Pay to Play
Written By Asia Howe
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” — Sydney J. Harris
There are many milestones in our lives which, common to America or common to the culture we come from, most of us have experienced. Moving out of our parents’ house, earning our first true job, and paying off our loans may be just a smattering of milestones for some of us. A milestone, however, that we—University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) students—can all see as substantial is
our university graduation. Alumni Hannah Lockwood talks about why we ought to pay to play.
Lockwood graduated last spring with majors in Anthropology and Linguistics, minors in English and History, and Teaching English as a Second Language and Chinese Studies certificates. Now, the UH Hilo alumni does what her undergraduate self imagined: she is working towards her PhD, teaching, researching linguistics, and traveling. Since graduation, the university has hired her as a Linguistics lecturer and she has visited all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and many countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
UH Hilo alumni Hannah Lockwood. Photo courtesy of Hannah Lockwood.
“I am one of the lucky few,” Lockwood declares, “that [has been] given the opportunity to do what I want to be doing.” Within her lecturer position, she identifies her Linguistics degree as the conduit which allows her impart knowledge to the next generation of alumni. Overall, the alumni
knows her education—majors, minors, and certificates—is the idiomatic foot in the door capable of getting her an admirable career. “You can get paid more,” she also states, “doing the same job [with a degree] than if you did not have a degree.”
Having spent nearly a year as a graduate, Lockwood has encountered several features of the “real world” that we undergraduates may find imposing. On graduate life in general, she affirms that it is not insurmountable, not the way it seems to those about to graduate. Even though she concedes the “real word” contains more paperwork and memorization of small details, such as information regarding insurance and taxes, she does not appear to perceive these aspects as impediments. She remarks, “Even finding a job was not as I was expecting considering we live in a small town.”
Video interview with UH Hilo Alumni, Hannah Lockwood. Video filmed and edited by ALEX Intern Reporter, Asia Howe.
Life after graduation, of course, will seem insurmountable if undergraduates do not use their time in school to prepare for what is to come. Lockwood’s advice for those advancing towards the day they may don a cap and gown concerns completing assignments early, reading assigned readings, and doing anything else to go above and beyond. In other words, the alumni advises utilizing our time at UH Hilo to not only enrich our minds, but build a good work ethic. “You will go far,” she adds, “if you work hard with a good attitude, because people will notice. So,‘Pay to Play.’”
Lockwood in her position as a UH Hilo Linguistics lecturer. Photo courtesy of ALEX Intern Reporter, Asia Howe.
Lockwood will soon move to central Europe. On her future aspirations, she states that she would like to simply travel and explore the world at present. The alumni, happily, will actually be doing this in the upcoming year. She also plans to earn a PhD in Socio-historical Linguistics, however, and become a professor and researcher.
ALEX would like to congratulate all spring 2015 graduates. UH Hilo commencement is planned to take place on Saturday, May 16. Please direct graduation questions to uhhgrad@hawaii.edu.
