The Last Dance: What a Senior Must Do

The Last Dance: What a Senior Must Do 

Having a Truly Senior Moment
posted 4/26/10

At the end of last week, I was planning a new blog post that I admit was going to be a little whiny and complaining about how no one seems to be talking to me about anything else except my plans after graduation and how depressing this was for me since I didn't have any yet. But things have really changed for me lately, because I got an internship for the summer!

When I was in New York over spring break with the J-school, we attended an alumni reception where, purely by chance, I met a woman who thought she might need an intern this summer. She's not in magazines, which is where I want to end up, but it still sounded like a great opportunity. So I emailed her when I got back and we interviewed shortly after. I had to wait about a month because she was interviewing other people for the position as well, but she recently called me to offer me the position. I'll be helping her a little with her business, which is simplifying communications for other companies, as well as possibly marketing with social media and blogging.

So since I no longer have to panic about the summer (though my plans after that are still unclear…), I want to use this chance to take this blog post back to great senior moments at UNC – mainly the Senior Send-off that I went to last Thursday. It started off with a truly Southern meal of barbecue, cole slaw, baked beans, and hush puppies served in Polk Place, right in front of Wilson Library. Sitting under strands of lights and with everyone dressed in their spring casual attire, chatting with friends both old and new, it was picturesque and one of those moments that you can really only appreciate as a Tar Heel.

Then we had a speech given by Daniel Wallace ‘08, an English professor here at Carolina and author of Big Fish, where he made us do a lot of laughing and a little reflecting. He left us with the words of advice that you can't find yourself until you get lost – "So get lost," he told us. After he was finished we watched a video created by the GAA, at which point I had tears welling up in my eyes but managed not to let them out.

And then came the end. First with the toast that our senior class president and vice president led. And I bet you can guess how we finished the evening without me even having to tell you. That's right, we sang the alma mater. Arm in arm, 400 seniors were standing on the main quad in the heart of campus, pledging our love, connection, and commitment to the University. Because even if we weren't all lucky enough to be Tar Heels born and bred, we will certainly all be Tar Heels until the end.