Last Chance to Get Your Yearbook! Join Us for Senior Week! These are just a few subject lines of emails that are floating in a senior’s inbox pool. At first glance, seniors know what’s coming.
Senior Theses, Senior Design Projects, and final FINAL exams act as distractions so that the Class of 2015 doesn’t have to dwell on the fact that the moment is approaching. The moment when an undergraduate walks into the next stage of life in a blink of an eye. It’s coming…it’s Graduation.
Boston University recently announced the speaker for the 2015 Commencement, which makes Graduation Day that much more real. In the next few weeks, seniors will be preparing to leave the familiar behind and enter the “real world,” funny enough. The upcoming weeks may seem as a period of panic, but it is also a time of reflection.
College is a significant part of one’s life and a lot can happen in four years. Here, four seniors, who come from different parts of the world and Colleges, share their fondest BU memories and their next adventure.
Name: Aniekan Inoyo (ENG’15)
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Major(s)/Minor(s): Mechanical Engineering
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1. What will you miss as an undergraduate?
Free pizza (Laughs). But, seriously, I’ll miss the people that I’m around, including my friends from Concert Band. The whole environment, really. I mean the safe environment where everyone is on the same page. We’re all learning together and free from any responsibilities.
2. What would you tell your freshman-self, knowing already what lies ahead in your college career?
I would say to calm down. Engineering is intimidating. People start out in engineering and then suddenly change their minds. Things will change, but you have to accept it. Keep calm.
I would also say to connect with people. There is no harm. Friends and professors become your key resources.
3. If you were granted an extra semester to study anything, what would you choose as your concentration?
I would enroll in CFA and take drawing classes. Sketching landscapes and portraits would be my main focus. I am a very visual person. I did consider architecture as a major.
4. After spending time at BU, how would you describe Boston and the campus environment?
There is a lot going on in Boston and at BU. In other words, there is always something for everyone. On BU’s campus, it’s not all about academics. There is a sense of various cultures. You have music and sporting events.
5. What is your favorite BU memory?
Freshman year: Getting ready for the Engineering Cruise. I lived on a floor with a lot of other engineering students and we were going to the party. We got dolled up and looked cute. All these young engineers huddled on the T. And getting ready for this year’s Cruise was just as great.
Sophomore yr: Studying abroad. Wow…that was fantastic.
Junior yr: Not bad.
Senior yr: It was the last Band Concert. The instructors called up all the seniors and they prepared a speech for each person. They said our names, concentrations, and all our accomplishments. It put things in perspective, you know, hearing all the things I’ve done. The recognition was really nice.
(Aniekan plays the French Horn; The band wrapped the year with “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Puttin’ On The Ritz”.)
6. Besides #BU2015, what hashtag would you use to describe senior year/graduation?
#WeMadeIt. I say it at least once a day. It’s been a long four years!
7. What are you most looking forward to post-graduation?
Having time to have a hobby. During the school year, you’re always on a regimen. Now, I have free time to do my own thing when I want. I’m also excited to have a job. It’s nice to see that all my hardwork has paid off.
Name: Brian Latimer (CAS’15)
Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey (Fun Fact: Current home of Comedian Stephen Colbert)
Major(s)/Minor(s): Major – History / Minors – Journalism and Women & Gender Studies
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1. What will you miss as an undergraduate?
When I make a mistake, I can take it as a learning opportunity. Making a mistake in the working world, however, hurts much more.
2. What would you tell your freshman-self, knowing already what lies ahead in your college career?
Take a gap year. At the start of freshman year, I wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel mature enough. If I had taken time off to gain a better understanding of who I was, it would have been valuable. During that time, I would have spoken to more people in a perspective field before signing up for classes. In junior year, I needed to expand my knowledge of the world to be a better journalist. I wish I had talked to someone who would have told me international relations and political science would be beneficial concentrations alongside journalism.
I would also say to take advantage of the language classes. They are excellently produced. I will walk away feeling confident in conversing in Turkish and French.
3. If you were granted an extra semester to study anything, what would you choose as your concentration?
Russian and Economics. If I were in the position to answer a question about the economy, I would want to be able to talk about it confidently. As far as studying Russian, it is a valuable language in the field of journalism.
(Seniors Brian Latimer and Maggie Dunn report their last broadcast for BUTV10’s “The Wire”)
4. After spending time at BU, how would you describe Boston and the campus environment?
I disagree with anyone who says BU does not have a campus. And Boston is easy. You can walk the entire city in a day, literally from Allston to the North End and back in a day.
5. What is your favorite BU memory?
Biking the Boston Marathon course and crossing the finish line, while holding the hand of a friend who experienced the horror of the 2013 Marathon with me. *Brian wrote about his “cycling victory” in the Daily Free Press and produced a podcast as well.
