Graduates: Lessons from MIT Alumni (2024 Edition)

At the end of May, members of the Class of 2024 will graduate from MIT and set off on the next phase of their lives, joining the cohort of nearly 147,000 alumni. No matter where these newest grads are headed, they will continue to learn from their peers and, hopefully, from the MIT alumni who came before them.

To that end, here are a few tips gleaned from Slice of MIT’s alumni coverage over the past academic year. 

1. Happiness is more important than money. 

Chris Schell ’96 was working on Wall Street in a flourishing finance career, but his mental health was suffering. He gave it all up in the pursuit of happiness. “I wanted my next endeavor to involve a product that people actually cared about and that could actually affect their happiness,” says Schell, who started a home construction business. “I didn’t expect to make money. I just wanted to find happiness, and I assumed I’d subsidize the losses with my trading profits. A remarkable thing happened. A sincere commitment to putting happiness first had pretty amazing, unexpected results. The company is ‘successful’ by all definitions of the word.”

2. Change the world with acts of kindness. 

Rhiannon Menn MBA ’14 set out to make homemade meals for a few local moms and ended up creating an international kindness movement with her nonprofit, Lasagna Love. “It’s really showcasing the network effect of kindness,” she says. “The more acts of kindness that you can connect in the community, the more that ripples outward. And I think that has the potential to really strengthen communities in a way that we quite honestly could use.”

3. Teamwork makes the dream work.

When Alex Rivest PhD ’11 decided to make a career switch from neuroscientist to documentarian, he says it was a very “learn-as-you-go experience”—one he couldn’t have done without relying on expert colleagues. On the job, he became skilled in filming, editing, and coordinating with composers and the graphics team. “I learned long ago that to do big things, you need to surround yourself with people who share the dream and people who are more skilled than yourself and can fill in all the gaps you have,” he says. 

4. Never stop playing.

An early fan of puzzles, Tammy McLeod ’99, MEng ’99 has always pursued the hobby—whether in her free time at MIT or in her down time from work. In addition to jigsaw puzzles, she has competed in (and won) sudoku competitions as well as team-based escape rooms. Her love for puzzles—she completes around 500 puzzles a year to hone her craft—has even earned her a Guinness World Record in speed puzzling. “The puzzles I like always have a single, correct solution. The certainty of working toward a solution really appeals to me,” she explains.

5. Trust your instincts. 

Numerous times in his career, Lynn Sykes ’59, SM ’60 had a gut feeling about a scientific hypothesis that had yet to be proven or was even actively contested. Through his data and research, he was able to find evidence that proved the hypothesis, bringing about positive change. For Sykes, he says it’s not about—and has never been about—being right or debating people; he just follows the data to help solve problems. “I think that these are important problems; that's what I emphasize.”

6. Every cloud has a silver lining. 

Parul Somani ’04 faced a new job, a new baby, and an aggressive form of breast cancer all at once. Then her medical journey fighting cancer led to life-changing health improvements for both of her parents—and an eye-opening realization. She learned that she could forge silver linings from her darkest moments—not simply find them. Today, she is sharing her insights as a motivational speaker, workshop facilitator, and patient advocate. “[These skills] are coachable and learnable and teachable,” she says.

Whether you’re an alum or still a student, visit the MIT Alumni Advisors Hub to connect with alumni for career guidance at every step of your journey.

Photo (top): Gretchen Ertl.