Photo courtesy of Zoe Comingore
Zoe Comingore, a recent graduate from the University of Rhode Island, clarified what life in the real world can be like.
Comingore transferred to URI after her first-year, graduated with an undergraduate degree in writing and rhetoric and Spanish. The writing and rhetoric program drew her in due to its rareness at other colleges. After learning Spanish for a couple years, Comingore decided to continue and added the language as a major. This decision led her to accept a position in Spain in order to be a language assistant in classes for ages 11 through 18 years old.
“In Europe, it’s really common to have subject-specific classes taught in other languages, so the kids have the bilingual or multilingual certification when they come out of school,” Comingore said.
This opportunity was made possible through the different departments at URI and their willingness to help students. Comingore specifically mentioned how Meghan Echevarria, associate professor of Spanish, was a significant figure in the process of receiving her current job and being able to become successful outside of college.
“I do really value all the connections that I made at URI with professors and other classmates,” Comingore said. “Both have been really great and I am really glad I transferred.”
Overall Comingore is very thankful for her opportunity to transfer to URI since it helped her make long-lasting connections that will aid her in her future in the real world.
After her three years at URI, Comingore was able to contemplate her experiences on campus and some of the things she wished she had personally done throughout her last years of education.
One of the things she regrets the most is not living on campus. Campus life is full of energy and she wished she could have been more surrounded by that throughout her college career. Besides campus life, Comingore wishes she had the opportunity to be more prepared for the practical things that she would experience outside of college.
“I wish I knew more about maintaining my own life better,” Comingore said. “I wish I had known a little bit more about practical stuff.”
Ensuring that you are prepared for the future is crucial and Comingore wanted just a little more preparation on how life would be without constant guidance. One thing that will aid her, is her connections that she made during her time at URI. Comingore’s connections will provide her with guidance from time to time when it is needed; this is one of the many ways that help Comingore cope with the drastic changes in her life. `
“Being able to stay in contact, like having internet connection, is how I am able to cope,” Comingore said. “It’s really great to not feel so isolated. Being able to make those sort of connections and then maintain them over that distance really helps.”
Those strong connections that were created assisted Comingore in becoming successful, but it wouldn’t have happened without the help she received from the writing and rhetoric and Spanish departments. The aid she received gave her the guidance to be able to create a life outside of college.
“I wouldn’t have found out about the writing center if it hadn’t been for the writing and rhetoric department,” Comingore said. “And I would have never heard about this job if it hadn’t been for the Spanish department and both of their respective guidance for me.”
The education and guidance that Comingore received from both of these departments were the main source of her success and job accomplishments. Both provided her with a plethora of resources in order to give her a head start in the real world. Besides providing her with resources, the departments gave her an education that prepared her enough to be able to travel all the way to Spain and understand how culturally different it is.
“I wasn’t completely ignorant coming into this either, I know about some of the cultural differences,” Comingore said. “There were things I was able to expect because of the education I had and the experiences I had on campus did a lot to help me with my job as well. Being a writing tutor helped me know how to establish a relationship with students as somebody who is teaching them something.”
Throughout Comingore’s college career, she was immersed in a community that was not only very supportive but extremely valuable to her future as well. Comingore believes that as long as students keep their connections and stay close with their loved ones, they will be strong enough to step into the real world. Her advice towards all students at URI is to take advantage of all that the university has to offer and keep significant people in your life close.