Kaitlyn Acciardo grapples with her future

by Casey Eldred

Kaitlyn Acciardo questioned everything she had planned.  

She sat in her political science class at Franklin Pierce University and listened to Melissa Dymek a guest speaker from the State Department describe her career path. 

(Photo: Casey Eldred)

The plan Acciardo had developed to have a similar future began to fall apart as Dymek went on. 

Acciardo is a sophomore, but she plans to graduate a year early.  

“I realized within my first year at Franklin Pierce that I wanted to finish my undergrad and get my master’s in four years, so I have a head start in my career,” she said. “I want to go into advocacy work, doing social and public policy.” 

Hearing about the choices Dymek made led Acciardo to second guess her plans. 

“She explained what it was like to start from the ground up, straight out of undergrad as an administrative aid in the state department, literally getting coffee for senators,” Acciardo said.  

“She moved up so slowly and it wasn’t until recently she got into actual advocacy work. I found myself looking up to her and really wanted to do things she was doing with social advocacy problems,” she said. “But I really don’t want to start by bringing someone coffee.” 

Acciardo asked Dymek if she would pursue a master’s degree if she could go back so that her career would have moved along quicker. 

“She told me that yes it probably would’ve made the process quicker, but that if she could do it all again, she wouldn’t change her path,” Acciardo said. “That made me reconsider everything. I have to apply to grad schools by Christmas and now I don’t know what to do.” 

The plans that Acciardo had diligently laid out had changed. Her decision was no longer clear.  

“From a young age, I’ve always been thinking two steps ahead. In middle school it was about getting into the most elite classes in high school, then I needed to fill my resume to get into college,” she said. “Now it’s like I don’t even know what I’m planning for next.”