The great beyond

13May09

Two weeks ago, I was celebrating my last class of my undergraduate career. Last week, it was my last exam. And then four days ago I walked across the steps in front of Kresge Gym, accepted my diploma, and drove away from Albion for the last time.

I still don’t think it has hit me that I’m done. I am now a college graduate, going on into the big, grown-up working world.

That’s right, the working world.

The day before my very last final exam, I got that coveted phone call inviting me to an interview. Right after my final, I packed up my car and drove to Ionia, Mich. to meet with the editor of the Ionia Sentinel-Standard. Two days after that–and one day before my graduation–I was offered one of the paper’s two full-time reporter positions. I start Monday. Talk about a tidy ending.

I know just how lucky I am. While so many of my peers are scrambling to find work, I managed to snag not just a job but a job in journalism. It must have been the lucky penny that I picked up that day.

That doesn’t mean that everything is coming up roses… with student loans looming (the by-product of my expensive private college education), my entry-level reporter salary will mean a lot of macaroni and cheese and PB & J sandwiches in my future. I’m also crashing in my friend’s living room as I try to apartment search from across the state. And having a couch (even a Salvation Army steal) is looking like a pipe dream.

But when it all comes down to it, I couldn’t be happier or more excited.

Filed under: Journalism, Life, School   |  4 Comments
Tags: celebration, jobs, Journalism