By Jeena Ehnstrom
Soon to be FSU graduates are about to take the next giant step into the following stage of their lives. The 2012 undergraduate commencement for FSU will be held Saturday May 19, 2012. With this date quickly approaching, students are carefully considering what they should do after receiving their Bachelor’s degrees.
There are several options for post-graduation events and activities. Take the summer off to work full time at your current job, take on an internship, apply for jobs within your degree/major, and go right back into a graduate program are all ways in which students can move on from the graduation. Some students start planning the next move months before graduation, and some students have no idea what they are going to do. Students go in all different kinds of directions for their next step; however each step leads to one thing: the hope for success.
Chloe Tagan, graduating in this spring’s graduation with a degree in communications media, is taking the summer off from school and moving to Martha’s Vineyard to work full time. This upcoming fall, Tagan is interning in New York City at a dance company, however has not decided yet which one. “I’m so excited to graduate and move forward into my internship, however, I need to save money over the summer to accommodate my living situations in New York” Tagan explains. Tagan has a full-time waitressing job at a popular pizza place on Martha’s Vineyard in which she is very confident that she will make the money she needs for when she moves to New York. “Hopefully when I settle in New York City I will love and be comfortable with my internship and eventually get a job out of it,” she explains. Tagan moves to Martha’s Vineyard three days after graduation to start her money making.
Molly Dellechiaie graduated from Fitchburg State University in January of 2011 for exercise and physiology. Dellechiaie took a year off to work full-time as a bartender/waitress to save up money to go back to school for a continuing education. After a year, she actually landed herself an internship at a family medical center in Leominster before she got back into school. “My internship is great and is helping me get the feel of the career I want to eventually be in. When it’s complete I definitely plan on getting back to school for my Master’s degree” Dellechiaie states. Dellechiaie will be done her internship in time to start school back up in the fall of 2012.
Internships and continuing education are two good ways to move forward after graduation. Having solid job environment experience and more education on your record will help students exceed after a Bachelor’s Degree. However, there are several programs at Fitchburg State University that prepare students to apply for professional positions right after graduation. For example, the nursing program includes clinicals in which students actually work in the hospital. In addition, nursing students are prepared for and set up to take the Massachusetts nursing boards which is a test that needs to be passed in order to receive a nursing license and apply for positions. The education program is very similar. Students are put into schools for student teaching prior to graduation. They are also trained and prepared for the MTEL exams in which get students their license to teach in Massachusetts if passed. Both of these degrees are more than likely to land a graduate a job shortly after school. Although, both jobs require the employees to eventually get a degree in continuing education.
Whether it be an internship, a time to save money, going right back to school, or immediately getting a job, graduated students are moving up in the world. Each post-graduation option will earn the graduate accomplishments and success in the future. Each step, no matter what it be, will fit the student’s needs and get them where they want to be. Good luck, 2012 graduates!