Cut through the Clutter

Today we met with Elin Ahldén of Ericsson and had a brief tour of the potential Ericsson technologies for the future. I remember being most excited not for the fact that we would tour one of Sweden's biggest and most successful corporations, but rather we would meet a Gustavus alum who graduated with a degree in the humanities and beautifully landed a job with Ericsson. During the meeting, we discovered that it is not always a quick and clear path. Elin struggled with a number of life choices after college and had learned a number of jobs prior to her position at Ericsson. As these types of twisted and turbulent post college challenges weren't surprising, I then wondered what qualified her for her job. Within a corporate setting, how can an English major apply what Gustavus has taught them? "I've been able to cut through the clutter," said Elin, and her English degree also taught her to express herself clearly and to help others express themselves. She works to advise others regarding internal and external communications and attempts to gauge their long term effects. She was required to learn multiple jobs before Ericsson and college helped prepare herself for this essential life skill. The ability to learn new patterns and methods are the sine qua non for countless careers in the world and a degree in the humanities or from the liberal arts helps train those to become successful at this skill. The concept of life long learning was demonstrated within Elin and her proficiency in not only learning a new skill was clear, but also her expertise in seeing through the immaterial and underscoring the important.