Hitting Closer to Home

The past few weeks, reading all the summer postcards on this page from exotic locales got me to thinking. When summer hits like a gust of fresh air after the academic year ends, Harvard students scatter to all ends of the world to work at prestigious, high-powered jobs and internships. From Shanghai to Paris to New Delhi, they send back tales of wondrous sights and tremendous opportunities. The future politicians and policy analysts go down to Washington, D.C., to learn their way around Capitol Hill and the White House. Those interested in mergers and acquisitions find themselves plum positions with prominent Wall Street firms. The techies migrate towards Silicon Valley, visions of being the next Bill Gates, Class of 1977, dancing in their heads.

It seems almost an obligation for Harvard students to ruthlessly pursue this type of thing. Just after intersession, when I asked several people where they were thinking about working over the summer, most answered that they already had a job lined up. I was stunned. I quickly learned that, for the most selective positions, the application deadline most likely occurs before you take your first midterm in the fall semester.

When I listen to the stories of the immense experience and knowledge that everyone around me is gaining, I get really jealous. I can clearly see that I'm falling behind in the race to build the most impressive resum and meet the most helpful contacts. I also realize that I'm missing out on one of the few times that I have to experiment on my own for a summer.

However, it seems ironic that while most people my age try their best to hold onto their youth, Harvard students and their counterparts at other elite colleges are doing their damnedest to leave it behind. It seems that we can't grow up quickly enough. When students at other schools take advantage of the summer to return home and strengthen ties with old friends from high school, us Harvardians might drop in on Mom and Pop for a couple days before flying over to Europe to analyze the details of the latest Northern Ireland peace agreement. In the rush to enter the working world, many forget the world they are leaving behind.

I don't mean to give the impression that college students can, or should, stay kids forever--high school is over for all of us, to the chagrin of some and to the joy of others. Indeed, it is not the myriad internships and jobs themselves that are the culprits. They truly are great opportunities that help students learn more about the world and gain deeper insight into a specific field.

The problem, instead, is the other aspects of life that suffer when a student starts to prioritize ambition and advancement above family and friends. When students choose to throw themselves wholeheartedly into a job far from home, they may gain valuable experience, but there is a tradeoff--they lose the close interaction and involvement with family and friends that were the hallmark of their life before they came to college.

Of course, sooner or later everyone will set out on a more independent path. The demands of a family or career will inevitably force all of us from familiar haunts and into the uncharted waters of life. I certainly want to take advantage of the chance to spend some time in a place far from home, where I can experience things of which I have never dreamed. However, thus far, the price is too high for me. For these first few years at least, I am not yet willing to trade a summer with my aging grandmother and my irresponsible high school friends for a summer in a distant cubicle.

I can see my family growing up before my eyes--my little brother is almost as tall as me now. As a family, we rarely have enough time together as it is. Summer is one of the rare times when our perpetually busy schedules quiet down for a month or two, and we can take a trip down to Cape Cod or up to New Hampshire.

In the same vein, I am loath to leave behind the friends around whom I feel most comfortable--those whom I've known for years. The academic year provides too few opportunities to visit people at other schools, and so summer seems to be the only time to have barbeques and reminisce with high school buddies.

Before rushing off to the professional life that surely awaits me, I'd rather spend these summers in the only community I can truly call my own. There will be plenty of time later to construct a satisfying career.

So although I'm tempted by the allure of a summer job in a new place, I don't plan on rushing over to the Office of Career Services first thing in September. Call me scared, or even lazy, but so far the reasons to spend my summer with my family far outweigh my desire to move elsewhere.

I have a sneaking suspicion that, when I'm old and gray, I'm going to look back on these summers and think about exotic locales and prestigious positions. I bet I'll wonder what would have happened if I'd taken a different job offer or traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe instead of staying close to home. And then I'll settle back into my comfortable chair, glance out the window at the sunset, and heave a contented sigh of relief.

David M. DeBartolo '03, a Crimson editor, is a government concentrator in Lowell House. This summer, he's enjoying home-cooked meals and rooting for the Red Sox.