The thoughts of someone fast approaching graduation
Even MyUCLA had to remind us of our doom
Signing on to MyUCLA on Monday, I got that long-awaited message every college student fears. Mark your calendars, Bruins, June 10th will be the beginning of the end for most of us graduating.
I’ve spent upwards of $150,000 on a piece of paper that will be handed to me during that two-hour long commencement ceremony – and that’s after graduating one year early. For all you out-of-state students, empathy is not enough to make up for the mounds of debt we have all accumulated.
And even for those from California, I salute you for investing in an education because the consequence of cost is not easy. A solid future, including a stable and well-paid career path, might be the only thing keeping us graduates going after these four long years.
But the current state of the career world is grim, to say the least. 50% of the gradating class of 2012 faced joblessness or underemployment after graduating, according to an Assocatiated Press article. And that’s only expected to get worse as employers raise their standards from a mandatory Bachelor’s degree to a mandatory Master’s degree, for some of the more basic career paths.
In a little more than 100 days, the race to employment starts. Those four years prior were merely practice.
Bruins will all stand in their gowns, adjusting those painstakingly uncomfortable caps, purposefully putting on an image of unity and equality but if you focus the image, you’d see these true bruins in another light. Students will be draped in chords that they are convinced will help them stand out from their peers, whether it be a chord that represents honors collegium, diversity, Greek affiliation or student organization, these listing qualities will hold weight now, but prove weightless in the future.
Many graduating Bruins, 21 to 22 years old, will step into the real world where nothing is enough, and the hard work they have put in over the last four years will go unnoticed.
All of us graduating Bruins have a degree from one of the most prestigious universities worldwide, but what makes you stand out from the rest of us?
Is it your GPA? Your internship experience? Maybe you’re the lucky one, with connections to all the right places. Perhaps you’ve come to terms with the reality that a BA is no longer enough and have taken on the future of graduate school. Even more, maybe you have a passion for medicine, and have accepted the many years of academia ahead of you.
Whatever you may do, my fellow Bruin, I hope you make the best of these 100-or-so days. Take on more extracurriculars that take up hours of your days, meet people in your future career field that can help guide you and connect you, don’t forget to continue working hard in classes to maintain your exemplary GPA and while you’re at it, have the best quarter-and-a-half before walking down that stage on June 10th. It might not ever be this easy again.