Life after Seton Hill University (SHU) – does such a thing exist? According to both alumnae and current graduating seniors, it’s difficult to imagine. Missing friends can often be the most complicated issue to adjust to.
�I met so many people that I never would have had a chance to meet if I didn’tcome here. My best friends are here,� said Amianne Labuda, a senior music major.
Neha Bawa, a senior English literature major, also said that she will miss �the people who�ve become good friends and the teachers who have always been affable and welcoming.�
�It’s always the people who make a place,� she said.
By Valerie Masciarelli,
News Editor
Life after Seton Hill University (SHU) – does such a thing exist? According to both alumnae and current graduating seniors, it’s difficult to imagine. Missing friends can often be the most complicated issue to adjust to.
�I met so many people that I never would have had a chance to meet if I didn’tcome here. My best friends are here,� said Amianne Labuda, a senior music major.
Neha Bawa, a senior English literature major, also said that she will miss �the people who�ve become good friends and the teachers who have always been affable and welcoming.�
�It’s always the people who make a place,� she said.
�I think that a lot of the friends I made, it was more like making my family bigger, because you�re very close-knit with those people that are in your class or in your major, so you have a totally different bond than you have in high school,� said Rebecca Greenholt, a senior psychology major.
�I think what struck me first is the separation of my friends,� said Jenn Domaracki, an alumna who completed her undergraduate work at SHU in 1999, and also received her master of education from SHU in 2005. Domaracki said she graduated a semester before her friends.
�We still all live in the same city, but at different ends of town with different schedules,� she said. �It all becomes very difficult to get together.�
Fears and hopes for the future are also large worries on the minds of seniors. Some, such as Labuda and Greenholt, will return next fall, both to complete their teaching certifications, while others such as Bawa will be going on to graduate school. And some will be seeking employment right away, which can be very frustrating.
�The most difficult part about life after college was realizing that there was not much of a market for English majors and that I would have to think a bit creatively in work searches,� said Jennifer Reho, from the class of 1999, who had been a creative writing major at SHU.
Reho advises students that �if you aren’table to secure employment related to your major right away, stay open-minded. All work experience is good for your resume and adds inventory to your skills.�
Labuda said she’s not sure what else she is going to do after graduation, aside from returning to finish her certification, but she has ideas in mind.
�I want to possibly work at a daycare,� she said. �I want to do something with education.�
�Next semester, while I�m student teaching I�ll send out resumes and cover letters to schools to get a job in the spring, but I probably won’tget hired until the next fall,� said Greenholt. �I�ll probably substitute in the spring.�
�Right now I�m taking it one day at a time,� said Bawa. �I was definitely excited to find out that I had been accepted (to graduate school), but now everything else is unfurling in front of me, which is a little overwhelming.� Her mind has turned to summer travel plans.
�I�m planning a trip to Poland if my Visa comes through,� Bawa said. Domaracki advises this year’s seniors to �travel while they can.�
�It’s much easier to backpack Europe while you�re young than with two bawling babies on your back,� she said. Domaracki also advises students to remember that �Life is what you make of it,� and also
�Don’tfeel guilty if you don’tknow what you want to do with your life,� which she quoted from Mary Schmich’s speech �Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.�
�The advice, though clich�d in many respects, turned out to be true in my years since leaving Seton Hill College as an undergrad,� she said. She has taken many fond memories with her, one of her favorites being Christmas on the Hill.
�I really just loved the overall ambiance of the place,� Reho said. �The beautiful architecture and grounds were inspirational to my writing.�
�I cherish all the memories I made, so I don’tthink any one beats any other memory,� said Greenholt. �I�m just glad I was able to make memories…�
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