December graduates prepare for life after college

At this time of year, many students are beginning to dread finals and polish their schedule for next semester, but others are searching for jobs and looking for a graduation outfit.

For the past three years, more than 1,000 students have received diplomas in December.

The reason for graduating in December varies from student to student.

Some students are graduating late, like Kaitlyn Molter. But she isn’t upset about her decision. While she wasn’t getting ahead in the classroom during her summer breaks, she was getting real-life experience. She accepted a summer internship and worked full-time.

But Molter also realizes the downside to graduating late: more student loans. By tacking on an extra semester of schooling, she also had to tack on more debt.

For other students, the reason for early departure is Advanced Placement test credits they received in high school or summer courses they took to get ahead. Ryan Turton is graduating early for both reasons, but he doesn’t think much of his early accomplishment because he knew the time to graduate would come sooner or later.

While many students usually associate graduating in December with finishing early or late, there are also students graduating after the traditional number of semesters, such as Tianna Coleman. Due to an illness second semester of her freshman year, she left school, missing a semester of classes.

Graduating in December has its pros and cons for each situation, but one problem remains the same for all December graduates: finding a job.

Molter, Turton and Coleman all agree that December job hunting isn’t easy.
“I find it extremely difficult to find a job,” Coleman said.

Molter said she doesn’t believe job searching is harder in December, but she thinks she hasn’t been using the proper resources.

“Just the fact that the economy is in the dumps doesn’t really help at this time,” she said.

Turton also hasn’t had much luck in her job search either, but instead of worrying about finding employment right after graduation, he is considering graduate school.

“I don’t think anyone ever plans on graduating late,” Molter said. “I mean, obviously I would have liked to graduate on time. Over time, the date was pushed to August, and then by choosing to take on my summer internship I pushed my graduation date to December.”