I never thought that a college class would have me touring an apartment, scrubbing stains out of clothes, and cooking a full meal in my professor’s on-campus apartment. I’d grown used to the desk job nature of college, learning to sit in class each day, only to return to my dorm and sit at my computer for hours on end. With so many of my classes being based on learning concepts and completing traditional reading and writing assignments, I didn’t know what to expect going into Life Launch.
Through taking Life Launch, an intersession course taught by Jana Mathews (Ph.D.), I developed skills with real-world applications that I could automatically identify. The class met for five days with three-and-a-half-hour class sessions each day, along with activities completed outside class. Sessions consisted of learning both social skills — such as making friends after college and developing adult relationships with your parents — and hands-on activities, such as cooking, doing laundry, and sewing. Other skills I learned included budgeting, selecting a healthcare plan, and choosing an apartment based on rent and utility costs. The requirement for passing the course was to receive 13 out of the 15 available “badges,” earned by completing the activities related to each skill.
In an interview with Mathews, she discussed how she was inspired to teach this course by her experience raising children who are currently in college, along with one who recently graduated. “Colleges and universities prepare students in really conscious and intentional ways to be professionally successful after graduation, but that is only half the battle,” she said. “Just as a huge part of the learning adjustment coming into college is learning how to deal with roommates and learning how to live independently, there’s another level, part two, that comes after you graduate, in that independent living looks really different after graduation.”
I chose to take Life Launch as a current senior preparing for life after college. Throughout my time at Rollins, I’ve found that some of the hardest lessons I’ve learned have not been in the classroom, but rather through living away from home and navigating friendships, while at the same time learning to balance work with self-care. Though I’ve always felt confident academically, college has challenged me in these other aspects, many of which I’ve had to teach myself over the past four years.
My dream for after graduation is to move to New York City, and I entered the class worried about securing a job while adjusting to the other parts of the transition, such as finding an apartment and making friends in an environment very different from what I’m used to. Though five days is not enough to master adulthood, I learned to develop more confidence in myself, and I was reminded that much of life involves figuring out skills along the way; it’s a constant learning process, not something learned overnight.
In the interview, Mathews discussed how this course was as rewarding for her as for her students. She appreciated being able to teach the class in Ward Hall, where students practiced doing laundry and had the opportunity to cook in her faculty apartment. “I think that so many of these domestic life skills we take for granted, and having an opportunity to be able to pass those on to a receptive audience was super rewarding,” said Mathews. She added, “I was shocked at the excitement that so many people had about learning how to sew, or how to do these things. They were genuinely curious and willing to do it. It was something that I hope we continue.”
Mathews will be teaching Life Launch again following spring break, with the class meeting for five Fridays from 2:30-6 p.m. The class will use an apartment in Rex Beach Hall, where they will have the opportunity to mimic moving into a space through assembling furniture and decorating. Registration for the class is currently open and will remain open through spring break.
To current seniors planning for life after graduation, Mathews offered advice for easing the transition. “I would say to try to take up at least one or two adulting skills before you graduate, whether that means keeping an active budget, or if it means starting to do meal prep and take more serious the idea of using the kitchens in the living spaces that you have,” she said. “Just start living with the mindset of what it’s going to be like after graduation and on that budget; then I think you’ll find that transition to be not easy, but better.”
Now around three months from graduating, I plan to use the skills I learned in Life Launch as a foundation for further growth as an independent adult. Aside from individual skills, this class also reinforced the idea of being assertive. Though young adults like me may feel out of place or unqualified, a key part of adulthood is leaving your comfort zone, especially after college, when life doesn’t have the structure of a campus. Like the class, college is a springboard for learning lessons to carry on to the next phase of life.
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