Dear Graduating Seniors,
CONGRATULATIONS! You have made it to the final week of your undergraduate career. Welcome to a week of pure bliss and excitement, tortured by fear and nudges of doubts.
Now, I was in your shoes just 4 short months ago. I was packing up my things in my apartment. I tried to do this by myself and when my roommates were gone because it was so hard to put my things in boxes, knowing these were the last days I would get to spend with those 4 incredible women. At the same time, it was nice to have my stuff organized for once... So, in regards to your roommates or your apartment or wherever you are living, soak up these moments. Know that each of you are going through similar feelings, but may express them in different ways. Eat some cake, pig out on ice cream, spend a night watching a ridiculous amount of Netflix when you really should be studying, but who cares because you are graduating and studying is so Junior year.
So I guess that biggest fear of graduating is not finding success after you leave the comforting walls of your university. Well, here was my experience. Graduating in December was great, but also meant people were not going to be hiring until after New Years and I'll be honest, I am kind of a workaholic, so not having a job for a month was a big deal to me. I filled out applications anyways and waited day after day to hear back from them. The DAY AFTER New Years, I basically gave up and said "no one is calling, I am going to live in my parents' house forever, my life is over..." blah, blah, blah typical over-dramatic-Sarah-rant. And then I paused. It hit me, GIVE IT TO GOD. Now, cliche as it may sound, YOU MUST DO THIS. That night I journaled about how I was truly going to trust God in this process and seek His wisdom and discernment. The next day I got called for an interview for a full time position. Overjoyed, I danced around in my garage, but as promised, I prayed about it and God said "No." Uhmmm excuse me?! "I NEED A JOB" Was pretty much all that ran through my head, and then I remembered I made a promise, and I knew God would come through. So I waited, searched more jobs, changed the font on my resume, and waited some more.
A few short days later, I got a call from Steele Canyon High School (my alma mater) about a program they were developing this current school year for 9th and 10th grade students and they needed tutors to run the program. I was asked if I could come in at 11:00am that day to meet with the supervisor. This time, I knew it was right. I printed my resume, gathered my CBEST, CSET, and RICA results and headed over, dressed ON POINT of course! :)
The rest is history. I have been working three full days a week at Steele, while getting signed on to two school districts for subbing. I have completed another module of grad school and am currently enrolled in my third. I was also recently signed up to take over for a Mild/Moderate class, full time, until the end of the school year as one of the Special Education teachers leaves on Maternity Leave. THIS IS HUGE. But, I cannot say it was myself or even my education that got me to this point, it was learning to TRUST IN GOD. I am not going to lie to you, this is going to be a challenging season of learning what truly trusting looks like. You are going to have times you just don't understand, but I promise, if you hold on to the belief that God will walk this path with you and lead you to your next destination, you will be left in awe of your post-baccalaureate journey.
To all the wonderful people graduating this year, whether from Azusa Pacific, or other universities, I pray that you allow the greatest author to write the next chapter of your life. May this season be full of life lessons, deferment of student loans, celebration, job interviews, and resume building activities! Sending love and conGRADulations your way!
Love, Sarah
CONGRATULATIONS! You have made it to the final week of your undergraduate career. Welcome to a week of pure bliss and excitement, tortured by fear and nudges of doubts.
Now, I was in your shoes just 4 short months ago. I was packing up my things in my apartment. I tried to do this by myself and when my roommates were gone because it was so hard to put my things in boxes, knowing these were the last days I would get to spend with those 4 incredible women. At the same time, it was nice to have my stuff organized for once... So, in regards to your roommates or your apartment or wherever you are living, soak up these moments. Know that each of you are going through similar feelings, but may express them in different ways. Eat some cake, pig out on ice cream, spend a night watching a ridiculous amount of Netflix when you really should be studying, but who cares because you are graduating and studying is so Junior year.
So I guess that biggest fear of graduating is not finding success after you leave the comforting walls of your university. Well, here was my experience. Graduating in December was great, but also meant people were not going to be hiring until after New Years and I'll be honest, I am kind of a workaholic, so not having a job for a month was a big deal to me. I filled out applications anyways and waited day after day to hear back from them. The DAY AFTER New Years, I basically gave up and said "no one is calling, I am going to live in my parents' house forever, my life is over..." blah, blah, blah typical over-dramatic-Sarah-rant. And then I paused. It hit me, GIVE IT TO GOD. Now, cliche as it may sound, YOU MUST DO THIS. That night I journaled about how I was truly going to trust God in this process and seek His wisdom and discernment. The next day I got called for an interview for a full time position. Overjoyed, I danced around in my garage, but as promised, I prayed about it and God said "No." Uhmmm excuse me?! "I NEED A JOB" Was pretty much all that ran through my head, and then I remembered I made a promise, and I knew God would come through. So I waited, searched more jobs, changed the font on my resume, and waited some more.
A few short days later, I got a call from Steele Canyon High School (my alma mater) about a program they were developing this current school year for 9th and 10th grade students and they needed tutors to run the program. I was asked if I could come in at 11:00am that day to meet with the supervisor. This time, I knew it was right. I printed my resume, gathered my CBEST, CSET, and RICA results and headed over, dressed ON POINT of course! :)
The rest is history. I have been working three full days a week at Steele, while getting signed on to two school districts for subbing. I have completed another module of grad school and am currently enrolled in my third. I was also recently signed up to take over for a Mild/Moderate class, full time, until the end of the school year as one of the Special Education teachers leaves on Maternity Leave. THIS IS HUGE. But, I cannot say it was myself or even my education that got me to this point, it was learning to TRUST IN GOD. I am not going to lie to you, this is going to be a challenging season of learning what truly trusting looks like. You are going to have times you just don't understand, but I promise, if you hold on to the belief that God will walk this path with you and lead you to your next destination, you will be left in awe of your post-baccalaureate journey.
To all the wonderful people graduating this year, whether from Azusa Pacific, or other universities, I pray that you allow the greatest author to write the next chapter of your life. May this season be full of life lessons, deferment of student loans, celebration, job interviews, and resume building activities! Sending love and conGRADulations your way!
Love, Sarah