as a “traditional” undergraduate reflects the story of others our Career Resource Center polled.
Undergraduate employment rates
The most recent survey of graduates of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences received a 71 percent response rate. We polled graduates who completed their programs in August 2014, November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015.
This survey showed:
• An employment rate of 96 percent.
• A five-year average employment rate for 2011-15 of 92 percent.
• Of graduates employed in new positions, 94 percent reported that their work is related to their career goals.
• The career outcome rate was 96 percent.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduate Emma Benard works as a residential counselor in a Vermont group home, and is focused on a career in mental health counseling, especially in the field of eating disorders or “any job focusing on veganism/animal rights.”
Emma Benard
Benard says she felt empowered and supported at Lesley, giving her the tools to pursue a career aligned with her personality and values.
“Lesley helped me on my career path by giving me a foundation of strength and belief in myself, and my own unique way of being with people,” she says.
Benard says her dream is to “start a recovery center based upon the healing nature of expressive arts and vegan living,” and believes Lesley “in an almost subconscious way encouraged me to be myself: empathetic, sensitive, loving and strong-willed.”
The most recent survey of graduates of the College of Art and Design received a 65 percent response rate. We polled graduates who completed their programs in August 2014, November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015. We surveyed the graduates via an online form and telephone calls.
Among the highlights:
• An employment rate of 87 percent.
• A five-year average employment rate for 2011-15 of 89 percent.
• Of graduates employed in new positions, 79 percent reported that their work is related to their career goals.
• The career outcome rate (percentage of graduates employed or enrolled in further education) was 88 percent.
Bachelor’s degree completion
Jennifer Turpin, a memory care director at an assisted living facility, oversees 32 residents and 40 associates. She is in charge of day-to-day operations as well as training associates in dementia topics, facilitating caregiver support, running a “Virtual Dementia Tour” and other tasks.
The road to her present career was occasionally bumpy. She had dropped out of a state university because the school wasn’t a good fit for her. The classes were too large, she believed, and the instructional style of lectures, tests and research papers failed to ignite her interest and passion.
Maura Mendoza performs for Somerville schoolchildren.
(Photo courtesy of Mario Quiroz)
“School was a chore,” at the state university, she said. “I, sadly, do not remember much of my time (there),” says Turpin. “Lesley was a great fit because of its smaller campus, smaller class sizes and that experiential learning was backed by research papers.
“Lesley was fun and I looked forward to each of my classes because they were engaging. I took away a great deal of knowledge that I am able to apply, not only in my job, but in my life.”
Turpin completed her bachelor’s degree in 2015 through our Center for the Adult Learner.
“I was about 10 years older than the (traditional) freshman at Lesley,” Turpin says. “I’ve heard experiences from friends who went to school when they were older and the frustrations that they had having to do group projects with younger students who weren’t taking school very seriously.
“I was hesitant to return because I did not want to have to supervise my peers in the group setting (but) the adult learner program gave me the flexibility I needed to continue to work full-time, go to school full-time and to try out a variety of classes.”
As it turns out, at Lesley she found her fellow students — including the younger undergraduates — were “highly motivated and accepting.”
“Based on my positive experience, I have encouraged others who were considering going back to school to look into Lesley,” she says, adding that one person has started the expressive arts therapy program Turpin graduated from and is happy with it.
Other adult learners are finding success in their chosen fields. The most recent survey of graduates of the Center for the Adult Learner, including graduates of on-campus, off-campus and online programs, received a 65 percent response rate. We polled graduates who completed their programs in August 2014, November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015.
The survey of adult learners indicated:
• An employment rate of 90 percent.
• A five-year average employment rate for 2011-15 of 87 percent.
• Of graduates employed in new positions, 76 percent reported that their work is related to their career goals.
• The career outcome rate was 92 percent.
Another LCAL graduate, Maura Mendoza, says she felt like Lesley was in her corner every step of the way, even when it turned out that not all of her undergraduate credits from a Cuban university were transferable. Mendoza, who continued at Lesley through a graduate program for Education in Community Arts, says her programs were “great companions along the way.”
Maura Mendoza belts out a tune.
Lesley helped the El Salvador-born Mendoza, a community artist, direct her background and training into an education career. She works as a multilingual family and community liaison for the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center in Somerville, and she hopes to continue working districtwide with English language learners.
“This is my dream job, to empower the immigrant community in our public school systems,” Mendoza says, adding that she wants to use the arts to help them make their voices heard. And she believes Lesley has always supported that dream.
“I never felt Lesley took time out of my work as, every time I came to classes, the content was related to what I was doing during working hours.
“Basically, I’m saying that my experience at Lesley has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”
Graduate programs
When we surveyed those earning advanced degrees from the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, we received responses from 66 percent of the graduates who completed their programs in August 2014, November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015.
This survey revealed:
• An employment rate of 91 percent.
• A five-year average employment rate for 2011-15 of 90 percent.
• Of those employed in new positions, 98 percent reported that their work is related to their career goals.
• The career outcome rate was 91 percent.
We also heard from 56 percent of those who emerged from the Graduate School of Education in August 2014, November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015.
This survey showed:
• An employment rate of 97 percent.
• A five-year average employment rate for 2011-15 of 96 percent.
• Of graduates employed in new positions, 99 percent reported that their work is related to their career goals.
• The career outcome rate was 97 percent