Goodbye Hollins, Hello Real World

From Roanoke to London seniors are entering the work force.

 

By: ASHLEIGH KRZYWICKI

 

Popping bottles of champagne on Front Quad is just one of the perks of graduation. As the year comes to a close, senior Elisabeth King reflects on years past and the future looming ahead.

 

“I have been working all year long turning papers in here and there just to get that piece of paper that says I am smart,” said King. “I am ready to leave Hollins, I just have to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life.”

 

Approximately 198 students will be walking on May 22. Commencement ceremonies begin on Front Quad at 10 a.m.

 

While the class of 2005 worked all year long, from Convocation to Ring Night to 100^th night, Commencement will finally bring their college years to an end. For some, the future holds a Masters degree at some prestigious school and others hope to join the rest of the working stiffs.

 

Senior Tiffany Price plans to stay in Roanoke with the hopes of working for a law firm. “I am planning on staying here for a year,” said Price. “I am applying for jobs with law firms in the area to either work full or part time to get experience in a law firm. Then, hopefully, in the fall of 2006 I will be in law school doing entertainment and sports law.”

 

After spending countless hours working feverishly on senior papers and the dreaded senior thesis, many people are now trying to decide what it is they are to do with their diplomas.

 

“I am moving to Surrey which is outside of London and I am going to be working in theatre,” said Jessica Differ ‘05 “Although I am not sure which one yet.”

 

“I am going to graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin for their Comparative Literature Ph.D. program,” said Heather Latiolais ’05. “My friend Zirwat Chowdhury is going to be attending Northwestern for their Art History Ph.D.”

 

Some people however are just not sure. With hopes of graduate school looming in the distance, the issue of money often affects the hopes and dreams of some. 

 

“I am spending my summer at home in Richmond, Virginia,” said King. “I am going to decide what to do with myself from there. I am taking a year off before I go to grad school because I need to get a job and earn some money first.”

 

As the class of 2005 leaves Hollins they take with them the memories that will last a lifetime.

 

“One night my sophomore year, at 2 a.m., a group of girlfriends and I decided to go visit my boyfriend at UVA, said King. “We had Daddy's mustang, and went about 115 mph the whole way, while listening to fun songs and singing at the top of our lungs. I don't remember everything we did when we got there, but I will never ever forget the trip up there. That's the night I realized how thankful I was to be a Hollins girl.”

 

For the class of 2005 Hollins was not always about the academics, it’s about the midnight trips to Sheetz and good times with friends. It’s the time spent outside of the classroom that seem to bring the most joy to them.

 

“I think the best times of college are the ones where you spend nights in Dana with your friends trying to get final papers done hopped up on caffeine until 6 a.m.,” said King. “I think there are two parts to college, the actual academics and the part where you grow up with your best friends right by your side. That’s what I’ll miss the most I think.”

 

The classroom, however, it is what all Hollins students know and love. “Having small classes and a small community, Hollins has allowed me to express myself,” said King. “I am more confident speaking in front of groups of people, and I have become a strong leader.”

 

While King zips up her robe on graduation day, she won’t have deadlines or class schedules running through her mind. She will have the memories of Hollins University that she has shared with all of her fellow seniors.