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Printer-Friendly ModeGraduates ready to seek careers
A total of 1123 students will receive their bachelors degree during Fall 2010 and Winter 2011 semesters.
April 25, 2011 —
For the majority of students, May means summer and a short break from classes, but for many SVSU seniors this May means graduation.
This year, 698 students will receive bachelor degrees, a 39 percent increase over December 2010 when 425 students received their bachelors.
The College of Arts and Behavioral Sciences has the most graduates with 202, followed by Health and Human Services with 187. The third most graduates hail from the College of Science and Engineering with 117, a bit ahead of Business and Management which has 113 graduates. The College of Education has 79 graduates this year.
There will also be 255 grad students receiving advanced degrees: 197 from education, 21 from health and human services, 19 from business and management and 18 from arts and behavioral sciences. Last December, 114 students received an advanced degree from SVSU.
Graduates will be recognized at their commencement ceremony Saturday, May 7.
One of these graduates is senior Laura Baslock. She will complete her fourth year here at SVSU and is a double major in political science as well as rhetoric and professional writing. She chose to further her education at Central Michigan University for a master’s degree in public administration.
“I am very excited to graduate, but nervous as well,” she said. “The unknown is always a little scary.”
As these students graduate, the next step is to search for employment. With Michigan’s unemployment rate at about 10.3 percent, it can be a challenge for these graduates to find a career rather than just a job.
One student who has a jump-start on his job search is Eric Hammis. He has been at SVSU for five years and will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in professional and technical writing. In the past month Hammis estimates that he has put in close to 60 applications and recently landed his second interview. These numbers do not alarm him as he looks forward to a career in the news field.
“I am 28 years old and have worked my share of dead-end jobs, so getting my degree and starting a career is definitely exciting,” he said.