The Joseph and Terrence Tusan Foundation - College Transition to the Professional World

Where Are They Now

Anjulie Morehead currently works as a Liaison Engineer for Boeing in Charleston, South Carolina. She works closely with the plane and various functions in the company to ensure products are meeting requirements and intent of design. Prior to the start of this role in June of 2022, she was a student at Jackson State University, graduating with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering. While at JSU she was involved (and still professionally involved) in many organizations such as Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Anjulie was awarded senior of the year for the civil engineering department, with the opportunity to represent JSU at a conference for Mississippi Professional Civil Engineers. Anjulie plans to continue her career in aerospace and looks forward to the many opportunities The Boeing Company will grant her.

Questions and Responses

Feedback - As you might imagine, the feedback paradigm shifts entirely once a student enters the professional world. For starters, the feedback you receive at work is often less consistent and less easily decipherable than in college. How did you make this transition?

Truthfully I have experienced the same amount of feedback in my professional world as I did in school. My role requires over a year of training before you’re allowed to complete work on your own. With hands on training and being assigned a personal mentor I am always receiving live feedback on what I should work on. I have always been able to motivate myself and be cognizant of things I need to improve on, so I do believe this could be why I feel as though there has not been much of a change.

Relationships - Relationships in the professional world are also very different from in college. In college, you build relationships with people you want to, and for the most part with people around your same age. Relationship building in a professional environment is about developing friendships, but it’s also about building a robust network of colleagues who can help you succeed at your job and advance in your career. How did you meet this challenge?

I am naturally a reserved person, so being in an entirely new place alone was a huge adjustment. I had to get out of my comfort zone and be personable with people I had no choice but to interact with. I’ve always known the importance of networking, so during my internship with Boeing in 2021 I made sure to connect with people from all over the United States and in various job roles. As I continue to learn more about the company and what I want for my career I am always on the look for people that I can learn from. It’s very hard to succeed completely alone and I truly think my efforts in getting to know people has helped advance my career in ways I couldn’t imagine.

Accountability - In a professional environment, in contrast to college, there typically is much more at stake, successes and mistakes can have dramatic positive or negative consequences. You’re not only accountable to yourself; you’re accountable to your team, to your colleagues, to your boss, to your division, and to your organization

The difference in college and the professional world is that you no longer have people pushing and reminding you to do anything. There aren’t any professors giving second chances or allowing test retakes, everything is on you. It gets to a point where you realize that you are in control of everything that happens in your life (of course beyond the uncontrollable). There aren’t any excuses that can be given for not completing tasks, not showing up to work, or not performing at 100%. I know that my role is very serious and considered one of the hardest roles in the company. I chose to accept this job which makes me accountable in giving my all every second that I am working.

Path Forward – The above three themes show that, while some young professionals make the transition from college to the workplace with ease, others struggle quite a bit. So what can companies and managers do to help ease this cultural transition for new professionals?

The best thing my manager did to ease my transition into the professional work space was making it clear that when speaking to him I could be as honest as I needed to be. When managers show they care about their team’s wellbeing it makes it easier to speak truthfully about hardships one might be feeling. Another thing that helps is for newcomers to be surrounded with other newcomers. There is no better way to feel at ease than to know someone else is feeling the same as you. Creating cohorts of people on the same level in their career can create camaraderie and appeal to people’s desire to stay in the company when things get hard.

Dr. Zackary Brown was born in the city of Wichita Falls, TX where he grew up as the oldest of three boys with his mother. He became the first high school graduate of his family and continued his pursuits at Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, Zackary graduated with a Neuroscience and Medicine, Health and Society double major with a concentration in Race, Health and Inequality. Furthermore, he graduated named as a top 20 senior and would serve as a prominent leader and advocate in his community. He continued his interest in medicine at Howard University College of Medicine where he served as the only medical student on a national initiative with the AAMC & NMA that focused on increasing the number of black men in medicine.

He is currently a resident physician at Mt Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital where he is training as a Pediatrician. Additionally, he is the founder of the “Hirschi Men Can” scholarship; the first scholarship led by young alumni at his high school. His research and interest focus on health disparities and bridging the gap in access to quality healthcare for minoritized communities. He is a published author on DEI efforts, an advocate for minoritized communities in medicine and a future leader in Pediatric medicine. As a first-generation high school graduate to now a Pediatric doctor, Zackary intends to change the face of medicine so that young men who look like him and grew up in similar conditions know that it is possible.

Questions and Responses

You learn that feedback can occur both from an external source and an internal source. Once you realize the power of your own personal feedback, you begin to rely on your self-reflection as a means for feedback. I began to create a timeline of goals to ensure that I held myself accountable to growth and success within my personal and work life. Additionally, I learned to be proactive when seeking feedback. There is less structured time for feedback, however you can always reach out and seek feedback from your peers. By being proactive and requesting the feedback, it shows that you are eager about growth and determined to be successful in your role.

The greatest lesson I would share with anyone is that "you never know where your next network opportunity is going to come from, so be a kind person to everyone." I think by being a kind person, you learn that people will naturally gravitate to your energy and will want to see you succeed in whatever field you are in. My network ranges from the local deli lady who will give me a free sandwich on rough days to the CEO of the hospital who will personally extend opportunities to me that he thinks I would best be a fit for. Additionally, networking in the professional world requires a little proactivity. Undergrad is designed to put you in a space with people and converse, which is very different in the professional world where people don't necessarily have to build a personal relationship with you if they don't want to. This means that you have to break out of your circle and be proactive in seeking relationships whether that is someone you find interesting on twitter or you're at a networking event. Proactivity and being kind will get you in doors you didn't even know existed.

Accountability is a tough lesson to learn in the professional world because there are less required check points to ensure you're on track. Therefore, you must create personal "check-in" points to ensure that you are holding yourself accountable for your personal and professional goals. I have learned to create a "weekly" goals or to-do list which ensures that before the end of the week, I have accomplished the goals needed for that week.

MENTORSHIP. The transition is abrupt and rough, but mentorship allows for a safe space to learn and grow without the fear of judgment. Seek out mentorship and guidance as you enter a new chapter. Most of all, give yourself grace. Life is difficult and transitions come with major change, so be kind to yourself and give yourself grace in knowing that you won't always get it right but every chapter comes with their lessons for your growth and success.

The Joseph and Terrence Tusan Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization,

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