Life After Graduation

16 more days left of this school year, seniors have been feeling overwhelmed with emotions. For some seniors, Vanguard has been their home and safe place for four years. As they are completing their last few weeks at Vanguard, they are experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. Stress, happiness, anxiety, excitement and sadness is what seems to be the main emotions expressed by the graduating class of 2016.

Senior Katherine Ramirez said, “I am excited to be graduating and have this accomplishment behind me, but at the same time I’m not ready for this experience to end. Vanguard has been such a great community for me that so I’m sad to see this chapter of my life coming to a close. Not to mention that being a full time adult sounds terrifying! However I know God is going to help me through it so I just need to trust in His plan.” Ramirez has made Vanguard her home away from home and dreads leaving the Vanguard community. Over time, the Vanguard community has provided her a safe place to grow in her faith, as well as a student.

Ramirez said, “When I got my acceptance to APU I was beyond excited that I am able to go to another Christian university and to continue my education this fall. It wasn’t my original plan to go to graduate school, but now I know that this is the next step God has in store for me.”

It is with great sadness that seniors are leaving the Vanguard community and moving onto the next chapter in their lives. College is supposed to be a transition in life when students enter the real world, but little did they know that right after college, they would actually enter the real and working world. As Ramirez said, she is not ready to become a full time adult and the thought of it is terrifying to her. The thought of functioning outside of an education setting is scary for a number of reasons. They are truly entering adulthood as they begin their careers or enter graduate school.

Although many seniors have set plans, there is always the chance that some do not know where the next step of their lives will take them. As they near the date of graduation, some seniors have no idea what God has planned for them after graduation day.

Throughout our time at Vanguard we always hear at the motto, “Your story matters,” as seniors leave, they have left their story they have written at Vanguard as they begin a new story in their new chapter of their progressing life. As we bid them goodbye, we are excited to see what life has in store for them as they leave Vanguard.