Watch

Why This Engineer Chose a Year of Service After Graduation

Creator:
Published:
March 6, 2024
May 18, 2018
When considering vocation vs career, this engineering graduate decided pursuing her vocation over a high-paying job would be more fulfilling in the end.

Emily Clements is graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, a field that offers one of the highest-paying jobs new graduates can get. But instead of entering the workforce with her classmates, Emily is choosing to do something radically different.

Watch as she explains why she followed her vocation in a different direction and how she discovered the joy that comes with finding a community. For more on how Emily is using her degree to help the drop-in homeless center, check out the #GrottoStories Our Lady of the Road feature video.

Video Transcript

Emily Clements: So I will be graduating with a degree in chemical engineering. Chemical engineering is one of the highest paying jobs that new graduates can get. There's like the pressure to be successful. But I have known for a long time that I wanted to do something very different from that kind of thing, 'cause after I stayed at the Catholic Worker House for a year, I had found something there that I knew was very precious and very valuable.

So, I've decided that I'm going to stay at the Women's House for at least a year after graduation.

Following your vocation is often never the way that you can get the most money. Following your vocation will bring you peace, and joy, and it'll put you in a community that you belong, and you get to build meaningful relationships. So, that's something that I'm really looking forward to next year, and throughout the rest of my life, and whatever I happen to be called to next.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
March 6, 2024
May 18, 2018
On a related note...
Why Introverted Leaders are Not a Contradiction

Why Introverted Leaders are Not a Contradiction

Jessie McCartney

7 Ways to Stay Professional as You Dump a Toxic Job

7 Ways to Stay Professional as You Dump a Toxic Job

Emily Bouch

How Service Helped Me Find a Deeper Way to Live

How Service Helped Me Find a Deeper Way to Live

Mary Grace

Animal Shelter Volunteer Gives Insight | Little Ways: Give Time

Animal Shelter Volunteer Gives Insight | Little Ways: Give Time

Grotto

BBQ 101 for a Successful Summer Cookout

BBQ 101 for a Successful Summer Cookout

Ken Hallenius

Remembering Kobe Together

Remembering Kobe Together

Josh Flynt

How To Build a Career from Scratch

How To Build a Career from Scratch

Tamara Stacey

A Virtual Wake for the Father and Daughter in the Rio Grande

A Virtual Wake for the Father and Daughter in the Rio Grande

Josh Noem

What I Learned by Being a Mentor

What I Learned by Being a Mentor

Coty Miller

My Hollywood Dreams Were Coming True, But I Still Felt Empty

My Hollywood Dreams Were Coming True, But I Still Felt Empty

Tanner Kalina

Join Us in Standing Up for LGBTQ Friends

Join Us in Standing Up for LGBTQ Friends

Grotto Shares

Exposing Exploitation in Virunga

Exposing Exploitation in Virunga

Martha Reilly

Honoring Black History Month 2018

Honoring Black History Month 2018

Grotto Shares

6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking a Gap Year

6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking a Gap Year

Marye Colleen Larme

The Magic of Making Music With Others

The Magic of Making Music With Others

Mike Jordan Laskey

Finding Myself in a New Country

Finding Myself in a New Country

Andrea Nuñez

The Surprising Way Self-Care and Service are Linked

The Surprising Way Self-Care and Service are Linked

Jessica Mannen Kimmet

Healing Racial Tension with Music and Lyrics

Healing Racial Tension with Music and Lyrics

Grotto

Delivering Joy — One Party at a Time

Delivering Joy — One Party at a Time

Grotto

First-Hand Report of Humanitarian Crisis at the Border

First-Hand Report of Humanitarian Crisis at the Border

Grotto

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.