<p>D2 graduates May 18th. Right now she’s sweating the defense of her senior thesis (deadline for submitting signed, defended thesis: May 1), trying to get her committee to all agree on a day and time. </p>
<p>She will graduate with high honors in both her degree fields. Unfortunately, both departmental commencements are being held at the same time! She’ll have to choose which one to attend. (School tries really hard to avoid conflicts like this, guess she has an unusual combo of majors. I didn’t think it was that uncommon…)</p>
<p>In other good news she has a job. She received her contract earlier this week. She will be moving away from both her home state and her college state.</p>
<p>congrats wowm. Your D must be thrilled. I would be over the moon with joy if S2 could just get a summer internship lined up. When S1 graduated, he went right to work two days later. No such luck this time around.</p>
<p>Toledo - you’re right. Not every campus has a Phi Beta Kappa chapter (mine did, but D’s campus did not.)</p>
<p>We just got home from our “last spring break” trip to Florida. When D was younger and still in elementary/middle/high school, we spent a week in Florida almost every spring break, but we had not been back since college began. I joked that this was our “last family vacation.” It was lots of fun, but a little bittersweet - kind of like senior year!</p>
<p>Congrats wowm! My D is moving to a new city also. At first she wasn’t thrilled, but she has found some college and HS friends that will also be working there next year, so things are looking up.</p>
<p>Packmom: Sorry that your S hasn’t found a summer internship. The situation sounds very stressful.</p>
<p>Congratulations to those with already-employed graduates. What a relief (though you knew they could do it!), and how exciting to see them about to launch. And to the rest of us, let’s stay calm. It will happen.</p>
<p>I’m hoping S will be gainfully employed in a kitchen by early to mid-July. (We’ll be on a trip until the second week in June.) He just had one referral to a well-known restaurant owner from a friend who does business with the guy. Now he’s going to whip up (culinary pun not intended) his resume and send it off. It’s all about making contacts, even if there’s no immediate job. Yesterday my new manicurist told me to bring her his resume because one of her other clients is the CFO for one of the most talked-about restaurant businesses in town, with multiple restaurants and more opening soon. Who knew? If it worked out, would he be willing to admit he got his job through his mother’s manicurist? The world works in interesting ways, and he’s going to learn that these weird kinds of connections matter.</p>
<p>I’m starting the graduation outfit hunt. Black pants are a given, but I need something new to wear with them. It’s indoors, so that helps.</p>
<p>Graduation is outdoors. Last year it was 38 degrees, rained hard and sleeted. Miserable. Upstate NY spring weather is totally unpredictable. (However, one of my co-workers is a professional meteorologist. She’s promised me an accurate forecast before I leave so I know what pack! In 5 years, she’s only steered me wrong once.)</p>
<p>D2 is disappointed her sister won’t be able to attend her ceremonies, but D1 is taking final exams for her first year med school classes at 8 am the next morning back here in our town. No way she can get back in time. She’s even asked the Dean if she could take the exams early so she could go, but was turned down. </p>
<p>Thanks on the congrats for D’s job!</p>
<p>D2 is thrilled. She sent cold emails out to about 12 research groups asking about positions and got lucky. She will be a research lab asst. at a Top 10 medical school, working for interdisciplinary group (biomedical engineering and neuropsychiatry). She wanted a job at this particular school because her BF will going to grad school at this university and they want to live together next year.</p>
<p>That’s great that things worked out so well for your D, wowm.</p>
<p>We have 2 graduation ceremonies. One for his college that’s indoors on Sat, and an all-school ceremony that’s outdoors on Sun. So I guess I need 2 outfits. I prefer pants, but I’m afraid that black pants may be too hot for the outdoor ceremony. It is Sun. morning, however, so maybe it won’t be too hot yet. I need to start shopping since I don’t tend to find what I like quickly.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the about-to-be grads and parents! I just checked, and the last time I posted on this thread was 5-27-11. At that point, DD was completely uncertain about her future plans. Now…she’s spending this week on revisits at two MSTP (MD/PhD) programs, and will probably make a final decision in the next two weeks! Her graduation is the morning of May 12, and our niece’s wedding is at 6:00 that night (about two hours away). I’m not sure how we’re going to get D packed up, get other elderly relatives back to their house (2 hours in the other direction), and get back to the wedding, but we’re looking forward to a big day!</p>
<p>Still playing the grad school waiting game…D has one acceptance but waitlisted for funding, and one matriculation waitlist which will be fully funded if it comes in. Both schools were in her top three, and their communications have been encouraging and optimistic, so we’ll see…Thankfully D is not TOO stressed out about it.</p>
<p>D1 was home for Spring Break. We bought her a dress for graduation. She applied to 2 teaching credential programs. One at her school which is just the single subject teaching credential and one near our house which offers a masters in teaching and a credential (they go the summer before and summer after to finish the Masters). THe one by us accepted her and offered some $$ (although the full financial aid package is not up yet). BUT, they wanted her to reply within 3 weeks. THe one at her school has not let her know yet. So she decided to just go with the one here.</p>
<p>Anyone else thinking about fitting grad gifts for their graduate’s “inner circle” of college friends? Our D has 4 special women friends at her school (most known to us since freshman year) and we would like to make a meaningful, but not over the top (and therefore awkward all around) gesture for each of them. I was thinking of nice frames for graduation photos (perhaps with simple engraving), but know it could get more interesting than that. These are fairly traditional students, some off to grad school, some with plans in flux. I want the gift to fit the occasion, be small in size (to avoid packing dilemmas for them) and perhaps be a keepsake. The 5 of them will be traveling to Florida for a post-graduation celebration in case that sparks any ideas. Thanks for any suggestions!</p>