Grads

A college education can be an investment in your future. But if you can't land a decent-paying job, that investment can leave you saddled with debt. So a small Christian university in Michigan, Spring Arbor University, is offering a sort of money-back guarantee. "Money-back" as in you won't have to give all the money back if you don't get a good gig. The school's program guarantees that students and their parents will receive help in repaying loans if a graduate's income fails to meet certain benchmarks.

The gig: Mary Micucci, 63, is the owner of Along Came Mary Events, one of Hollywood's leading catering and special events businesses. Often called the "caterer to the stars," Micucci has handled more than 400 movie premieres, from "Titanic" in 1997 to "The Hangover Part III" earlier this month, as well as numerous Grammy, Emmy and Academy Awards parties. She has also catered events for numerous celebrities, including Barbra Streisand's wedding to actor James Brolin in 1998. The food business wasn't an obvious career path for Micucci, a former flight attendant who also worked as a cocktail waitress while she was a student at Cal State L.A., where she got her degree in psychology and communications.

President Obama plans to speak at a U.S. military service academy Wednesday, a forum he has used throughout his administration to chart an evolution in military strategy and the gradual process of withdrawal from Afghanistan. The president is scheduled to speak at the graduation of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, days after he and the other leaders of the NATO alliance shook hands on a plan for withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The speech marks the president's fourth commencement at a service academy.

"Grad" might be my favorite four-letter word, which is really saying something, for I traffic in four-letter words - eat them, spew them, chomp them like gum. "Grad" is followed by "oops," "bonk," "ball" and "fall" (the season, not the act of tripping). "Beer" is also right up there, though I usually frown on drinking. It's just the additional hydration I crave. Anyway, we now have another G-R-A-D, freshly minted from the Middle West, the pastures and lawns an Amish green. In May, Indiana smells of dandelions and funnel cakes.

Navigating the job market without a college degree is harder than ever, but there are still plenty of solid jobs to be had, according to a new report. Some 29 million jobs with annual salaries of more than $35,000 exist for those who haven't finished college, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. That's one in every five jobs. Of those, 11 million jobs pay $50,000 or more a year. Of all so-called middle jobs, roughly half are office jobs, a third are blue-collar positions and the rest are roles in healthcare and technical occupations.

Only half of recent college graduates are working full time. What must the employment market be like for job-seekers with only a high school diploma? For certain occupations, it's not too bad. A new report from CareerCast.com found that a high school education can result in jobs with hefty entry-level pay. The best position is dental hygienist, according to CareerCast, with salaries that start at $45,000 on average and that can grow 109% at the top level. Through 2020, the number of such jobs is expected to surge nearly 38%. An online sales manager doesn't need a bachelor's degree but can still earn $40,000 from the get-go, potentially raking in 255% more at his or her peak.

Thanks for publishing "Cancer Cluster Alleged" (Feb. 22), on the cluster of cancers noted among Beverly Hills High School grads. You can make the "verified" number of cancers 86; I have lived one block downwind of the oil pump since 1991, and I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma a year ago. My kids, grads in '90 and '91, are OK so far. Anybody ask around the neighborhood for cancer incidences? I hope the good city fathers (and mothers!) put property-value considerations aside and explore this diligently and with integrity.

Re "For Some Grads, It's Back to School or Get a McJob," May 28: When I graduated college in 1991, with a BA in organizational psychology, I became a self-employed cleaning lady, seamstress and--the worst job of all--a TV/movie extra. These gigs, of course, were not my dream jobs, nor did they have anything to do with my field of study. But they did offer three very important services: flexible hours, allowing me to look for a real job and volunteer at organizations where I could use my education; something to put on my resume, both the jobs and the volunteer work; and income.

Not since the first English settlers stepped off the Mayflower, it seems, have so many people been trying so hard to improve themselves and their businesses. In the '80s, people have been dressing for success, power-lunching, managing in one minute, searching for excellence and trooping into seminars to learn how to sell better, lead more effectively and become one with the universe.

