Check in with him in a year. He'll be interning or, worse, volunteering for some company, a giant in his chosen field. He thought it was his big break, but now he's just a broken man. He wishes he was still in Missoula, spending his weekdays protesting sweat shops and spending his weekends with you at Al's and Vic's. Instead he'll be staying in this Saturday night, hand-grinding coffee for Mr. Gates.
Chances are it was some professor, maybe an academic advisor.
In Montana, you know it ain't the money. Nope, these people know the truth. They know that the real world is a smelly, nasty, rat-infested wasteland. Naturally, that sounds like something that should be put off as long as possible. So, for the time being, we should probably let these poor, misguided seniors have their time in the sun.