WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Some 600 newly minted
graduates of the Class of 2000 will leave Wellesley
College this weekend with liberal arts degrees in hand
ready to put their educations to work. But the diversity
of their backgrounds and their choice of career paths may
surprise you:
- an economics and international relations major
from Albania who will enter the fray of investment
banking in New York City;
- the eldest daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos
&emdash; who is the first in her extended family to
graduate from college &emdash; will join a
multi-national firm in Houston, Texas, as a business
analyst in telecommunications;
- an English major, education minor has opted to
become an analyst consultant for a Boston-based
dot.com start-up rather than the high school English
teacher for which the Philadelphia native was
trained.
Rudina Seseri: What the 15-year-old student in
Tirana, Albania, took as a casual conversation became
reality less than three months later when she qualified
for a scholarship to attend high school in Baton Rouge.
"I was all by myself in a foreign country and I used to
call home everyday during my country's civil war," says
Seseri.
Fluent in English, Turkish, Italian, Albanian, Spanish
and now learning French, Seseri can envision using her
skills as a diplomat later in life, but for now, she
wants some experience in the private sector. An economics
and international relations double major at Wellesley,
she interned at Goldman Sachs last summer and will return
to New York as a full-time investment banking
professional for Credit Suisse First Boston after
graduation on May 26.
Mog Chu-Yang-Heu: In 1976, the Vietnam War forced
Mog's family into a refugee camp before they were able to
resettle first in France, later in California, and
finally in St. Paul. The oldest of five siblings, Mog not
only excelled academically (she graduated Valedictorian
from Como Park Senior High School), but also was involved
in dozens of clubs and participated in the Miss Minnesota
pageant her senior year. When asked during the pageant
what she'd like to be in 10 years, she said without
hesitation, "I will be a business woman." This is a goal
she's worked steadily toward at Wellesley where she has
double-majored in economics and international relations
while juggling a slew of part-time jobs.
"Being at Wellesley was not as much about being at
school as it has been about growing up and figuring out a
way of life," she says. After a month home with her
family in June, she'll begin her new job as a business
analyst for Enron, a multi-national energy firm based in
Houston, Texas. In time, she envisions going back to
school to earn an MBA.
Brandice Burton: A Philadelphia native and
self-described "big talker," Brandice spent this past
semester student-teaching high school English &emdash;
and loved it as her friends and family have always told
her she would. But today's graduates, even those who
major in English and minor in education as Brandice has,
are not confined to traditional career choices.
Brandice said she "cast a wide net" when it came to
her job search and didn't rule out high tech and the new
economy. This summer, she'll start work as an analyst
consultant for C-bridge Internet Solutions in Cambridge,
Mass., helping assess clients' computer system needs. As
Brandice puts it, "I may return to education later in
life, but right now I'm young, energetic, and have
student loans to pay!"
To arrange an interview with these or other
outstanding members of Wellesley College's Class of 2000,
please call Betsy Lawson, Office for Public Information,
at (781) 283-3321.
Wellesley College is a prominent liberal arts college
and has been a leader in the education of women for
nearly 125 years. The College's 500-acre campus near
Boston is home to about 2,300 undergraduate students,
close to 600 of whom will graduate in the May ceremonies.
Wellesley's distinguished alumnae include First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine K.
Albright, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and journalists Cokie
Roberts, Lynn Sherr, and Linda Wertheimer.
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