Spring Break
Seniors Finding A Fresh Start After College
Brittany Dorn
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
Ben Sanady doesn't seem too surprised by the fact that a week-long community outreach trip may have changed the course of his life.
But then again, he doesn't seem surprised by much. Laid back and go-with-the-flow, Sanady seems content to roll with the punches and take life as it comes.
So it seems fitting that his post-graduate plans came to him when he least expected it - two months before graduation, while on a rebuilding trip to New Orleans.
The 50 students on the Spring Break trip were put to work gutting houses, sanding and spackling walls and hammering boards. Although the projects were strenuous at times, Sanady took an immediate liking to them.
His background in construction helped: Sanady has been working with his hands for years; taking shop classes in high school, helping his father around the house and working at and eventually running his own landscaping/handyman outfit.
So when he learned that OnSite - the non-profit group that coordinated UConn's volunteer efforts - was looking for a live-in volunteer coordinator, he took note.
The position would be unpaid, but would include room and board, use of a vehicle and a gas stipend. It would put him in charge of volunteers and projects, virtually a "combination of managing and construction" for which Sanady feels well prepared, especially since his degree is in entrepreneurship.
He said he is serious about the move and is currently trying to determine if he can afford health insurance by getting a part-time job while in Louisiana.
Sanady said he has seen mixed reactions to his unconventional post-graduation plans.
His parents - both social workers - are incredibly supportive, Sanady said.
"They're really fine with it," he said. "They always pushed me to take time, to explore."
Surprisingly, his friends - many of whom are lining up more professional jobs - seem skeptical. But if there's one thing Sanady knows, it's that he doesn't want a traditional suit-and-tie job.
"I never really wanted to fall into that," he said. "I own one suit that I wore for a couple of presentations but that's it. It's nothing that interests me."
Sanady said he took inspiration from the main character in the movie "Into The Wild", who forsakes a typical path, instead turning to the outdoors in search of adventure.
"I identified so much with him in that you're at this new point in your life and you need to explore," Sanady said.
"My eventual plan is to come back to New England after a few years, but who knows what will happen," he said. "I don't want to be tied down, I want to have the ability to see where life takes me."
"I might go to New Orleans for a year and a half, and then, one night at a bar, I meet someone who says, 'I'm going to Nepal for a year, want to come?'
"And I say: 'Cool, let's go.'"
Contact Brittany Dorn at Brittany.Dorn@UConn.edu.
But then again, he doesn't seem surprised by much. Laid back and go-with-the-flow, Sanady seems content to roll with the punches and take life as it comes.
So it seems fitting that his post-graduate plans came to him when he least expected it - two months before graduation, while on a rebuilding trip to New Orleans.
The 50 students on the Spring Break trip were put to work gutting houses, sanding and spackling walls and hammering boards. Although the projects were strenuous at times, Sanady took an immediate liking to them.
His background in construction helped: Sanady has been working with his hands for years; taking shop classes in high school, helping his father around the house and working at and eventually running his own landscaping/handyman outfit.
So when he learned that OnSite - the non-profit group that coordinated UConn's volunteer efforts - was looking for a live-in volunteer coordinator, he took note.
The position would be unpaid, but would include room and board, use of a vehicle and a gas stipend. It would put him in charge of volunteers and projects, virtually a "combination of managing and construction" for which Sanady feels well prepared, especially since his degree is in entrepreneurship.
He said he is serious about the move and is currently trying to determine if he can afford health insurance by getting a part-time job while in Louisiana.
Sanady said he has seen mixed reactions to his unconventional post-graduation plans.
His parents - both social workers - are incredibly supportive, Sanady said.
"They're really fine with it," he said. "They always pushed me to take time, to explore."
Surprisingly, his friends - many of whom are lining up more professional jobs - seem skeptical. But if there's one thing Sanady knows, it's that he doesn't want a traditional suit-and-tie job.
"I never really wanted to fall into that," he said. "I own one suit that I wore for a couple of presentations but that's it. It's nothing that interests me."
Sanady said he took inspiration from the main character in the movie "Into The Wild", who forsakes a typical path, instead turning to the outdoors in search of adventure.
"I identified so much with him in that you're at this new point in your life and you need to explore," Sanady said.
"My eventual plan is to come back to New England after a few years, but who knows what will happen," he said. "I don't want to be tied down, I want to have the ability to see where life takes me."
"I might go to New Orleans for a year and a half, and then, one night at a bar, I meet someone who says, 'I'm going to Nepal for a year, want to come?'
"And I say: 'Cool, let's go.'"
Contact Brittany Dorn at Brittany.Dorn@UConn.edu.
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