Sarah Oldham
Class of 2012
By: Megan Griffin
I interviewed Sarah Oldham, from the Class of 2012. Here is a glimpse into how her life after graduation has been impacted by the Periclean Scholars program.
Within three months of graduating from Elon, Sarah moved to New York City. This was a big move, originally being from Raleigh.
“I got a job working in Admissions at Metropolitan College of New York in lower Manhattan. I worked in this position for a little over two years, working with domestic students and then taking on all of international admissions. My original interest in Admissions was sparked from being a tour guide at Elon.”
Through admissions, Sarah worked with non-traditional student, many who were older and working while attending school, had families to take care of, etc. that made their College experience somewhat unconventional. This was interesting for Sarah because it was an opportunity for her to get involved with a very different setting than her experiences at Elon. From this, she was able to confirm that she enjoyed working in Higher Education.
Sarah was accepted into a Higher Education Master’s program at Columbia University for the Fall of 2014, but she deferred her acceptance one year to live abroad before continuing on a traditional career trajectory.
“I taught English for six months in Thailand. This decision was very dependent on my experiences in Periclean. Maybe I wouldn’t have been as comfortable living abroad for a long period of time in a very different setting if it wasn’t for the Periclean Scholars program. I also found out about the opportunity through a Periclean classmate, Katie Kenny! Without talking to her at length before committing, I am sure I would not have gone.”
Sarah is now attending Columbia University, and will be graduating in May. She plans on finding a job in higher education, either in a study abroad office or academic affairs.
Just like the majority of Elon students, Sarah was involved in many things as an undergrad. She found that being involved with Periclean was the most unique experience.
“Periclean is not merely a service organization, it is not just an academic or honors program, and you are never done being a part of it-you are a part of it for life. That is such a unique combo. It taught me the way to approach collaboration and partnerships, which is very important when considering the civic mission of higher education and the duty a University has to it’s community.”
In addition to understanding partnerships, Sarah also learned to work with people, rather than for them. This is a concept that is taught in many of her classes at Columbia University and was a core value of the Periclean Scholars program.
Sarah also appreciates that her Periclean class was so eclectic! Other groups she was involved with at Elon were comprised of people who were more similar. She liked that her class was comprised of different types of people outside of her conventional social groups, which made it a very special experience.
“It was a great community. We all formed a special bond and I found lifelong friends in Periclean.”
Similar to many participants of the program, Sarah found great value in travel. Though she emphasizes the importance of staying humble regarding her travel experiences.
“I know that I have travelled a lot compared to many people I interact with. I think it is easy for people to be arrogant about their travel. Because of Periclean, I am more aware of how much I still have to learn about other countries and cultures! Periclean instils in you that you are not an expert and you will never be, which has informed the way I interact with people. I know that I need to consider all of the perspectives.”
When asked about whether or not being involved in Periclean has impacted her political awareness and involvement, Sarah discussed the important parallel of global and local partnerships and how it relates to politics.
“I now realize and understand the importance of being aware of local and national politics. Maybe people don’t usually think of local politics as much as national politics. This was something we always did in Periclean, we focused on Burlington and India-creating parallels between both of them.”
Sarah travelled to India twice during her undergraduate experience, taught in Thailand, and is very invested in encouraging people to travel. Her blog talks about her time in India with her Periclean Class!
Sarah believes that it is beneficial to travel to the country of focus as a Periclean.
“After more of our group travelled to India, it was easier to talk about projects, partnerships, etc. It put more people on the same page.”
Her experiences in Periclean and abroad through other organizations have been a driving force in her passion to work in international education at a University after graduation from Columbia University. She hopes to help low income students find opportunities to go abroad. In breaking down barriers that keep people from traveling, such as financial constraints and family and peer attitudes, she hopes that others will be just as inspired by travel as she has been.
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