Seniors Share Post-graduation Plans

by Ben Middendorf

The 2016 graduating seniors will be leaving Concordia and moving into their next stage of life in May, and some, including Adam Meirose, Rebecca Mueller and Mary Leising, already have plans for after graduation.

Meirose is an exercise science major with a minor in biology. In July he applied to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and was accepted in March.

“I tore both my ACLs in high school, so… working with physical therapists was kind of fun,” Meirose said. “Originally I wanted to be a radiologist, but I realized that was more for the money, while physical therapy was more for the service for others.”

Mueller, a biology major and chemistry minor, is also moving into the medical field. She will study at Union College in Lincoln to become a physician’s assistant.

According to Mueller, the average age of applicants for physician’s assistant programs is 25. At age 20, she was one of around 30 applicants accepted from more than 400.

“It’s more competitive than medical school right now,” Mueller said. “To be accepted is pretty cool. I’m proud of it.”

Leising will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and will move directly into the workforce with a position at McDermit & Miller in Hastings.

“When I originally came to Concordia, I was going into biblical languages and looking into Bible translation,” Leising said. “But I’ve always had interest in accounting, and it’s always been fun helping my sisters file their taxes. Having that opportunity to help people is very cool and very fulfilling.”

Finding a student’s area of inspiration and passion is one of Director of Career Development Corey Gray’s main goals. Gray has worked in Concordia’s career services office for five years.

“We do the basic career development stuff, in regards to resume reviews, cover letter reviews, mock interviewing,” Gray said. “We question kids a lot, we push them, we challenge them. (We ask): ‘are you sure you want to be a teacher?’ and you better tell me why, and you better tell me why not. Those kinds of things are very important to flesh out.”

“I had never written a resume or anything before, and job interviews I wasn’t too familiar with,” Leising said. “But (Gray) sat me down and gave me different resources and had me design it, and then (he’d) come in and give advice on what to change. He would do mock interviews with me, and he could be firm and scary if he wanted to, so then you had more of an idea of what to expect.”

“I think the best thing that (career services) does is they have you do an internship,” Meirose said. “In my internship, I learned a lot about the physical therapy career, but I also got to work with patients a lot more and got a lot more open in talking to more people.”

Meirose, Mueller and Leising said they are looking forward to starting this next phase of life, but they will miss Concordia’s emphasis on service and the opportunities on campus.

“The pre-med club has been a great opportunity. I’m an officer now, so that has helped with leadership skills,” Mueller said. “I’ve had a lot of really good friends, and the professors are so great. I just know them, so it’ll be really different going into a class and not knowing my classmates or my professor.

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is serving others,” Meirose said. “Over my four years I’ve definitely really enjoyed getting to know my professors and how they’re serving us as students. The community that we feel around the whole campus does a really good job of showing you how God wants us to be, that He wants us to serve others and to lead through serving.”