First hour: College graduates discuss the pandemic job market
Second hour: Author Melanie Conroy-Goldman and her debut novel, "The Likely World"
This is not turning out to be the summer that many college graduates anticipated. For those who expected to jump right into the workforce, many doors have closed due to the pandemic. Internships have dried up. Career fairs are canceled. Phone calls are not returned. The unemployment rate for 20-somethings is significantly higher than the general population. So what can new graduates do? How long is this going to last? Research shows that graduates in some fields are already ditching their career plans to find something else. This hour, our guests tell the story of the delayed launch of some of their career plans, how they’re adapting, and what comes next. Our guests:
- Deprina Godboldo, M.A. in television-radio-film from Syracuse University
- Devin Hott, B.A. in bioethics from the University of Rochester
- Gabrielle Franks, B.A. in music technology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Lizzy Beach, B.S. in media management from St. John Fisher College
Then in our second hour, local author Melanie Conroy-Goldman says there’s always a bit of darkness in a true friendship. That’s certainly true of the characters featured in her debut novel, “The Likely World.” It’s the story of a single mom named Mellie who’s in the early days of her recovery from a fictional drug called cloud. The substance causes short term memory loss in users, and when Mellie first tries it at age 16, the consequences of her addiction 20 years later are unimaginable. As an adult, her past upends her newfound society, and she’s faced with life-threatening choices. In previous summers on this program, we’ve devoted a week to discussing books. The summer is a bit different this year, and we’re doing things a bit differently, but we still want to have conversations about literature. This hour, I’m joined by Hobart and William Smith professor Melanie Conroy-Goldman to talk about “The Likely World.” It’s a gritty story of addiction, of family, of loyalty, and of feeling, and we spend the hour exploring it. Our guest:
- Melanie Conroy-Goldman, author of “The Likely World,” and professor of English at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
