College graduation is a time for celebrations, feelings of accomplishment, and mixed emotions. For CU senior Chantal Skeen, it's no different. "I feel happy,nervous, sad, um anxious it seems like four years went by really fast and that I just can't believe graduation is only four weeks away."
The college commencement ceremony, an important day for graduates, along with their friends and families, marks the end of one chapter and the start of another.
For many graduates, that means stepping out into the unknown. "I feel unprepared. I know what I want to do but I also want time to travel before I settle down with a serious job. So I guess the fact that I don't know the exact date I am going to put my degree to use makes me feel anxious," Skeen said.
It's understandable that graduates would feel some anxiety when making such a big life change. For those feeling a little unprepared and disconnected from their
fellow graduates, there is the Senior Class Council. It is a student group dedicated to helping seniors make the most of their final year at CU and to easing the transition from student to professional.
According to their Mission, the Senior Class Council will help seniors learn the transition from undergraduate to alumnus, social awareness, transitioning into a career and important information regarding commencement and graduation.
Brett Forrest the SCC video chair explains, "The Senior Class Council is in charge of not only graduation and the commencement ceremony but senior week, several networking nights, and the senior gift which is basically the way for the senior class to leave their legacy behind at CU as they move on into the future."
The SCC has been holding events exclusively for seniors and alumni all year long with Monday April 11th marking the start of the official Senior Week 2011 which Brett said, "is a culmination of the year for all the seniors to get together at various events and to focus on the senior class gift." This year the senior class gift is making donations to the students school's of choice in the form of scholarships or money for other general academic needs.
For the complete list of events for Senior Week 2011, make sure to "like" the CU Boulder Senior Class Council Facebook page.
The University of Colorado's Buff Gold Dance Team heads to California this weekend to compete at the United Spirit Association Collegiate Championships. This year, the competition is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center on February 26th and 27th. The Buff Gold Dance team will be competing in hip-hop and open jazz. This marks the first year that the team will compete in multiple categories and in hip-hop. The Buff Gold girls have been preparing for Nationals without a coach, "We've done everything by ourselves. We've raised the money…all the time. We don't have a standout coach…we have student coaches and captains. So its that much more accomplishment that we can feel if we do well at nationals," said Co-Captain Kayla O'Gorman. The CU Buff Gold, a club dance team, is one of the only groups at the meet that does not have a coach and they are often competing against varsity level teams like the CU Express. The dancers have been working to perfect their competition dances, having only learned the routines just before Thanksgiving. Considering all of the time taken off for Christmas break, this provides only about ten weeks to get ready for the big show. The last week of preparation has meant long hours in the studio with emotions running high “Pretty much drilling and cleaning and wanting to rip each other’s hair out at times,” Senior Tasia Scott said. “It’s actually coming together nicely.” Scott dances and coaches for the Buff Gold team. Over the past three years, the team has improved their scores; they hope to continue that trend this time around and have set a goal to reach the finals for the second year in a row. For more information regarding the team and upcoming performances go to:http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/dance/.CU's Buff Gold Dance Team heads to nationals
