FRONTLINES The value of a Loyola degree
EVERYDAY ETHICS AL GINI
The perils of ambition
A
lthough 2016 is a presidential election year, candidates for arguably the most important elected leadership position
in the world started actively campaigning as early as 2013. At one point—if I can keep all the names and numbers straight—there were 14 Republicans and six Democrats seeking their party’s nomination. But the question for me is both a practical and philosophical one: Why would anyone want the job? America has a staggering array of eco-
nomic, political, and social problems. The state of international politics and finances is confusing and ever-changing. And the world faces emerging problems like global warming, overpopulation, and terrorism. Why would anyone want to spend four, or possibly eight, years trying to address these problems? Candidates on both sides of the aisle share
one common attribute: ambition. Our job as voters is to try to figure out how each candi- date views and defines ambition. Ambition in leadership can be a virtue or a
vice, a driving force or a destructive preoc- cupation. It can result in enthusiasm and efficiency or in self-indulgence and selfish- ness. And, to add insult to injury, misfocused ambition can easily degenerate into obsessive arrogance. Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero distrusted and disliked the young Julius Caesar because he thought Caesar’s ambition for power was too crude and personal. Cicero believed Caesar did not just wish to rule Rome but that Caesar wanted to be Rome. True political ambition should manifest
itself in wanting to develop one's talents not in the service of self but in the service of others. Great leaders always put the organiza- tion’s success ahead of their own. Leadership is never about the leader—the first and final job of a leader is to serve the needs and the well-being of the people they lead. Authentic power is about service, duty, and
responsibility. True leaders don’t ask, “What do I want to do?” They ask, “What needs to be done?”
New research shows many Loyola graduates are quick to find employment after—or in some cases even before—earning their degree. A unique study*, done in partnership with the State of Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), used payroll records to track the employment status of Loyola alumni. The results provide a more accurate picture of employment outcomes than similar studies, which generally rely on unverifiable self-reporting and have an average national response rate of only 14 percent.
Among the findings for Loyola graduates were:
EMPLOYED BEFORE GRADUATION
44% 88%
EMPLOYED THREE MONTHS AFTER GRADUATION
98%
EITHER EMPLOYED OR PURSUING A GRADUATE EDUCATION AFTER THREE MONTHS
33.7%
INCOME INCREASE IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER GRADUATION, COMPARED TO A 3.7% ILLINOIS AVERAGE
ANGELA CHRISTIDES Although she first arrived at Loyola with
plans to study biophysics, Angela Christides (BS ’15) found that her true calling was teach- ing. Christides graduated from the School of Education and now teaches math and science to sixth graders at Edgebrook Elementary on Chicago’s Northwest Side. “When I was hired, they told me they don’t hire first-year teachers,” she says. “But because of my expe- rience with Loyola and [its full-year student- teaching] program, they hired me, which was exciting, but also intimidating.”
VANNESSA BROWN Vannessa Brown (BA ’12) came to Loyola’s
School of Continuing and Professional Studies to major in management, and her degree land- ed her a job as vice president of business op- erations at GForce Staffing Services. “Loyola’s real-world education and transferrable skills are embedded in every fiber of my role at GForce,” she says. “Had I not moved forward with my education and experienced firsthand the outcomes of obtaining an undergraduate degree, I may not have received many of the opportunities afforded to me today.”
* About the study: Actual payroll records of Loyola’s 2004, 2005, and 2006 entering freshmen cohorts, who gradu- ated 4-6 years after entry, were matched with the Illinois payroll database for a two-year period. Although limited to employment in Illinois, Loyola recent graduates matched 70 percent with Illinois payroll records. Assuming additional matches were possible with other states (particularly for graduates who entered Loyola with out-of-state residency and returned to their home state), the overall match rate can be estimated at 88 percent. The remaining 12 percent represent graduates who are unemployed, pursuing further education, self-employed, or not seeking employment.
10 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
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