By: Faith Garven

It is almost that time of the year. For those of us preparing to graduate, we are so ready to be done (at least I am!) I checked the countdown on the college website and there are a mere 33 days left until graduation! I know that for many people this graduation will be really special. For some, COVID changed the way traditional high school graduation looked. But this is the chance that you have been waiting for: to walk the stage in your cap and gown. I have talked to a few of my classmates about their plans after graduation. I wanted to see what they are looking forward to the most.

Johnishala (Ariel) Scarbrough has been in several of my classes since I started at NCCC. I asked her to answer a few questions about graduation. She said, “I am a communications major and by May I will have an associate degree in science. I will be attending graduation. I already applied for graduation like a month ago and I already ordered my cap and gown. As for my plans after school, I’m applying to colleges such as Howard Universities (already submitted my application), Buffalo State, Syracuse University, Etc. I am applying for these colleges/ University to continue communication studies and as a minor, I am applying for African Studies or African-American studies. What I am looking forward to the most to graduation is walking across the stage. When I graduated from high school in 2020 I didn’t walk across the stage.”

Julianna Alvarez has also been in several of my classes and I asked her questions about graduation as well. She said, “I am graduating with an associates degree in Communications. I am planning on going to graduation! After graduation, I want to start looking for a job that is mostly in an office setting. I don’t have a definite career goal, but I do know that I like an office environment and working with social media and media management. I am looking forward to starting my career and finding something I really enjoy and after a few years I would think about going back to school for my bachelors while working!” I am very excited for both of these individuals, as I have seen how hard they have worked towards finishing.

As for me, the road to graduation has felt extremely long. If you’re anything like me, you had no idea what you wanted to do after high school. I settled on a degree that I did not end up particularly enjoying. However, I stuck with it and kept pushing myself to finish. I am graduating with an associates degree in communications. In the fall, I plan on attending The Salon Professional Academy in Tonawanda for cosmetology. My goal is to have my Hair Stylist License a year from now. The thing that I am most excited about is finally being done with college!

To my fellow graduates, here is a reminder. If you plan on attending graduation, make sure you apply for graduation on Banner Web. Also, make sure to order your cap and gown at the Barnes and Noble bookstore located on campus. If you want further information on college graduation visit this link to learn more: https://www.niagaracc.suny.edu/commencement/info-for-students1/. We are so close to the end! CON-GRAD-ULATIONS in advance!





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