Hiatt Career Center

Max’s Quaranblog: What Now?

Max LeBlanc '22

I love my post-finals week ritual. 

It usually looks like this; spending way too much time in Farber, saying goodbye to friends and feeling utter exhaustion from packing up my life from the past ten months and heading home. From there, I’m pretty much in a zombified state for about a week before kicking off my summer plans. Pretty standard for most of us, right? This finals season, however, was a little different. As I sit here in the aftermath of highlighters and empty coffee cups, I can’t help but wonder, “what now?”

Shifting Plans

The photo above is a snapshot of what my summer typically looks like; lots of work. Normally, I would be scrambling to open my food truck in time for June 1st but due to a stay-at-home order, that has been placed on hold. Interestingly enough, as much as I love my post-finals Netflix binge, thinking about potentially doing that all summer is a scary thought. I know I’m not alone in this struggle. Many students' summer plans have shifted greatly in the past few weeks, so I hope my personal contingency plans can lend some inspiration to you. In the last month, I’ve shifted from plan B, to C, to somewhere along the lines of L or M. The most important thing to keep in mind during all of this is my personal mantra, “always do the next right thing.”

Taking Control of Right Now

Even if it might not feel like it, there is still so much left we can control. Maybe your dream internship got canceled, but there may be other opportunities that present themselves that can keep you on your desired career path. For me personally, I am honing my skills in Excel and Adobe Creative Suite with FREE classes on LinkedIn Learning. My hope is that by doing these things, it will help my resume stand out when hiring resumes. I’m going at my own pace though because admittedly, I don’t want to take class all summer!

Aside from building online skills, I’ve decided to try to do something that will make a real difference that isn’t too selective. For a long time, I have been looking to give back to the amazing LGBTQ+ community that I’m a part of. Right now seemed like the perfect time to join a cause and fill a passion that I never seemed to have the time to fulfill. Last week I applied to volunteer with the Trevor Project, an LGTBQ+ centered non-profit organization. If you are looking for ways to give back and fill up your schedule, I would highly recommend volunteering for an organization you care about. I would also recommend looking to Mutual Aid Waltham, a local organization with a “give what you can” attitude, even if that just means being someone to talk to during this difficult time. If you have some free time, this is a great way to make life easier for others. At the end of the day, just find whatever cause motivates you to get out of bed in the morning.

Setting Sights on the Summer Months

As I put the final period on this quarantine blog, I am looking ahead to wherever summer may take me - even if I have to look at it a day at a time. As I remind myself, I also want to remind you, that this isn’t hopeless. Do what you can and focus on what you can control. I’m already so inspired by what people have been doing in quarantine and the everyday acts of kindness I have witnessed. We have control of who we are and what we do.

I can’t wait to see you all back on campus soon. Until then, check out my business Maxim’s Desserts on Instagram and when the time comes, take a ride to Maine and treat yourself. After all of this, you deserve it.