Planning for Life after Undergrad

Paul Barina,
Senior, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Athens, OH 22 January 2013 – It would appear as cliché as it sounds, that freshman year seems like just yesterday. On one hand, this statement is absolutely correct. Around 1,277 days has already nearly flown by since I started the journey. It hasn’t felt like that! Regardless of how it felt, life is going on and life after Undergraduate School is looming. There are two options waiting to be chosen in the near distant future, job seeking, or graduate school.

First and foremost, finding a great job in a great location would be terrific! I really enjoyed my time working at Toledo Molding & Die this last summer. I was able to apply real theories and lessons learned in the class room and apply them on the manufacturing floor. This is an exhilarating feeling! Making real money for all my hard knowledge was very rewarding. This is option one.

Option two will take some patience and dedication. Graduate School has its own advantages. I would get a chance to continue to study Industrial & Systems Engineering at a more intense level at a school I love. I would have the same excellent faculty and staff to learn and be advised under. I would get the opportunity to study and concentrate on areas in which concern me within the Industrial Engineering world, which would be great.

Two great options are available for the choosing. Both options carry great weight. All that is left now is to decide!

Final Thoughts on College

Annye Driscoll,
Senior, Computer Science

Athens, OH 4 June 2012 – Well, it feels like my “big girl life” is starting to be actually real. I have one more project, three more exams, and one more blog post to write, and then I will have graduated with my computer science degree. It’s taken what feels like an incredibly long time (even though it’s only been three years since I started it!), and holy cow it’s taken a lot of work, but I am proud to be almost done and I know my parents and family are, too. My cats are currently at their summer home (they’re living in my aunt’s garage until Zeke and I find a house), my house is about halfway packed up, my school binder is cleaned out, and my room at my dad’s house is clean and set up to keep the two of us (plus the puppy!) for a couple months.

The changes aren’t just in my degree and living situation. Last night my boyfriend of three-ish years, whom I met in French class here at OU and who will be finishing his masters degree in sociology this summer, proposed to me on the steps of the ARC (one of the engineering buildings). It’s funny that he chose there to do it (although I don’t think he really chose it at all–he said he was just tired of waiting!); all the hours and hours of class, homework, and coding that I’ve done in that building will be supporting our new little family (us and the pets!) as we move to Dayton, buy a house, plan a wedding, and start being adults. Scary!

I don’t really have any big lessons I’ve learned that I can give people entering college, except to just live your lives like you always have, and try not to get into too much trouble. Be nice, work hard, and have fun. College is the perfect place to make new friends and learn how to live in the real world, but it’s also really easy to get behind in schoolwork or to get into trouble for doing something stupid – so try not to do it! Other than that…college is awesome, the Russ College is awesome, and Athens is amazing. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time, just like I did!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Abby Frankart, Senior, Mechanical Engineering

Athens, OH 11 May 2012 – Graduation is like a dangling carrot in front of a horse for me and my fellow seniors. As much as we all are trying to appreciate and savor our last year in undergrad, I feel that many of us are just as ready to be done now. If you think senioritis was bad in high school, you have no idea how bad it is in college.
Oddly enough, as much as I want to graduate, I don’t really want to be an adult either. I now have to worry about things like health care, insurance, finding a place to live, using a relator, how to move across the country instead of across town, buying real furniture. It doesn’t seem scary, but annoying! I know that I am very capable of completing these tasks, but they are incredibly mundane.

It’s nice to take some time this year to look back at my college life and see the growth in myself, the changes in my priorities, and the changes in my attitude in these four years. So while the future seems slow in comparison, I’m interested to see what changes in the next four years.

Busy Spring Quarter

Leesha Blake, Senior, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Athens, OH 10 May 2012 – Spring quarter has been busy, but fun. My family came to visit two weekends ago for the Athens triathelon. My dad and my brother both competed. My mom and I had to get up really early to watch them compete, but it was still fun. They did really well; my brother even got first place in his age division! Last weekend was moms’ weekend, and my mom and I got to do a lot of fun stuff, like shopping and watching movies. We have also been doing a lot to get ready for graduation. Some of my family is coming to see graduation, and we are going to have a cookout at my apartment after the ceremony. I am really excited to see everyone.
I still have a lot to do in the meantime, though. Next weekend is the spring Tau Beta Pi induction, and since I am an officer, I get to help induct the new initiates. Tau Beta Pi is the engineering honor society, and we are getting ready to start some pretty fun stuff for next year, like volunteer work, tutoring sessions, and even some fun social activities.

I’ve also been doing a lot to get ready to go to graduate school. I already started research on my first grad school project, and I am registered to present my project at an American Institute of Chemical Engineers conference in the fall. All in all, it has been a busy but fun quarter, and I have a lot to look forward to as I get ready for graduation and moving on to grad school.

Last Quarter

Grace Sallar, Senior, Civil Engineering

Athens, OH 25 March 2012 – I am incredibly excited about this quarter because it is going to be my last one as an undergraduate student! I have a pretty laid back schedule. Three required classes and tennis! I am taking Pre-stressed concrete, a senior design class, and a Hinduism. I’ve always wanted to know about different religions and the Hinduism class is going to be a great opportunity for me to do that.

For my senior design class, there are two options: working on a bridge or a building. I have decided to go with the bridge design option since I will most likely get into that when I graduate and get into the work force. The senior design class is something I have been waiting for since sophomore year, and even though it’s going to be very stressful and full of work, it marks the end of my undergraduate journey, and that’s more than enough for me.