The majority of our alumni do the thing we want them to do – live good Catholic lives of virtue, living in the world, but not of the world, working in a variety of fields, helping to restore the culture and to make the world more Christ centered. And that is our biggest pride and joy, the fact that over 96% of our alumni are still practicing the Faith – that’s huge!

But when it comes to what they actually do, for work, this is how it plays out.

Approximately 60% of our alumni are women, and about 80-90% of them are married and working as stay-at-home mothers as their full-time jobs. Some have side hustles, others work part-time, while some work full-time, too.  Each to their own preference. But, in general, most of our female alumni are married and raising families as their first priority. Of the female alumni who are not married, they are working in a variety of fields: education, law, healthcare, religious education, business, finance, event planning, office administration, fire fighters, recruiters, sales, government, graphic arts, communication, editorial, military, and more.

The other 40% of our alumni are men, and most of them are also married and working in the world, outside the home. They are working in just about every field possible: Business, healthcare, IT, marketing, education, ministry, law, public policy, engineering, cyber security, law enforcement, military, finance, project management, and more.

All in all, our alumni “do life well” with their liberal arts degree from Christendom, living lives of virtues, fulfilling their vocations, working in their desired career fields, and daring to be great as they work to restore all things in Christ.

As a general answer, a Christendom education is beneficial to anyone interested in any field of work because of the overall well roundedness of our program. We educate our students, rather than train them. We believe that by giving our students a classical liberal arts education, they will be ready to meet all of the challenges that come their way upon graduation. In fact, we have seen this to be the case with our graduates. Our graduates are involved in many varied and different careers, from medicine to law, journalism to law enforcement, from owning their own businesses to working on Wall Street.

Now to address the specifics of the question: What does Christendom have to offer a person interested in entering the field of education upon graduation?

To begin with, a large percentage of our alumni have gone on to teach, mostly at the elementary and secondary levels. They teach at private Catholic schools, parochial schools, charter schools, and independent schools – none of which require our graduates to have a teaching degree or certification.  Some have chosen to pursue graduate school and teach at the college level, and in those cases, our graduates had to earn graduate degrees in order to be qualified. We have alumni teaching at Providence College, DeSales University,  University of Tulsa, University of Dallas, New York State University at Albany,  Carnegie Mellon, and elsewhere.

Through our core curriculum, through the study of history, philosophy, literature, theology, political science, math, and science, our students are truly educated in the things that matter. They are not educated to do one thing or another, but are simply educated. Because of this, those who have an interest in teaching are always welcomed, and even sought after, by many Catholic school systems. School officials realize that although teaching methods are very important, the most important thing in teaching anyone is the love and knowledge of the Faith and the desire to pass on, not only head-knowledge, but more importantly, a love of God, His Church, and the good Catholic life in general. Christendom College prepares its students for that.

Other colleges, in their education programs, may teach its students how to teach math to 4th graders, or how to organize a classroom to make it more learning friendly. We believe that these things will work themselves out once they are in the classroom so there is no real need to spend a bunch of money and time on being trained in specifics when they will end up learning these things on-the-job later.

Now for those who may want to get their feet wet in teaching before graduation, we do offer a Teacher Formation Program as part of our curriculum. Seniors are given the opportunity to work as teacher aids with local Catholic and public schools, helping to plan classes and teach certain subjects.

While It is true that, at many colleges, students find the offering, the people, the suggestions, and the meetings at the Career Services/Development Office to be pretty useless in assisting them in their goals, and therefore, they do not frequently go there for help – This is not the case at Christendom.

At Christendom, Kristin Stephens, who has been the Director of Career & Professional Development since 2018, is always busy, with students flooding her office on a daily basis.  She is focused on helping students in an individualized manner, and she builds relationships with the students over the course of their four years on campus. When students meet with her, it is not a one-time deal, but rather a series of meetings which assist the student to make the best decisions for their intended career goals. According to national surveys, only 16% of students felt satisfied after meeting with the Career Office, but at Christendom,82% were satisfied and thought the meeting was beneficial.

During meetings, Mrs. Stephens will help students with resume and cover letter writing, interview prep, mock interviews, internship and job search and applications, professional and financial advice, discuss salary negotiation and finding a roommate, and so much more. She teaches workshops on budgeting, buying a car, dining etiquette, and other important topics. She hosts “Life on Tap” alumni networking events where alumni return to campus to discuss their paths to success in their varied fields. She hosts recruiters and employers interested in our students, and she sends out informative emails and newsletters on a regular basis.

Students love Kristin Stephens and the Career & Professional Development Office.