The year was 1930. A strange storm ripped across America. It was a weather event made not of snow, nor rain, nor any manner of precipitation. It was farmland, ripped from the ground by poor practices and terrible weather. This black blizzard blew across a doomed land. It darkened the skies of the American capital with whispers of disaster.
The policy-makers of Washington did not know it yet, but the country was about to plummet into the worst economic downturn the nation had ever seen. The fertile soil of America’s Great Plains settled into the Atlantic, just as prices began to drop. The Great Depression was at hand.
Picture a student in those times—a Rensselaer undergrad focused on his studies. Underclassmen worked as hard as ever. Jobs were several years away. Even seniors had their heads in their books. Final examinations were imminent, and theses needed writing. They were Rensselaer men, after all. They were in demand. Why, student enrollment was at a record 1,747 strong by 1930. Engineers were a necessity. Perhaps these rumors of financial troubles would affect others, but not them.
The current days bear a striking resemblance to those menacing times. Look to the press. In June of 2008, The New York Times announced an increase in demand for data engineers. In October, The Boston Business Journal mentioned a growing need for civil and construction engineers. Fueled by council such as this, over 12,000 students applied for the RPI Class of 2013. These figures suggest security. Why would alumni want for lack of employment? It is shocking, then, that seniors across disciplines had accepted job offers rescinded. As the expected job market folds beneath them, what can students do? History suggests one answer: persist.
In 1913, the beloved benefactor Mrs. Russell Sage donated $30,000 to Rensselaer for the establishment of two graduate fellowships. The school applied this gift as free tuition and a stipend of $500 for each recipient. In 1923, the trustees granted 10 more fellowships consisting of free tuition and a $600 stipend. The graduate department was now 12 strong.
By 1929, the school had a registry of 19 graduate students. Then Wall Street stumbled. As the stock market dropped by the day, students sought refuge from uncertainty in the familiar. Applications to graduate schools rose. By 1933, 51 graduate students worked at RPI, beating out 128 other applicants. Over the course of four years, the Rensselaer graduate school grew by 170 percent.
If this trend repeats, RPI will host over 3,200 graduate students by 2013. While this outcome seems doubtful, there is a lesson to learn. When the job market fails, students must use the skills they have grown and nourished for four years. Graduate school places demands that further refine one’s intellect and academic ability. It is an opportunity to gain a reputation in a chosen field, while raising the dedicated to greater prospects of career choice. Expect more graduate students in the years to come.
Editor’s Note: “Rensselaer Revisited” is a column granted to Benjamin Scheiner by the Editorial Board to inform the campus community of the history behind Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
