<aduating class of 2003, almost 3.65 percent of students went into “Public Service.” More students went into public service that year than into fields like “Legal,” “Research and Development” or even “Health Care” (Carleton Senior Survey, 2003) Since 2003 that statistic has hovered just above 1.5 percent but the number of alums working at non-profits in the cities is staggering still today.
Last Monday, midterm break, this spring’s “Ethics of Service” class culminated in a trip to the cities to visit local Minneapolis/St. Paul nonprofits. Ethics of Service was a five-week course taught by Jamie Monson in the History Department and co-taught by the Assistant Director of ACT, Amber Cameron and College Chaplain, Carolyn Fure-Slocum. The trip was organized around conversations with six different nonprofits throughout the day, five of which are headed by Carleton Alums.
The day began with a visit to the Center for Victims of Torture where current Carleton students discussed the way that a passion can manifest itself into a career with Director of Development, Peter Dross ’79. Libbie Weimer ’10, a student who took the Ethics of Service class, spoke of the experience: “It is fascinating to see Carleton alums applying certain aspects of Carleton ethics in their lives after they leave school.”
The class then took a whirlwind tour of Midtown Global Market, talking with the Organizing Director of the United Food and Commercial Workers as well as an alum from the Neighborhood Development Center. Then finally on to question and answer sessions with Admission Possible, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and the Wellstone Action Center.
The day was incredibly important for the Ethics class that had spent 5 weeks debating on a theoretical level about ethical questions regarding the service profession. The students who attended the trip got to see ethics on a realistic level. “Service professionals think about these issues every day,” Libbie notes, “This was affirmation of all the things that we have been talking about.”
“Ethics of Service” ended last week but what these students learned was more than just the ethical issues regarding service to your community. What they found is that there are an incredible range of ways to find your occupational calling through public service.
-Ariel VandeVoorde is a third year student
