When he leaves Temple with his bachelor’s degree, Tim Buckman will start a job in the financial advisory services group of the world’s largest private professional services company. Ivey Staten is launching a
career in politics. Nic Lukehart will be tutoring in inner city schools.

But these graduating seniors won’t be starting their post-Temple professional lives on Wall Street, in the nation’s capital or in the underserved schools of Chicago. Like

thousands of their classmates, they’ve decided to live and work right here in Greater Philadelphia.

At a time when many regions in the nation are fretting about “brain drain” — the loss of educated workers who move elsewhere after earning their degrees — Temple graduates are fueling the local economy by putting their degrees to work in and around
Philadelphia in greater numbers than graduates of any other regional institution.

According to surveys of local college students conducted by Campus Philly, a non-profit organization seeking to stimulate economic growth by encouraging college students to study, explore, live, and work in Greater Philadelphia, nearly two-thirds of Temple students indicated that they were likely to stay in the Philadelphia area after graduation. Almost three out of 10 Temple students surveyed indicated that they were “very likely” to stay in Philadelphia — a higher percentage than any other of the
region’s research universities.

Like many seniors in the Class of 2011, Staten came to Temple with the intention of moving to another city after earning her degree. An African American studies major from Philadelphia, Staten felt the pull of Washington, D.C., where she hoped to explore a career in the law, government or intelligence — a path that she hoped would lead to politics. But while at Temple, she took courses with former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, started working with local ward leaders, took advantage of connections she
developed with student organizations and local alumni and decided to jumpstart
her career in public service in Philadelphia instead of D.C.

“I’m running for city commissioner,” Staten said. “It will be great to give back to the city I know and the people I know who have supported me. If I went somewhere else, I wouldn’t have that support.”

Buckman, a finance and international business major from Doylestown, Pa., acknowledges that New York is the world’s finance capital. He even visited a few companies there. But ultimately, he said, “I still want tobe in Philly.”

“Part of that is wanting to stay involved with the Fox School of Business,” said Buckman, who starts at Deloitte in September. “But it’s more than that. I developed an entire network in Philadelphia. This is the nation’s fifth largest city, with a wide variety of companies, both big and small.”

Given Temple’s long history of serving students from greater Philadelphia, the fact that large numbers of Temple students intend to stay in town isn’t a surprise. More than any other institution, Temple has been the region’s source for educated workers: About one in every eight college-educated people who live in Philadelphia or the four surrounding
Pennsylvania counties has at least one Temple degree. Yet Temple’s urban appeal also attracts thousands of out-of-state students to Philadelphia. When they get here, many take advantage of what Philadelphia has to offer, learn to love the city and decide to stay.

Lukehart — a political science major from Takoma Park, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C. — was lured to Temple by its big-city campus and the diversity of its student body.

While working as a photographer for the Temple News, the student newspaper, he shot pictures all over the city from sporting events to protests. He liked the urban environment so much that he accepted a full-time service job this fall with City Year as
a tutor in an underserved Philadelphia community.

“I think that one of the biggest reasons that I’m staying in Philadelphia is the phenomenal experience I had at Temple,” Lukehart said. “I really think this city has so much to offer and so much potential yet to be realized. I’m excited to be part of helping
Philadelphia realize that potential in the next few years.”

That’s sweet music to elected officials, business leaders and others who hope to keep the Philadelphia region economically vital. Deborah Diamond, president of Campus Philly, cites research suggesting that a 1 percent increase in a city’s college graduate
population will lead to cascading economic benefits totaling $4 billion.

People with college degrees earn more, she says. When they earn more, they spend more. And that spending sends ripples throughout a region’s economy.

“Increasingly, the regions that are going to thrive are regions that are built off highly educated workers,” Diamond said. “The increasing economic health of this region is directly tied to how educated our workers are. Temple is a pillar of this change.”

Still looking? Take advantage of these career resources


Still hoping to find a postgraduation job, internship, grad school or volunteer opportunity
in the Philadelphia area?
Temple’s Career Center is
hosting Campus Philly’s 34th
annual Opportunity Fair on
Tuesday, May 24, from noon to
3 p.m. in the Student Center.

And don’t forget that Temple's Career
Center’s career coaching
resources are available free
to Temple alumni. Visit the Career Center web site for
more information.