6. Besides #BU2015, what hashtag would you use to describe senior year/graduation?
#WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong. I have said this hashtag mostly every day, since the beginning of freshman year. First day at orientation to be exact. But, I am still here walking and learning. Many things went wrong, but what could possibly go wrong?
7. What are you most looking forward to post-graduation?
It’s surreal. It doesn’t seem real yet until I receive the diploma in the mail. I am not quite sure what to expect after graduation. I am looking forward to where I am not going to end up–living two or three years of uncertainty. I crave to be tossed out in the world and given the task to figure everything out by myself. I’ve really learned that I don’t need a cushion if I land hard, because I’ve taught myself how to get back up.
Name: Sophia Quiroz (CAS’15)
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Major(s)/Minor(s): Major- Psychology / Minors- Spanish and Education
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1. What will you miss as an undergraduate?
It’s going to be really weird not living near my friends anymore! We’re all going to spread out all over the country, and not knowing when I’ll see them again makes this transition very bittersweet.
2. What would you tell your freshman-self, knowing already what lies ahead in your college career?
Say yes to life! Take advantage of every coffee date, every late night gossip session, every city adventure, because these years go by way too quickly.
3. If you were granted an extra semester to study anything, what would you choose as your concentration?
I never got to take any sociology courses here, so I think I would like to explore that field a little more. I think it would help a lot in my future career as an educator, and it would be an interesting addition to my psychology coursework.
4. After spending time at BU, how would you describe Boston and the campus environment?
Boston is a vibrant city, and there’s always something to do. This is a strong and proud community of people who have come together in difficult times and who celebrate like no other in times of happiness. BU’s campus – that mile-long, straight line down Comm. Ave. – is unique, and even in the snow-covered, salt-lined road days, I’ve always been glad that I got to call this place my home.
5. What is your favorite BU memory?
BU hockey was one of my huge passions throughout my time at BU. I went on an amazing road trip to Michigan with some of the other super-dedicated Dog Pounders, and even though that was a rough season, it ultimately paid off with how great the team did this year. Cheering on the hockey team at the [TD] Garden this April was one of the highlights of my college career, and I’ll always be proud to be a Terrier and a member of the Dog Pound.
(Sophia and The Dog Pounders)
6. Besides #BU2015, what hashtag would you use to describe senior year/graduation?
#NotAnAdultYet
7. What are you most looking forward to post-graduation?
I’m going to grad school to become a teacher at UCLA, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how my graduate studies and the first few years of my professional life turn out. Also very excited to be moving back to California – I love you Boston, but snow sucks.
Name: Margaret Britven (CFA’15)
Hometown: Houston, TX
Major(s)/Minor(s): Major – Sculpture / Minors – Business Administration & Management, Western Art History, and Arts Leadership
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1. What will you miss as an undergraduate?
As an undergraduate student for the last 2 years, I have had my own studio in the College of Fine Arts with access to faculty and other resources. After graduation, a struggle for many visual artists is finding a new environment with other artists and resources where they can thrive. I will definitely miss the close knit community that I have developed there, and the artistic environment which helped fuel my work.
2. What would you tell your freshman-self, knowing already what lies ahead in your college career?
Looking back, I would encourage myself to look for more opportunities outside of Boston University. I was very involved in campus life, but in these last six months I have realized that I missed many opportunities in the greater Boston area because I was focused on opportunities at the school. It is very important to develop and maintain relationships not only within the university, but outside of it and begin networking early in your undergraduate career.
3. If you were granted an extra semester to study anything, what would you choose as your concentration?
Although I did take many extra classes to focus on minors that I believe will further my career, I would take some classes in web development or computer science. As I am entering into the job search, I have realized that basic skills in technology are highly sought after. And, I would like to be able to manage my own website easily, which is a very important skill for a visual artist.
4. After spending time at BU, how would you describe Boston and the campus environment?
After spending a year living in West campus, I moved into an apartment in Brookline. Inherent to the BU experience is learning to sustain a metropolitan existence. I have enjoyed the opportunities that the non-traditional campus has provided, forcing me to experience what this city has to offer.
5. What is your favorite BU memory?
Some of the best times we had in college happened this year during the worst winter on record. We all hiked up to a park and found that you can launch off swings into piles of snow.
6. Besides #BU2015, what hashtag would you use to describe senior year/graduation?
#BFATHESIS2015
(BU BFA Thesis Exhibit: 54 / School of Visual Arts)
The CFA Exhibtion is featured on BU Today.
7. What are you most looking forward to post-graduation?
I am looking forward to continue working with a sculptor, who I am currently assiting, for a couple of years, while simultaneously determining what to study for my Masters Degree.
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Congratulations, Class of 2015! All of us at Her Campus BU wish each of you the best of luck in your future endeavors! Remember: Once a Terrier, always a Terrier.