Like the rest of us, Healy doesn't like the idea of being tested at his job. If we are doing a good job, we worry the test won't show it. If we are not, we worry it will. So we invent elaborate reasons why we can't be tested, reasons that rarely impress the guy who must pay the bills and is not interested in taking our word that we deserve a raise. In the case of colleges, we are that guy. Healy wants us to spend four years of our lives and five figures of our limited income at his or another institution of higher education.

Re "Conservatives need not apply," Opinion, May 19 Economist Kevin Hassett laments the scarcity of conservatives giving graduation speeches. He even claims that "a primary objective of today's academic institutions … is not to educate students but rather to educate reliable Democratic votes. " He doesn't give our college students credit for intelligence. As an adjunct professor of biology at Moorpark College, I praise my students (nearly half of whom have "undecided or undeclared" listed for their majors)

Saturday marks the opening of trout season, and for more than 40 years the senior class from tiny Big Pine High - enrollment 36 - has tried to cash in. Outside the school on U.S. Highway 395 starting at 6 a.m. Friday, the 12-member senior class will line up to welcome fishermen and visitors headed toward Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. They will offer coffee, doughnuts and a friendly smile. And worms. Lots of worms. Selling the worms - a container of 10 goes for $5.50 - is the way the students pay for their senior trip.

A concert Sunday at the Troubadour in West Hollywood constitutes more than the usual raft of aspiring musicians that often takes place in local clubs: This one will showcase nearly two dozen students who make up the first graduating class from USC's Popular Music Program, touted as the first of its kind at a major university in granting baccalaureate degrees in pop music performance. It's hardly the students' first foray into the public spotlight - most have been honing their chops with performances on and off campus since USC instituted the new degree in 2008.

One of the victims killed in the Boston Marathon bombings was Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Chinese woman enrolled in a graduate statistics program at Boston University, the school said Wednesday. Lu was one of three friends who watched the race from the finish line, the school said. Another friend, Zhou Danling, was injured when the bombs exploded and is in stable condition at Boston Medical Center. Over a pizza lunch on Wednesday, the BU statistics department gathered for a tearful meeting over the news.

Re "A thin jobs docket for law grads," April 2 Thank you for shedding light on what has become a pervasive issue among recent law school graduates like myself. As a fellow Southwestern Law School alumnus, I sympathize with Michael D. Lieberman's plight, as I too was greeted with unemployment after graduating and passing the bar exam. At issue here is Southwestern's lack of empathy regarding its recent graduates. Startlingly, Southwestern's only communication with me since graduation has been in the form of letters and calls seeking donations.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dozens of law graduates across the nation have joined class-action lawsuits alleging that law schools lured them in with misleading reports of their graduates' success. Instead of working in the law, some of the graduates were toiling at hourly jobs in department stores and restaurants and struggling to pay back more than $100,000 in loans used to finance their education. Others were in temporary or part-time legal positions. Michael D. Lieberman decided to enroll at Southwestern Law School after reading that 97% of its graduates were employed within nine months.

Todd Everett's column, "Creators of Kids Show Scramble to Cover Costs" (Ventura County Weekend Calendar, July 25), should be addressed by those who have some knowledge and experience in these areas. While I'm certain that Michael Jordan's Gothic Productions, as mentioned in the article, represents a "theater experience" to some, there are many other patrons of the performing arts (not to mention the participants) who enjoy more fully developed, elaborate, "professional type" productions.

I don't feel bad for Bobby Knight, whose Teflon idiocy appears boundless. I don't feel bad for the players who choose to play for him, apparently fully aware of what they're getting into. And I don't feel bad for the [school] president and craven trustees who lack the nerve to do anything about it. But I do feel bad for all the Indiana grads whose university will never again be taken seriously by anyone. BILL BEDSWORTH Laguna Beach Bill Plaschke and Diane Pucin had differing views on Bob Knight, but did anyone expect the decision to be other than that handed down?

A college education can be an investment in your future. But if you can't land a decent-paying job, that investment can leave you saddled with debt. So a small Christian university in Michigan, Spring Arbor University, is offering a sort of money-back guarantee. "Money-back" as in you won't have to give all the money back if you don't get a good gig. The school's program guarantees that students and their parents will receive help in repaying loans if a graduate's income fails to meet certain benchmarks.