5 Questions with a Recent DU Alum
Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by admin in Around Campus
We had the chance to talk with Zoee Turill, a recent DU Alum whom graduated just last year (2009). Here is what she had to say about how screwed we all are…
1. So, the economy is shit and everyone is telling students to stay in school. You graduated in the midst of all of this. How nervous were you and how did you land a job?
I was really nervous when I hit spring quarter and didn’t have a job yet, suddenly a quarter seems extremely short with the real world looming. For me it wasn’t just about finding something to fill my time and get a check from, I really wanted to be doing something that would be personally fulfilling, help others, and help me build skills for the rest of my life. Luckily, a professor recommended me for the Fellowship Program with Environment America and I met them at the Career Fair.
My best advice to any senior: figure out what you need out of a job to be happy (a big salary? A sense of doing good? A window in your office?), start looking early, go to the Career Fair, wear a suit, and bring resumes everywhere you go.
2. Tell us more about the new job. What do you do everyday? Does your office have a window?
Well, my office doesn’t have a window, but I am excited to have an office at all! For the first month of my job I was 
working out of coffee shops, which can be fun but I think I am addicted to caffeine now. What do I do? I’m an organizer, but somehow I can’t explain what that means without drawing it
The Fellowship program I am in aims to train recent college graduates how to do everything an organizer might need to do; from media work to direct lobbying, from canvassing and grant writing to educational work. There is really no typical day for a Fellow, but I can tell you a bit about my experience. So, my first week of work, after two and a half intense weeks of training, I organized a press conference with local energy efficient builders and architects. My third week I got a coalition of wind energy companies together, and my fourth week I was in Washington D.C. with one of the wind companies and two local elected officials talking to Montana’s Senators about the importance of clean, renewable energy. It has been a whirlwind, but I will never say my job is boring.
One of the second year Fellows, who started in the Fellowship ‘class’ before mine, told me that this job will “give you more responsibility than you ever thought you could handle, but never more than you actually can.” It’s a pretty cool feeling when you realize all you can accomplish, and how many people you can help with some hard work and determination.
3. How well did DU prepare you? And honestly, we aren’t DU Today so we want the good and the bad.
The best thing that DU did for me, in terms of preparing me for the real world, was providing countless opportunities to get involved and take leadership positions. I think my classes where engaging and interesting (I mean, most of the time… who hasn’t slept through NATS on a Friday?). Honestly, there are not that many people at DU, and even less of them are engaged, so those who take the initiative to step up will get a lot out of their experience. Like anything else, you get out of DU what you put in. I put a lot in, poured a lot of my time into changing that community, and we were able to have a big impact with things like the Bike Sharing Kiosks that are now on campus.
4. Where are you going from here?
I don’t think I will be an organizer for the rest of my life, but the skills I have learned even in the first six months of the Fellowship program will allow me to work in any non-profit or advocacy organization I choose. For me it comes down to where I feel like my passions lie and where I can have the biggest impact. I really love working on environmental issues, for example, but I would love to be working on clean water access in third world countries even more. Besides, I have a travel bug after living abroad three times in college, so I think from here I am moving to a place without so much English.
5. So, should I stay in school?
Graduating can be like running into a brick wall: inevitably everyone is watching, it stings a little, and you have no idea what is on the other side. Staying in school is a great way to keep from dealing with the economy, figuring out what you are doing with your life, and not having to leave the comfort zone of academia, but aren’t you a little curious of what is on the other side of the wall?
If you are interested in what being an organizer is like from my side of the wall, or you want to know more about the Fellowship program with Environment America, please send me an email or call me at zturrill@environmentmontana.org or (503) 807 9203, I would love to talk to you. You can also check it out at www.environmentamerica.org/jobs
