Thesis proposals are in, and job interviews are on the horizon. As you return to campus for the winter term, is there much to look forward to? I’m sure you hear, almost daily, forecasts of doom for today’s college graduates looking to join the work force. Sure, that applies to the investment bankers and future stockbrokers, but there’s got to be work for do-gooders with a Dartmouth degree-right?

For one, we’re overwhelmed with problems that need serious attention. National forests are finding their way into office paper; kids are turning on each other with guns; it seems that nobody is getting enough medical coverage, and the cure to fatal diseases like AIDS eludes us still.

Even if you’re committed enough to work on these issues, and to forgo the signing bonuses of working with large corporations-you’ve still got to find someone to hire you. The economy today isn’t too rosy right now for people your age. While the rest of the country has been hit pretty hard, unemployment is higher among younger workers than in any other group.

To top it off, the impression that employers have of the 20-34 year old hiring pool is not completely favorable. In October, the New York Times ran an article describing young job searchers as esentially ’self-centered’ in their approach to finding work.

Ready to throw in the towel yet? You don’t need to look far for the worst-case scenario, but from where I sit, the outlook isn’t all doom and gloom.

As the Assistant Recruitment Director of Green Corps, I read almost 800 applications each year, and I speak with hundreds of college seniors interested in non-profit work. I encounter a spectrum of do-gooders, activists, and idealistic members of Generation Y. The good news is that you’re the most talented, savvy, and enlightened group of people out there.

More good news-there is a surplus of organizations out there looking to hire talented college graduates. And people that give to environmental organizations definitely know that it’s an important time to donate to charitable causes. What the environmental, non-profit, social change, and human rights movements need right now is trained leaders ready to go out and change the world.

Throughout history, college students have led the campaigns and movements that brought civil rights to a segregated nation, that brought down apartheid in South Africa, that have changed the practices of polluting corporations, and that have begun to end sweatshop labor across the world. Right now, Generation Y is needed more than ever.

To some, the call to these noble pursuits is not nearly as loud as the din of midterms, finals, performances, and end-of the term chaos. To others, the paralyzing number of paths to take after graduation makes procrastination an attractive option.

But, as one famous alumnus said, “You’ve got brains in your head, and shoes on your feet”. So, it’s time go ahead and make a difference. College graduates, like you in many ways, are charging ahead-starting organizations and sharking things up. The brains behind the 2004 electoral campaigns are mostly under 30. The brains behind MoveOn.org is under 30. The leaders of campus divestment organizations across the country are definitely under 30.

Finding your place in a social movement can start as early as now. Dartmouth provides resources and networks of alumni for your benefit. Check out idealist.org. Figure out what kind of job would make you happy, and then find out if you can get hired to do it. If you can’t, find out what you need first. If it’s training or experience-there are employers out there (like Green Corps) that will pay you AND give you the training you need. There are internships that won’t pay you, but will help you figure out what jobs are right and which ones are wrong. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and have an open mind.

My biggest piece of advice-make the difference that you want to see in the world. You’ll find that caring about your job, and actually looking forward to it every day, is worth more than any other type of compensation.

Jenna Perry ‘01 majored in Environmental Studies and Earth Sci¬ences. She can be reached in Boston at 617-426-8506, or by blitz at jjp@alum.dartmouth.org.