Connecticut. New Jersey. Massachusetts. New York. When people think of Fairfield students, these four states come to mind. Although numerous undergraduates hail from the Northeast, a recent study shows that Fairfield alumni are actually dispersed all over the world.
According to the office of Undergraduate Admissions, current Fairfield students represent 32 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and 45 countries. However, alumni of the University are far more widespread.
The November 2006 report, issued by the office of University Advancement, states that Fairfield alums reside in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 57 countries.
The most populated states for Fairfield graduates are, perhaps not surprisingly, Connecticut, with 17,018 alumni, and New York, with 5,638. However, Fairfield grads go as far as Alaska, with 14 alumni, and Hawaii, with 26 alumni.
Fairfield graduates even reside in such low-populated states as North Dakota, with three alumni, and Montana, with 12 alumni.
Worldwide, Fairfield graduates are most prevalent in Canada, with 38 alumni, and England, with 18 alumni. But members of the Fairfield community are on six continents, with graduates in such countries as El Salvador, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, the People’s Republic of China and West Africa.
Cathleen Borgman, director of Career Planning, said she gets many students requesting jobs outside the Northeast. While she has no exact statistics, she said “many students are looking to go across the country.”
In addition, “the number of students who are inquiring about years of service and jobs abroad are increasing,” she said.
Fairfield, through Fulbright Scholarships, study abroad, and service-learning projects, has long pushed for students to obtain a comprehensive national and global identity. Therefore, it is not surprising that students are willing to move far from home after graduation.
Approximately 40 percent of students at Fairfield study abroad in over 50 cities. For some, it has inspired within them the desire to pursue a post-graduate career across the world.
Aimee Trainor ’08, who spent her junior year in both Seville, Spain, and San Joaquin, Costa Rica, said her time abroad has made her seriously consider moving abroad after she graduates in May.
“Studying abroad made me realize that there are so many global opportunities,” she said. “I’m not sure if I will go back to Spain or Costa Rica after I graduate, but it is a possibility.”
And while studying abroad may inspire students to move overseas, programs such as the service-learning trips, which go to places such as rural Kentucky and New Orleans, as well as overseas, may also push students toward careers in service far from the Northeast.
Rev. Richard Ryscavage, director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, which coordinates the service-learning programs, said that such trips often inspire students to pursue worldwide service experiences.
“Service-learning trips are useful for giving students a very direct field experience on which to decide whether or not to seek out a [domestic] or international career in humanitarian services,” he said.
In addition, they give students the experience necessary to acquire positions at such organizations as Oxfam and Catholic Relief Services.
According to Ryscavage, the international service-learning trips are “important for anyone wishing to pursue a career in international business, international relations or international economics.”
Nicole Lessing ’08, who did two spring break service trips to Flatgap, Kentucky, agreed.
“Without a doubt, service trips inspire students to do post-graduation service,” she said. Of the group of seven students who participated in 2007, four are seriously considering spending the next year in Appalachia, according to Lessing.
Though the reasons may vary, it appears as though one thing remains the same: wherever you go, there will be a fellow Fairfield grad nearby.
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