Life After Mac: Real stories of alumni finding their way — Samuel
Every autumn I bring out my McMaster University sweater. Incredibly, it’s in decent shape since buying it my first year of university. More surprisingly, it still fits me, as I turned 40 this year.
There’s nothing particularly special about the sweatshirt. It’s a light, subtle grey. The crest in an understated maroon. But, when I take it out, my memories of university and my life after Mac are vivid.
My journey has not been a straight line. Graduating with a degree in Comparative Literature, I knew I wanted to end up as a writer. How? I wasn’t sure. When? I wasn’t overly concerned. First, I needed to learn more about myself. I wanted to visit other countries and live in other parts of Canada. Along a path in Vancouver, I was firm on staying there forever. Setting roots. Never looking back. Until I met a Torontonian in Vancouver. But that’s another story, for another day. She too has a Mac sweater, by the way.
Back to my sweatshirt. It has traveled with me across Asia while I was posted as an ESL teacher and recruiter in South Korea. It made appearances for a dozen years in Vancouver when the rain descended for months on end. It kept me warm in Halifax, while I completed a degree in Journalism. It served as an essential layer during the enduring winters in Edmonton, when my wife took us there for two marvelous years. Now, with our roots firmly planted in Toronto, it makes its debut every autumn, and fits prominently within my winter wardrobe rotation.
During my stint as an ESL teacher, the sweatshirt served as a talking point with students, fellow teachers, and while out dining or drinking. It was an icebreaker, where I found myself talking about my life after Mac.
As a journalist I’ve had the pleasure of working at community publications across Canada, and then onto a path into the non-profit world working in community engagement.
Throughout these career-journeys that splintered into different paths of their own, the sweatshirt came along for the ride. Not from any grand intention, or purpose, just habitually, and…well…because it’s a well-made cotton sweatshirt that can be matched with just about any pair of pants.
Its versatility has come to represent the many career turns I intentionally, and unintentionally took. There are visible signs of wear on the sweatshirt, as they are markings in my life. Both the sweatshirt and my career are very much intact, though. All markings are distinguished. They have a story attributed to them. They make up the whole of my life on one piece of nondescript fabric.
My advice to students when it comes to thinking about their career is that you, your experience at Mac, and your life after Mac should be versatile, just like a sweater. Having a vision and an end goal are important, so you should be open to the possibilities that sometimes your career will take a few twists and turns before you reach your final destination.
At CBC/Radio-Canada I now find myself in that writer’s role that was just a nebulous thought in Hamilton, 20 years ago. How I got here has many stories, and I have my sweatshirt to tell the tales.
Samuel Ramos
B.A. English ’06
The Office of Alumni Engagement will be featuring recent grad’s career stories to show career paths are anything but linear. If you graduated in the last 10 years and are interested, share your story.
If you are looking to get started on your own journey, take advantage of the resources available to recent graduates through our partnership with the Student Success Centre.
