Three tips

For those of you reading this who are not graduating in 85 days (not like I'm keeping track or anything) I am going to offer a few obvious yet understated tips.

1. Your GPA does matter!
When I was a freshman a lot of older students would tell me things like, oh employers don't care about your GPA, all that matters is that you get a degree. Well, those people are liars. Now that I am planning on graduate/law school I am realizing more and more that I really should have worked harder. Yes, I got good grades but I slacked off a lot and now I'm kicking myself for it. My overall GPA barely hits the 3.0 mark, yet I have held a 3.5 or higher the past three semesters. I could have a MUCH higher overall GPA if I would have just applied myself more. Oh well, like they say, hindsight's 20/20.

2. Get an internship, seriously
I never got an internship and I regret it now because I really could have used the experience. Not to mention it looks great on a resume. Of course since I paid my own way through college it would have been nearly impossible to work 40 hours and go to school full time and do an internship, but I'm sure I could have figured something out.

3. Find your niche early
I am a Public Relations major and yes, I do love people and I would love to get a job in the field of PR, but I didn't even choose my major until my junior year and that set me back a semester. Now that I am graduating I have discovered my love for law, mainly because I will argue just for the sake of argument (ask my boyfriend I'm sure he would have a bit to say about it) but also because I want to help people. I wanted to be a nurse for a very long time but I realized the first time I gave blood that the sight of needles makes me pass out. So if you can find what it is you truly want to do early on, it will benefit you in the long run.

For more professional tips I suggest you go to Professor Potter's blog. He is by far my favorite professor I've ever had my college career and and extremely talented man. He knows the field of PR more than anyone ever probably. OK maybe a slight exaggeration, but still, he's smart.

stuck in neutral

On Thursday when Matt came to talk with our class, in a way he filled me with some hope for journalism. His optimism about newspapers had me questioning their "death" after all. He did address one topic that we all seem to have on our mind: what am I going to do come May? Matt suggested that we all will merely be"stuck in neutral". Kind of a limbo between graduating and working. After hearing him talk I really feel as if grad school is the absolute best choice. As for the the few of us that are able to get ourselves into "Drive," good luck!!

A giant lobster suit?

A close friend of mine recently graduated from college last fall. To spare her from embarrassment I won't mention any names. After she graduated she got a job working for an event planning agency. Her first week on the job she was given the pleasure of dressing up in a giant lobster suit. Her second week she was given the pleasure of blowing up over 1000 balloons for a Cinderella carriage display. Is that what we have to look forward to? A giant lobster suit? I hope not!

Gadgets

Well, I am trying to make this blog look nice and everytime I try to add a gadget that I want it says error, this gadget is broken. I even tried to make my own gadget at it gave me a very long html to add. Now if I can just figure out where exactlly to put the html. Anyone who knows what they're doing feel free to let me know because I am lost!

not just US

So on my quest to find other blogs similar to my topic, I found that it was fairly difficult. I used google blog search and still found only a few blogs that posted anything at all about graduating college and the recession. What I did find though, was a few blogs from other countries. One of the blogs posted on my blog roll is focused on how college graduates in China are having a difficult time finding jobs too. At least we aren't alone!

sixteen grand

Well now that tax season and my final semester are both in full swing, a pleasant documentation came in the mail for me today. Just a friendly reminder from Towson that I owe 16-thousand dollars. Sixteen thousand dollars! I can't even begin to think about how I am going to be able to pay that back. I wait tables for a living. I have enough trouble paying my rent and bills. I'm just now paying off my 600 dollar credit card bill that I've had for almost a year. So if it took me a year to pay off 600 dollars it will only take me about 27 years to pay off 16 thousand at the rate I'm going. I guess I better step it up!

Tanzania?

So I played hooky today. I mean, I had a doctors appointment so its not like I didn't have an excuse but still. I thought that with my violent case of senioritis it would feel good to skip class but it really didn't at all. In fact I feel guilty and I hate feeling like I missed something. Oh well, I will keep that in mind for next time.

On another note, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what my plans are for after graduation. Graduate school? Law school? Tanzania? Which one of those doesn't belong. As many of you know I'm sure, Tanzania is a country in Africa. I've really been thinking a lot about volunteering abroad and I found this awesome program from cross cultural solutions. You can choose how long you want to go for, anywhere between one and 12 weeks. And you do things like help build healthcare centers, help teach children, or take care of infants. There are also over 12 countries to choose from. I have narrowed it down to either Costa Rica, specifically Pursical or Tanzania, specifically a town called Bagamoya. Either way I think it would be an enlightening experience. So that's option number one for my future. Hey if anyone wants to join me on my venture let me know! The more the merrier.

senioritis

I found class exceptionally difficult to sit through today. Not as a result of my wild night which involved gossip girl, sushi, and me being in bed at 11, but rather because of a violent case of senioristis I have somehow contracted. As I mentioned earlier, listening to someone lecture about Pericles and Plato at 9 a.m. is not really my idea of fun. Do I really picture myself applying the aspects of Plato's Republic to my career? Well, that may be an issue of concern if I ever find a job. Let's be serious here and admit the odds are not in my favor on that one.

But I finally made it through a grueling 5 hours of class and just when I thought I was home free there was the ever so anticipated fifteen minute wait just to leave the parking garage. Those of you that have ever experienced Towson's campus between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. can feel my pain. Maybe graduating will have its perks after all.

an introduction

Well I suppose I should begin by introducing myself. Hello, my name is Keri Kemmerzell and I am a senior at Towson University which is roughly 15 minutes outside of Baltimore, Md. The purpose of this blog honestly is as a class assignment but I want you to know I am excited to be doing this also because I have never blogged before nor am I very familiar with blogging so if anything this should be an interesting experience. Now since I am ever so rudely posting this blog while I am listening to my professor lecture about the Peloponnesian War I suppose I should leave it at this for now. Have a wonderful day!