Which graduates look more like Ethan or Luke?

Well, school has ended and everyone who was going to graduate has graduated. I attended two of the handful of college graduations. I sat through two of the ceremonies, each lasting around two to three hours, so I could scout what it would be like for next year when I graduate. Well, that and I had friends that graduated so I went in support. While waiting for them to walk, my roommate and I played the game of ‘Guess the Name’ where we would guess the name of the graduate before they walked the stage. Out of the two ceremonies, my roommate and I only got one name right each. I guessed an “Ethan” and I think she guessed a “Luke” (there weren’t a lot of women at the college of Science and Engineering graduation). 

The other graduation ceremony I went to was for the Carlson School of Management. I felt bad for those graduates because for some reason the wrong names were announced at the beginning, so probably about the first fifty people who walked crossed the stage with the wrong name–I can imagine some of the thoughts that were going through their heads. On top of that, there were some very passionately supportive families that had air horns that they continued to blow through other peoples’ names and the school song at the end. I was starting to get slightly annoyed then, but maybe that was just because I was in the middle of the two families and it was loud in my ears. 

As my roommate and I navigated our way out through the large, milling crowd of graduates and their families, we noted that this would be us next year, dressing up with our gowns, stoles, and ropes to walk across the stage and grab the empty diploma case. We’re growing up so fast. 

While I may not have to start searching for a big girl job yet, my new job at the Minnesota Daily is starting to come into effect. We don’t technically start publishing for the summer until the end of the month, we have set aside funds for a couple of important stories to be worked on and published during this break time. One of the stories is really news breaking, but is sort of a sensitive topic that can possibly put us in a legal situation if the person we’re writing about wishes to sue us (they’re a public figure though, so we are hoping it will be fine). It is just really interesting to be a part of the leadership team now and be able to be involved with learning more about the legal process and such. I’m also excited to start editing pieces and work with more reporters, so that’s really exciting. 

Also, not to toot my own horn, but I just learned that a piece I worked on with a coworker in the fall about suicides off of the Washington Avenue Bridge placed sixteenth nationwide for investigative college reporting, so that’s pretty neat. That’s the one thing about being in a leadership and editing position now is that I won’t have to write any more stories, which will be interesting. I think the break from writing will be nice, but not having pieces to build my skills, portfolio, or even put on my resume might be a little rough in the long run. Time will tell. I’m learning that making career decisions is never easy. I am also learning it’s okay to just try something and see whether I like it; that way I know whether I want it to be part of my future career. 

My Determination: “Truth is, no one can do what I do.” - Devil Wears Prada