What Can I Do After St. John’s?
 

How is Math a Recreational Activity?

How does St. John’s prepare me for my future?

 

St. John’s students read, think, and converse across all subjects. Rather than train for a specific occupation, they establish a broad intellectual foundation and build a set of powerful analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills that enable them to continue learning, questioning, challenging, and adapting throughout their lives.

The resulting mindset—curious, critical, flexible, and disciplined—is highly attractive to employers hoping to hire people who will be capable and competitive in today’s complex, unpredictable world.

What do St. John’s students do
after graduation?
St. John’s graduates have unlimited options. As a direct result of their broad intellectual experience, they possess the confidence, versatility, and skills to go in any direction. A recent study of alumni destinations reveals that the top seven fields attracting St. John’s alumni are education; communication and the arts; business; law; computers, sciences, and mathematics; health professions; and social services.

Whatever career (or careers) they choose, St. John’s alumni have a demonstrated record of rapid advancement and a tendency to find themselves in positions of leadership.

A sampling of recent St. John’s alumni:
  • Sir Robert Burbridge ’05, Software/QA Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc., Durham, North Carolina
  • Mr. Nicholas Colten ’05, Special Assistant, United States Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C.
  • Mr. Torin Eastburn ’06, Equity Research Analyst, CJS Securities, New York, New York
  • Mr. Brian Jones ’06, Partner, Pettis & Jones, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Mr. Steven Maison ’06, Attorney, Jeffrey M. Jones, P.C., Salem, Oregon
  • Ms. Rosemary Masters ’07, Researcher, Manzanar History Association, Independence, California
  • Miss Elisabeth McClure ’08, Lab Manager/Project Lead, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Georgetown, Texas
  • Ms. Isabel Van Dyke ’08, Science Activities Coordinator, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, Ashland, Oregon
  • Ms. Molly Wright ’05, Marketing Director, Guadalupe Credit Union, Santa Fe, New Mexico
How can St. John’s help me get a job?

Both campuses offer a range of career services, which include individual counseling, workshops, and direct assistance with career planning, job search, and applications for graduate school or graduate fellowships.

St. John’s maintains an active alumni network, which enables current students to contact alumni for advice in planning for careers or graduate school. Both campuses offer extensive internship programs as a means of career exploration and preparation. Some recent internships include:

  • Tripp Androy ’09 had an internship in corporate law and franchising, with Dutch Bros. Coffee in Grants Pass, Oregon. He now is enrolled in Harvard’s 2+2 MBA program where he is working for two years with Dutch Bros., while completing two years of MBA classes.
  • Richard Blackmore ’11 assisted with translation of lyrics and writing of music for a Broadway production, working with songwriter Davitt Sigerson. He is continuing to collaborate on the show during his junior year at the college.
  • Caitlin Cass ’09 had two internships, in art education/illustration and printmaking. She now is pursuing an MFA in Illustration at SUNY-Buffalo.
  • Jacob Gibson ’09 had an internship in Los Angeles with The Mark Gordon Company, reading and critiquing scripts for television shows. He now is studying screen writing at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles.
  • Rose Goldberg ’06 had two internships, in prison outreach and press freedom. She is now working on a PhD in Public Policy at Columbia University.
  • Narges Khavazadeh ’09 had two internships, in outreach to teenage refugees and international human rights. She is currently working as paralegal in San Diego and applying to law schools for fall 2010.
  • Alexander Kwako ’10 had an internship in cancer research at City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital. This confirmed his desire to pursue science after graduating from St. John’s.
  • Laura Sook ’08 had an internship with the HIV Law Project in NYC.  She currently is in law school at Georgetown University.
How many St. John’s students go
to graduate school?
Many St. John’s graduates go directly on to advanced studies at leading universities across the country, and approximately three quarters pursue formal education beyond the baccaleaureate at some point in their lives.

