Highlight: Life after college

You have successfully graduated college. So what’s next?

According to Erica Young Reitz, life after college can be a season of uncertainty, instability, and confusion.

“The inbetween time is often the most awkward, especially because our culture doesn’t really teach us to be in those inbetween spaces really well.

“It can be a time where it feels like nothing’s happening, and we’re so used to accomplishing things or things moving forward, that it can be hard to put ourselves in that inbetween time and really be present in it.”

Erica points out that college graduates often question themselves during this transitional season of their lives.

“I think it’s a time where we often ask, ‘Did I make a mistake? Is something wrong? Did I mess up by moving here or taking this job offer?’ I think we really need to be mindful that just because something feels disorienting or distressing, it doesn’t mean that we need to go somewhere else.”

We have a tendency to want to quit when times get tough, but Erica encourages anyone who is experiencing a season of transition to stick it out and be present in the moment.

“To really push through that time to get to the other side, but to be willing to be present in that; to not quit our jobs in the middle of it because we’re in transition.”

We aren’t meant to go through this life alone, we are meant to go through life with God and one another. Erica discusses some of the relational challenges that alumnus may face after they graduate college.

“It’s really challenging right after college when we are kind of reestablishing ourselves in community, maybe finding a new community for the first time, or reworking ourselves into a fabric of a former community if we move back home, but I think that we cannot do it alone.”

She stresses the importance of saying in community.

“For many of our alumnus, it’s kind of reaching back maybe into a former community with one hand, while we also reach into that new community, even though we don’t feel very comfortable yet, and we’re kind of willing to be comfortable with uncomfortable for a time, because those are the people that God put in our path in that new space.”

Staying close with God will bring comfort and assurance during times of uncertainty, and bring clarity for your life after college.


Erica Young Reitz directs Senior EXIT, a one-year experience that prepares graduating college seniors for the transition into the next phase of life. She works for the Coalition for Christian Outreach in partnership with Calvary Church, reaching out to students at Penn State University.

How to handle life's transitions