Over the course of the academic year, The Lions’ Pride will highlight its graduates in a series of articles. The articles will update and inform the community on life after graduation.
An eventful five months have followed graduation for Christine Strader (nee Cocheo). One of which is teaching the first grade.
What made the job search difficult was that she worked as a substitute teacher in a different state, while looking for jobs in Florida.
“After I graduated, I moved back home to Connecticut for the summer, and I worked as a substitute teacher; Connecticut school goes until mid to late June. That made job searching hard because I had to have phone and Skype interviews and a couple of schools required in person ones,” said Strader.
She also interned at an elementary school in Pasco County, and this was expected to help her gain a full-time position at the school; however, after graduating she wasn’t able to land a job in this county due to extenuating circumstances. Strader said this made her experience of finding a job stressful. Despite the initial difficulties, Strader was able to get her current job with the aid of her sorority sister.
“I found one just in a different county. When I graduated, Pasco County had a hiring freeze, so I was lucky that a Saint Leo alumni and my Tri Sigma sorority sister reached out and let me know her school was hiring, so Greek life truly does give you important connections,” said Strader.
Despite not being offered the full-time position at the school she interned at, she still commended the internship for helping her gain great skills and learn great lessons to be able to do what she does now at her current job.
“The internship experience I was able to have 100% impacted my ability to do my job. Without that real world experience, I would be absolutely drowning right now,” Strader mentioned.
She commended her experiences, such as being in a sorority because it did open doors for her after graduation but also made her time in University richer. In fact, Strader added that she doesn’t have many regrets because she was involved and active during her college tenure.
“I feel like I got involved and branched out as much I wanted to. If I had not been active with jobs and my sorority I would have regretted it.”
She also advised students to do the same to ensure that they don’t regret much about their college experience.
“Stay busy and get involved in everything you are interested in because this is your last chance. Once you graduate and have your career you will be so so busy,” stated Strader.
In addition to completing the job search, Strader also got married. She immediately began wedding planning following graduation and got married July 14. Strader was in a relationship with her husband for 5 and ½ years before getting married, and she feels “blessed” to have met someone like him. However, she doesn’t think getting married young is the path for everyone.
“I don’t want people to think being married at 22 is a standard you should be aiming for,” said Strader. “My relationship is wonderful but it is only worth it because of who my husband is. If I was with someone less respectful and kind I would never be able to get through the hard times, like the long distance and stress of finding a job if my partner was also a stressor in my life.”
Strader spoke on a lesson learned regarding transcripts, which was to not send transcripts out until her degree is conferred. She had to pay for multiple copies of her transcript because her degree was conferred on her transcript at the time.
Credit: Crissy Strader
Strader also mentioned how it took work for her and her husband to foster a healthy relationship.
“My husband and I are happy to work for each other because it makes us happier and healthier (personally and in our relationship), but this is a time in life when many people are still understandably selfish because your life is already changing so much,” said Strader. “In every relationship even with friends, you need to be emotionally vulnerable and willing to take criticism to have a healthy relationship. If you cannot change and be open emotionally you cannot have a healthy relationship.”
She emphasized that being in a long-term relationship requires work, including being vulnerable and making sacrifices, and she went on to mention how it is key to understand how each other communicates and how to work with each other.
“Love is incredible, but at this age, if you don’t have it yet, it should not be your focus. Real lasting relationships require work because you have to be willing to change and accept your flaws so you can work on them,” said Strader. “At the same time, you need to accept that your partner has different needs than you do and different communication styles can make or break a relationship. Fights are normal, but they should lead to progress. If your arguments do not have any purpose and end up just being hurtful you either are not with the right person or need a counselor to help you understand how you communicate.”
She stressed the point that it is not worth being with someone who is not compatible and who is willing to compromise, listen or make sacrifices as well.
“Never stay with a person who is unwilling to listen and do everything they can to meet your needs,” said Strader. “I have seen great and horrible relationships, and honestly it is better to be single than with someone who is constantly hurting you. It’s better to be single and have a few good friends than to be in a relationship with someone who makes you feel more alone in life than you would feel if you were actually single.”
Following graduation, Strader had a lot of interesting experiences, such as getting married and undergoing a job search. And she shared extensive advice that students can use during in their personal lives to evolve:
“The habits you form now will transfer to what you bring to your career so be mindful of who you become in college. You can become hardworking and passionate, or you can become lazy. You will not change into a new person after you graduate so start forming good and healthy habits now.”
