On the last Friday in January, Loyola Academy hosted Quo Vadis, an event created with the goal of inspiring the student body to look toward the next step in their lives. Throughout the day students were placed in many different presentations, in groups both big and small, to discuss different career paths and ways to transition into thinking about the future.

From the perspective of a senior, Quo Vadis or “where are you going?” seems to be a very valid question. Preparing to transition from the comforting world that is high school with its structure and clear cut expectations to college where the expectations are higher, the classes are harder, and good time management skills are crucial can be terrifying. 

The goal of our four years within these walls is to prepare us for our future, yet being fully prepared isn’t possible. With Quo Vadis, Loyola gave us yet another opportunity to inch a little bit closer to being prepared for what the future holds. 

Listening to the first speakers in the West Gym, it was very inspiring to hear about career preparation from two very powerful women. It brings comfort to know that neither of them knew where they were going to end up when they were our age. 

There is an unneeded amount of stress put onto the concept of knowing where you’re going immediately. Sometimes where you will end up comes naturally when you follow the trail of things you love. Hard work in a field you love with people you enjoy working with seems to be the way to go when it comes to success, and the presenters did a lovely job of getting that point across.

When shifting into the smaller talks there was some disagreement on whether or not they were impactful. For those who got to sit in on the career of their choice, the talks seemed to bring a new perspective to the table when it came to thinking about what they want to do. Some of the speakers were fantastic at talking about their profession and turning their presentations into something more interactive. Based on conversations with some of the people who watched the different presentations it seems that those who sat through careers that they were genuinely interested in had the best experience.

On the other hand, there were many people who sat through talks that had no meaning to them as they revolved around things they had no interest in.  The people I spoke to talked about how most of the areas people want to study were underrepresented by the event. People who wanted to go into certain areas of marketing only got to listen to it from the point of view of people working in positions that they had no interest in and some were put into groups that had nothing to do with their major even when their interests were present at the event.  

All in all Quo Vadis was a very positive experience when looking at it from a broad perspective. It brought students a new way of thinking about their futures and got the ball rolling for people who may have been unsure about their own career paths. 

Many people skipped the Quo Vadis day deeming it a waste of time, especially for the seniors. While I do agree that this event would have been far more influential had it been in our junior year I also believe that the event had a different kind of impact that still had meaning. From where I’m sitting, getting the opportunity to listen to people who are the stars of their field or even just people who are on the ground level of a career that relates to yours is an incredible opportunity and the experience is what you make of it.

Moving forward into the future I do believe that it would be a good idea to continue this event with a few minor changes. I believe that before the speakers for the day are selected students should be polled to see what careers they would most like to see. Many students chose not to attend Quo Vadis because they felt that it did not pertain to them and their interests. While this may have been the case, I think expanding horizons is never a bad idea. To do it again I would definitely attend the event and see what it had to offer before blowing it off without a second thought.

Despite some criticism, Quo Vadis was still a unique experience that managed to change the way many students perceive the idea of a career day.