My short term goal is to find a job in software engineering. I have completed several internships which have prepared me for this career choice, and I have been excited by the interview prospects I have had so far. Software engineering - "programming" - is interesting to me because it offers the opportunity to take an abstract, grandiose plan and implement it vividly and efficiently. It seems like great training for almost anywhere else I would go in life. I think I am currently qualified to enter a job like this, and in fact I am actively interviewing to find a position.
In the next three to five years, one of my main goals is to return to Kenya (where I studied abroad in 1998 and 1999), and perhaps offer some of my computing and engineering skills to develop the economy there. The problems faced by developing economies are manifold and daunting, but I feel that I could offer significant assistance as an information architect: one who structures the way organizations (both business and government) communicate within themselves and with the world. Besides helping Kenyan businesses to meet world class standards, I think this would facilitate more intra-Kenyan trade, building a stronger and more self-sufficient economy. To put this plan into action, I am continuing to study the Kiswahili language at Michigan State University this summer, and will try to return to Africa as soon as possible.
My long term goals are much more abstract. I want to explore more options before I commit to a narrow plan for the next decade. I could definitely envision a postgraduate education, however, in a field like political science, psychology, or communications. At least political science and communications, and perhaps psychology, seem to be major shapers of public thought, and I would like to exert as much influence as I can in a positive way. In order to achieve this goal, I will maintain academic contacts throughout my life, and stay abreast of current developments in my fields of choice. Although it is tempting to "take break" from school, this cannot become a context for existence for anyone who truly hopes to bring about academic change.