Life After Graduation

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Hundreds of Mississippi State graduates are getting ready to enter life after college.

Many grads already have their next step figured out, while others are still waiting to see where their next step will take them.

“Just a lot of job searching and waiting for me,” said Nick Erebia.

The day of celebration is over, and many graduates are left with the same question.

What do I do now?

Some college grads are preparing to start new jobs, while others are heading back home to continue their job search.

“I plan on moving back to Huntsville Alabama continuing my job search there and doing a little more research into some masters programs that I hopefully can get into,” Kenneth Quinones.

“I will be going back home working at my old summer job. While I am doing that I will be waiting to hear back from some places that I have applied for. Hopefully in broadcasting, hopefully in film,” said Erebia.

Kenneth Quinones started his job search a couple of months ago and is optimistic that he’ll find one soon.

“It’s been tedious to put in the applications but there are plenty of opportunities out there, so I am very hopeful,” said Quinones.

Erebia is looking to make his mark in the film industry.

“I want to go out there and create content that people will relate to,” said Erebia. “That we can all come together and enjoy. It’s just something that I feel like is not really expressed enough. How important the role is in today’s society especially with helping media and technology. If I could just be a director for film that can bring people together, I think that would be the best job ever.”

While some look for jobs, others plan on continuing their education.

“I am actually going to return home to Gulf Port Mississippi to do a little bit of job searching for the summer, and then I plan to attend grad school,” said Amber White.

White says the process of getting into grad school isn’t easy.

“I have had to take the GRE, I have had to get letters of recommendation from all my teachers, just continue classes and get good grades, and I had to write some autobiographical essays,” said White. “Just telling them about myself and why I want to be in the program.”

All graduates have goals, and all of them go through different hoops to reach those goals, which is why Erebia has this advice for future grads.

“For those who are just becoming seniors the piece of advice that I can give them is don’t give up,” said Erebia. “You will get some rejection letters, and you may not hear back from people, but don’t let that stop you. You’ve just got to keep going, keep applying, someone out there will pick you up, and you will have your dream job. If you just keep working hard for it.”

All the recent grads I talked to are all actively pursuing their dream jobs.