Photo above courtesy of Getty Images.

With graduation impending, we took the time to ask SAU seniors how they feel about the end of their college careers and if they had any last messages for SAU students.

Senior Emma Romanelli spoke about her plans for the future after graduation, “I will be doing my master’s [degree] at SAU for social work.”

Romanelli also reflected on the people she will miss most at SAU, “Definitely the communication professors as they were all amazing and incredibly helpful through my entire college experiences even before I was a comm [communications] major. I’d say ‘my friends’ but I’ll keep in touch and many will be doing the master’s program with me.”

Romanelli also gave an important message to current students, “College is a difficult place. You will feel like you need to have it all figured out, but feel like you know little to nothing about where to start or what you really want. It’s okay to feel like you don’t have it figured out! Take care of yourself, try your best, and you will get the hang of it. Don’t be scared to ask for help and take time for yourself!”

Another senior, Hannah Knowles shared  her plans for after graduation. “I accepted a job with the National Park Service at Yosemite National Park so I’ll be heading out to California about a week after graduation.”

“I’ll miss living with my best friend. We’ve had so much fun and grown so much over the last four  years. She’s been with me since literally day one and I’m gonna hate not seeing her everyday,” said a somber Knowles.

Hannah Knowles gave her final send-off to St. Ambrose students by saying, “To SAU I would just say, Thanks for helping me grow. I’ve been challenged, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve become more confident, and I’m just really grateful for all of it.”

Jorge Brizuela-Alarcon spoke on how he’s figuring out life after college, “I plan to stay one more year around the QC [Quad Cities] to do OPT [Optimal Practical Training] at Channel 8 in Moline, then I’ll have to go year by year to figure out my plans.

Brizuela-Alarcon reminisced saying, “I’ll miss the friends I’ve made. I will miss the weekends for sure, there was always something to do like hanging out, watching movies or during warm days just playing spikeball.”

Finally, Brizuela-Alarcon gave some advice on how to enjoy your SAU experience. “For anyone still at SAU I will say…stick with it. Senioritis is a real thing and you just have to push through it. Stay organized and think about your future. Enjoy your friends, professors and all the activities you’ll be doing throughout your senior year. I definitely started enjoying myself more once I realized that.”

To the seniors of St. Ambrose University: It’s almost graduation day. No matter if it took three years, four  years, or even five or six years, the only thing that matters is that you will be walking across the stage on May 18 with your diploma, and you have all of SAU behind you.