Pathmaking: A reflection from a recent college graduate

BB2C Internship Coordinator & AmeriCorps Member, Lara Coghlan (R) talks with a BB2C Partner while setting up for the 2024 Family Career Fest.

Lara Coghlan, BB2C Internship Coordinator & AmeriCorps Member

Lara works through Rural Action, where she has a chance to connect with other AmeriCorp members, gain unique experiences, and connect deeper with Appalachia Ohio.

“A Jack of all trades is a master of none.” As a young adult, fresh out of college, this quote has stuck with me for a long time. It has also somewhat irritated me. Is it bad for my future to focus on too many different interests? How do I know what skill or interest I want to master? 

When I graduated this May, I sat in my cap and gown, surrounded by all my peers, proud that we had all succeeded in earning a degree to help set us on our paths toward the future. I thought about my own future, anxiously not knowing what I was going to do yet and questioning if I chose the right path. I have so many different interests, do I have to choose just one?

Six months later, I am writing this as an AmeriCorps member serving at Building Bridges to Careers, as the Internship Coordinator. In this time, I have absorbed so much information about career options, engaged in and with so many different career fields, and developed many new skills. The most exciting part: everything I am learning now is being transferred to the students I am working with. I think about younger versions of myself and wish she could have had some of this knowledge then.

As I sat down to write this, I searched to make sure my quote was phrased correctly and realized I have never heard the whole thing. “A Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” 

I believe many of us have a small voice of doubt in the back of our heads, questioning past decisions we have made, and wondering how to make the “right” choice for our future. Being at BB2C has taught me that you should always be encouraged to pursue your interests, discover new things, be creative, and be your own pathmaker. The quote sits with me much differently now- It is promising, hopeful, something that drives me to keep making my path and push others to follow theirs.

Lara Coghlan is BB2C’s Internship for 2024-2025. Her service in AmeriCorps is through Rural Action. She oversees our high school internship process for students, schools, and Network Partners.

The newest BB2C internship opportunity that Lara is overseeing is the 2025 High School Tech Internship through the Ohio Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation. Businesses and students in Southeastern Ohio interested in tech internships can visit bb2careers.org/internships or email us at internships@bb2careers.org for more information.