It’s always a stressful time of the year, and, for seniors, these last few weeks are filled with not only end of the year assignments like senior research papers and presentations, but also frantic planning for after graduation.

All these final projects and events create a showcase of the talent at Goshen College. I’ve been outright in awe at some of the final projects and portfolios that my peers in my communication and theater senior seminar have presented. They have so much talent. Not only that, many of my classmates have some lofty goals.

Unfortunately, this year’s graduating class, like the one before and probably a few more to come, is entering a work world short on job opportunities, or at least maybe the job opportunities we’re hoping for and at the wage we’d like. So, while many of my classmates talk about their endeavors, I think most of them, including myself, follow it up with a disclaimer about how our goals are more dreams than anything that might actually happen.

It’s healthy to be realistic, but I hope that the ongoing economic depression and the changing of how several major industries work, including newspapers, doesn’t get us down. We near-graduates have an energy that I hope won’t leave soon after graduation.

I want to hear Rae Halder on National Public Radio someday. I want to know Doug Hallman and Taylor Stansberry are filming the footage from the next Olympics. I want to read a National Geographic article about Emily Taylor uncovering something awesome in an archeology dig.

But most of all, I want to see this year’s graduates continuing to be as awesome as I know we are at whatever we end up doing.

Congratulations, Goshen College class of 2010. We’ve made it.