St. John’s students and recent graduates regularly compete for—and receive—major national awards, such as the Gates Cambridge, Goldwater, Marshall, Mellon, Mitchell, Rhodes, Truman, Fulbright, and Rotary scholarships and fellowships. In addition, according to a National Science Foundation report, St. John’s College is among the top 75 U.S. colleges and universities for the percent of graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in science or engineering.

What follows is a sampling of doctoral and professional degrees earned (or in progress) by recent graduates. The list suggests the range of interests and abilities of our alumni, all of whom followed the same undergraduate curriculum at St. John’s.

A sampling of St. John’s alumni who have recently earned a Ph.D.:

  • Mr. Anton Barba-Kay ’04, Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago
  • Ms. Joan Crist ’91, Theology, University of Notre Dame
  • Ms. Rachel Dudik ’02, Physics, Astrophysics, George Mason University
  • Ms. Taffeta Elliot ’97, Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University,
  • Mr. Killian Garvey ’90, Psychology, University of Toledo
  • Mr. Johann Klaassen ’92, Philosophy, Washington University
  • Ms. Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman ’97, Clinical Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
  • Ms. Anne Schuchman ’92, Italian Literature, New York University

A sampling of St. John’s alumni who have recently completed professional degrees:

  • Ms. Amelia Adams ’02, MD, Washington University School of Medicine
  • Ms. Hannah Stires Ard ’92, JD, Harvard University
  • Mr. Daniel Birk ’00, MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Ms. Elizabeth Buchen ’96, MD, University of New Mexico
  • Mr. Jason Bielagus ’98, JD, Suffolk University
  • Mr. Louis Kovacs ’01, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
  • Mr. Steven Denny Maison ’06, JD, Willamette University
  • Mr. Salvatore Scibona ’97, MFA, University of Iowa
  • Ms. Talley Scroggs ’01, MBA, Towson University/University of Baltimore; JD, University of Maryland
  • Ms. Amy Stout ’93, MLIS, University of Texas at Austin
  • Mr. Nathan Suma ’99, MBA, Ohio State University
  • Mr. Juan Villaseñor ’97, JD, Vanderbilt University

A sampling of recent St. John’s alumni with doctoral and professional degrees in progress:

  • Mr. Tripp Androy ’09, MBA, Harvard University
  • Mr. Alek Chance ’02, Ph.D. in Political Science, Boston College
  • Ms. Jennifer Chrien ’08, M.Div., Lutheran Theological Seminary
  • Ms. Enjoli Cooke ’04, Doctor of Optometry, Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University
  • Mr. Joao Fernandes ’09, JD, University of Chicago School of Law
  • Mr. Martin Gaudinski ’04, MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine
  • Ms. Consuelo Garcia ’08, JD, University of New Mexico School of Law
  • Ms. Rose Goldberg ’06, Ph.D. in Public Policy, Columbia University
  • Ms. Stacey Goguen ’08, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Boston University
  • Mr. David Lapides ’06, MD, University of Maryland
  • Ms. Brenna McMahon ’04, Ph.D. in Political Theory, Boston College
  • Ms. Amy Taylor ’05, Ph.D. in Psychology, Duquesne University
  • Mr. Brandon Winston ’09, JD, Harvard Law School

 Sarah Stites ’10

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri

Extracurriculars: Acting in and directing plays, visual arts, and participating in the Annapolis theater community

Plans: Performing arts
  

How does St. John's prepare me for my future? I have had opportunities here at St. John’s that I wouldn’t have gotten if I went to a theater conservatory. At St. John’s, students run the theater program. Here, I am directing productions for our theater troupe, the King William Players. The drama program is run entirely by students, and anyone can propose or direct a play. I’m a creative person, and when I was in high school, I felt stifled and unhappy because there was always a right or wrong answer.

 

My parents were very supportive of my decision to leave high school early to attend St. John’s, and they could see that this was really the right choice for me. I had no idea how to really read before I came to the college. You can read and get the gist of a work, but especially with philosophy, you have to read carefully to hold your own in seminar. I look back at my 17-year-old self and I don’t recognize her. I have a more measured view of the world now.