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by Jennifer Randolph '00 Right now a fourth of campus is certainly thinking about the future; probably more. Senior year most people are in a state somewhere between turmoil and despair. In the end we will choose to spend our considerable energies and talents somewhere, whether it be grad school in biology or a career in investment. I have a friend who is working out east right now on a rather unusual environmental campaign. She talks to top college grads about choosing not to work for the country's worst-polluting companies. She reminds them that though we are each one person, the choices we make are important and powerful: to recruiting companies, to people our work affects in any number of ways, to our sense of ourselves. Whatever our interests, and whatever our fields, we must remember that we are more than the position we take on. This seems obvious, but I am always surprised at how easy it is to follow the "culture" and/or bureaucratic guidelines of any specific place. But it is crucial that we continue to follow our conscience and the lessons we have learned. Some of these lessons we learned at St. Olaf, or perhaps on abroad programs: how rich we really are, the importance of community, the aching necessity of helping others. We can take our consciences to work with us, and onto the job market as well. What if biotech labs that pollute millions of tons of chemicals into our groundwater could not attract the scientific minds they need to profit unless they cleaned up their act? Or, later, what if engineers refused to design weapons that target civilians or have lasting health effects? There are so many issues of conscience that can be bureaucratized away: the poor couple who can't get health insurance, the small business intentionally driven into bankruptcy, the frantic woman in the waiting room. How easy it can be to follow the "easy way;" often it takes a special effort or even a bending of corporate policy to do the right thing. Those situations are all around us, however, and going that moral extra mile can make a real difference in someone's life. Life offers many opportunities to do good. Let's not forget the power of our purchasing, of our words, of our parenting (eventually- maybe). And, right now, let's not forget that what we choose to do and how we choose to do it has long-lasting and far-reaching effects on our world.
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