Saying Goodbye
Posted by Nicole Sharp on 21 May 2006 at 21:51Well, it's official now. I am no longer a student of Case Western Reserve University. Instead, I am an alumna, an aerospace engineer with honors. My dorm room is bare now: only a few items remain to be packed tomorrow morning. And then I'll drive away from Cleveland with no idea when I'll be back.
It's been a crazy weekend. On the one hand, it's very exciting to graduate and process and don a morterboard--but at the same time the prospect of saying goodbye to so many friends and faculty is depressing beyond belief. I've been cartwheeling between enthusiastic and maudlin since I handed over the last of my research to Dr. White on Thursday. Now that I have my diploma in hand and no more commencement events to look forward to, I have to say that we've taken a definite turn toward the maudlin.
So here's to four years that brought me friends, and knowledge, and challenges; to four years full of laughter, and stress, and learning; to four years in which I learned about who I am and about the person I'd like to become; to four lovely springs and four bitter winters of walking across an ever-changing campus; to the four years of Hundert's reign; and to the best four years of my life thus far.
Goodbye, Case--though perhaps only for now--and thank you.
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STS said
On 15 February 2007 at 19:03Hallo,
vielleicht gibst du noch ein kurzes Feedback wie es dir ergangen ist..
Gruß
STS
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Belinda said
On 23 April 2007 at 21:12Hi Nicole was just going through your writings, an interesting read, can you still post here?
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Nicole said
On 23 April 2007 at 23:01Hi Belinda:
Glad that you enjoyed what you read. I do still have posting access here; I'd originally intended this entry to be my final one, but I have recently made a bit of a comeback and will probably continue to post things here as I have the chance and inspiration to.
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Tim said
On 18 May 2007 at 16:27Nicole,
I will be starting CWR in the fall. It seems like you've had great experiences there. Anything you would offer, advice wise, to a newbie?
Congrat's on graduating! Must be wonderful!
Tim
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Nicole said
On 18 May 2007 at 17:14Hi Tim!
You're in for some good times. I loved my undergraduate years, and, right now, since I'm preparing for my Ph.D. qualifiers (on Tuesday), they're just looking better and better in hindsight.
The bit of advice that I always like to give those starting college is this: college is what you make of it. If you put energy and effort into it, the rewards will come. Find something that you're interested in and that you want to be a part of and then pursue it. That might be in the form of academics or an IM team or a club activity or all of the above! If you go out and find things you want to do, there will be people interested in joining you, and all of you will end up having a lot of fun. Along the way, you'll learn a lot, and, in the end, when your four years are over, chances are that your main regret in looking back will just be that you can't stay longer.
It worked pretty well for me, at least. ;-)
Any specific questions I can help you with?
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Tim said
On 18 May 2007 at 22:43Nicole,
Thank you very much for the post back. I'm not familiar with the area, the college life, or what there is to do at CWR yet. I like your advice on finding something you like to do and others will join you. I am planning on learning as I go. I too see college as a journey filled with rewards - and plenty of late night fun ;)
Thanks again,
I appreciate your advice, and good luck with your qualifiers!Tim
William Claspy said
On 22 May 2006 at 11:04Congratulations and good luck to you, Nicole!