TOPEKA, Kan. – A recent national study found that nearly half of the students who were surveyed have changed their post grad plans because of the coronavirus.
The survey was done by Junior Achievement and surveyed 1,000 students from high school graduates in the class of 2020.
The President of Junior Achievement of Kansas Ashley Charest said the survey found that some graduates changed their professional field entirely, while others opted for an odd job to make money.
Kaitlyn Shima just graduated from Topeka West and is playing volleyball at Bethel in the fall,
so her plans haven’t changed much, but she said she’s learned a lot because of coronavirus.
“I’ve definitely learned to not plan too far ahead and not take anything for granted,” Shima said. “Sometimes I find myself planning like years ahead and that’s good but plans can definitely change.”
Charest empathizes with the recent grads, but said the pandemic has taught a lot about adaptation.
“Long term make them a much more resilient group which I hope for them but certainly is so heart breaking to have to think about the things that they’ve had to think about in such a short time frame in their life,” she said.
Junior Achievement of Kansas has resources for recent graduates to help navigate their post grad plans.
