M: I see. Is the phenomenon of parent and kids studying together at university a rare case?
男：我明白了。父母和孩子一起上大学，这种现象算是罕见的吗?
W: I am afraid not. Changing careers later in life is no longer a rarity, so it is not uncommon for students and their parents to be toying with big decisions at the same time. Class surveys indicate that the majority of Harvard alumni have shifted directions when it comes to their careers. With the financial collapse of 2008, such shifts have become more widespread. Students have seen their family members lose jobs or change them. Gone is the time when you start out at a company and work there for the rest of your life.
女：恐怕不是。毕业之后换工作不再是件稀罕事，因此，学生和父母在同一时间做出重大决定，这种情况并不少见。班级调查显示，大多数哈佛校友在职业生涯中已经改变了方向。随着2008年的金融崩溃，这种转变变得更加普遍。学生们都能看到家人失去工作或换了工作。找到个工作就一辈子不换，那都是过去的事了。
M: So your mom started study again just because she wanted to change her career?
W: Yes, she used to be in the real estate industry but now she wants to be a lawyer.
M: Does her experience affect you somewhat?
W: Certainly. Freshman Week, in one of the welcoming speeches, our dean mentioned that many of us might have grown up thinking that "doctor, lawyer, teacher" were our only option. She urged us to stick to our dream. But later I realized talking about passions is one thing--- actually following them is another. By the time I started to think about what professional directions I might want to take, I had heard "The average American changes careers seven times" so often that it was hard not to become numb to its message. The last thing that the enthusiastic Harvard student wants to do is to imagine moving from job to job until she lands somewhere by chance, especially when the economy is so uncertain. My mom can serve as a good example. Even if she graduated from Harvard herself as a brilliant student, she has to make alterations of her career.
女：当然有。新生周的一次迎新演讲中，我们的院长提到，我们中的许多人在成长过程中，一直认为“医生、律师、教师”是我们唯一的选择。她敦促我们坚持梦想。但后来我意识到热情这件事，说来容易做起来难。我开始思考未来的职业方向时，听说“美国人一生中7次改变职业生涯”。通常情况下，人们很难不对信息麻木。哈佛大学的学生最不愿意做的，就是想象自己不断从一份工作跳槽到另一份工作，最后偶然地在某个工作安定下来，尤其是在经济形势如此不明朗的情况下。我妈妈就是一个很好的例子。即使她作为优秀学生从哈佛大学毕业，她也不得不改变自己的职业生涯。
M: So, is your mom actually happy studying with younger students?
W: Hard to say. Frustration is routine for older students, you know, who have to learn how to study all over again. Mom once described the experience of taking classes with students half her age after 30 years in the workforce: "What's most challenging is that you come into class knowing how to make a cake--- but you're all there to make omelets."
女：很难说。对于年纪较大的学生来说，挫折是家常便饭，他们必须学习如何重新学习。妈妈曾经描述过在工作30年后，和年龄只有她一半的同学一起上课的经历:“最具挑战性的是，你来到课堂上，知道如何制作蛋糕——但你却在那里做煎蛋卷。”
M: A kind of wasting time?
W: Exactly.
M: Do you think your mom has played an important role in shaping your idea of what kind of person you want to be?
男：关于你对自己未来的想法，在这方面你妈妈起到了重要的影响吗？
W: Absolutely. Harvard offers many resources for students who want to figure out where their future lies. Advisers, tutors, and OCS keep their doors open to help undergraduates embark on this kind of discovery. One can't find one's passions in a booklet on summer internships or a list of possible career paths. It's a gradual process that involves sharing thoughts and then coming back to them; a discussion that doesn't always have its end goal in mind. In the course of my time at Harvard, it has been just such a give-and-take --- with professors, with friends, and with my mother --- that has slowly shaped my ideas of who I might want to be. I really cherish the time she spent together with me at university.
女：当然。哈佛为想要了解自己未来的学生提供了很多资源。顾问、导师和就业指导办公室都对本科生敞开大门，帮助他们开始对未来的探索。单单一本关于暑期实习的小册子，或者一份备选的职业道路清单，你无法找到自己的激情所在。这是一个循序渐进的过程，涉及到分享想法，然后回归想法本身；这也是一场不要求最终目标的讨论。在我在哈佛的求学过程中，这只是一种想法的交流——与教授交流、与朋友交流以及与我的母亲交流——慢慢形成了我对自己未来的想法。我真的很珍惜她在大学里和我一起度过的时光。
M: Well, Maggie. Thank you very much for staying with us today.
W: My pleasure.
评论
打印
