William Patti
Equinox Staff
Senior year is an extremely exciting and memorable time: It is the climax of the college experience, and it signifies the start of the next chapter of life. Among all the excitement, worry of what’s to come after graduation grows as the year comes closer to its end. Although the purpose of college is education, it’s very much a social experience. Lifelong friendships are forged and memories are made. Although some seniors can be nervous for life after Keene State, all are excited to reach the goal they have been working towards for 4 years.
When asked if he had any concerns about post graduation life, Logan Felix, senior, Occupational Safety and Environmental Studies double major said,
“My biggest concern is not finding a job, like I was telling you earlier, I have already been denied for 6 or 7 jobs I applied for,” he said. When asked if there was any advice he would give a freshmen Logan said, “Try to make friends, that’s really important. Don’t really stress, but it does go by really quickly, make time to do what you want to do, and what you need to do, but don’t stress yourself out. Also, getting an internship is really important.”
Another Keene State Senior and Biology major Bryce Chouinard said he was excited for somethings but not for others,
“I’m definitely excited to not have to take tests or do homework anymore, but I’d also say I’m worried about getting a job I like in a place I want to live after I graduate,” he said.
Keene State Alumni Dr. Anthony Patti graduated with a degree in Occupational Safety, was asked how well he felt Keene State prepared him for life after college,
“College is a great tool for preparing for the real world. A lot of the things I learned in school are helpful in my everyday life. I often reference old PowerPoints and course materials from the classes I took at Keene to help with my job. In one of my classes, the professor brought in a rep form Edge Eyewear, a safety glasses manufacturer. He showed us the tests they perform on the glasses to ensure they go above and beyond OSHA requirements. When i first started my job, I saw the safety glasses we were using and suggested we switch to Edge Eyewear. The employees really appreciated the change as the glasses from Edge are much higher quality. I’m glad I can take what I learned at Keene and apply it to my everyday life. I would say that the professors in the safety department held us to a higher standard and left us very well prepared for what was to come after school.”
Dr. Patti was also asked what he liked most about senior year, to which he replied “Senior year was full of so many memories it’s too hard to choose my favorite one. At the end of my last semester, we had the pub crawl. A couple of girls from our grade were nice enough to organize it and separate all the people who wanted to go into teams. This was one of the most fun times of my senior year. I didn’t know everyone on my team and I got to make new friends and memories that will last forever. Shortly pub crawl, as the semester was coming to an end we had to go pick up our year books. I remember getting mine, sitting down by the stand and watching everyone else going to get their yearbooks. Some I knew, some I didn’t. That’s when it hit me that I may never seen some of these people again. It’s a scary thought but I can tell you from experience that those close friendships you made over these last four years, and the memories you’ve made with them never go away. Those last forever.”
Both seniors who were interviewed expressed worry for the future, but also seemed eager to start the next chapter of life. One of the main concerns expressed by both Logan and Bryce was finding a job in an area they wanted to live. In speaking to the alumni it becomes apparent that this worry is natural and although it may not seem like it, college has done its job in preparing students for life after school.
William Patti can be contacted at
wpatti@kscequinox.com.
