Seniors Focus on Life after Graduation

By: Paige Costa
Posted In: News

First on the things to do list of senior week is the clambake. Next is the Commencement Ball followed by Honors and Awards. Before you know it, it’s the big day: Graduation. A sea of caps and gowns, some people listening intently while some doze off until their name is called.

When the champagne is gone, hugs have been given, and the tears have been cried, many graduates are left with the question of what is next for them. The summer after graduation from college can be a trying one indeed, and many Salve grads are ready to travel, relax, and enjoy the sun while for others, reality and the work force are staring them right between the eyes.

For Ben Kelley, graduation and summer can’t come soon enough. A transfer student from Rowan University, Kelley says he has enjoyed the last three years he’s spent at Salve playing lacrosse and making new friends. “These have been the best years of my life so far,” said Kelley.

However, and seemingly unexpectedly, the almost graduate says that he is quite indifferent to the thought of leaving. “I had fun while I was here, but I knew it was going to end some time,” said Kelley. His indifference could of course be coming from the fact that his summer is full of new experiences and plans to keep busy.

Kelley plans to visit Sweden for the first time on a seven-week vacation with his roommate Marcus Atkinson who is originally from Sweden. For seven weeks, they plan to take the culture of Sweden in as much as they can. Boating, swimming, running, and bar hopping are all on the agenda.

Kelley plans to come back recharged after the trip, ready to come back to Newport to work part time, though where he isn’t quite sure. Laid back and eerily carefree, he says that he’s confident he will find something to pay the rent, but he’s isn’t worried about it. He is one of the 19 percent of business students at Salve, and plans to remain in Newport in the fall where he will be attending graduate school. It may come as a shock, but which school, he isn’t sure yet.

Unlike those who are undecided, Cait Cabral knows exactly where she will be this summer, what she will be doing, and who she will be doing it with. The organized and driven nursing major has had to plan out her every step since she came to Salve Regina as a freshman, a blessing and a curse for every nursing student. Cabral already has a job, the same job she’s kept for the past year at the Women and Infants Hospital in Providence.

After listening to the 498 names of her graduating class, Cabral will get to enjoy two weeks to do as she pleases. Then her new job begins. Though she will be at the same hospital, Cabral’s job description will be quite different starting May 29.

She will be going from working with post- natal mothers and infants, with a quick turn-over of two days or so, to being in the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit where she will be working with sick babies who stay for months at a time. Cabral stressed concern about the switch, stating the difficult truth of becoming attached to the young children only to see them leave. “You get very attached, but that’s ok,” Cabral said. “It’s better for them to go home then to stay in the hospital.”

Those warm summer nights most New Englanders wait patiently for will be spent in the hospital for Cabral. Three days on and four days off doesn’t sound too bad, but when the hours are 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., the tune changes a bit.

In the time not spent in the hospital, Cabral will be dreaming about the beach while studying for the NCLEX, one of the most important tests of her life.

The NCLEX is a standardized test given to every nursing student after graduation so they can become a certified nurse. With only 90 days after graduation and at a rate of $200 a pop, Cabral is determined to pass on the first try and begin her life as registered nurse.

Despite being, as she said, “ecstatic for my paychecks,” Cabral’s feelings about graduation are a bit different. She claims to feel happy that classes are over, but devastated that she will be leaving friends and faculty that has been such a big part of her life for the past four years.

Biology major Leera Kpea’s feelings on graduation seemed quite similar to those of Kelley–indifferent. “I feel good that I’m done and I can finally move on with my life,” Kpea said. The graduate expressed no feelings of sadness, but instead seemed excited for the new chapter of his life he is about to embark upon, starting with a summer of travel.

His globe-trotting summer begins in Nigeria, Africa, where he will go accompanied by his father to visit the Ogoni tribe. His father is the chief of this tribe, as well as the president of Skin Medicine USA, a dermatology company. This will be Kpea’s second trip to Africa, his first was at the age of five. Kpea plans to visit and stay with family in the Ogoni tribe for a few weeks after he graduates to relax to unwind from the chaos of his last few weeks.

The confident 22-year-old also plans to visit different medical schools this summer in pursuit of the perfect place to learn skills to become a reconstructive surgeon. Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale is at the top of his list. “I have my whole life planned out,” Kpea said.

It seems like for these Salve graduates, the best way to not be saddened by old memories, is to make new ones.