Graduation: A Transition to Celebrate

I know today is Mother's Day (and happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there) but I'd like to talk a little about another milestone many adults are hitting this weekend:  Graduation.

College graduation falls a little earlier in the year than High School but in a sense, it's a little more significant because not only is a new chapter started, but also a completely new life.  For full time students, it means taking on a full time job to pay off the student loans.  It could be a big change in lifestyle.  Weekends of partying on campus now exchanged for weekends preparing business presentations or readying for travel. For parents, it could mean an empty house and the realization of their own dreams of some quiet time together.

If you are graduating this weekend, congratulations!  From here on out, your career success is in your own hands.  Take some time to map out some career goals and plans for your future.  Be sure to select some good mentors and learn the ropes in your new organization.  If you're now starting your job hunt, make certain you have a plan and work it.

For those who have family and friends graduating, celebrate with them!  Offer what assistance you have in helping them get connected and started off well in their career.  It's an exciting time and you'll want to be part of it.

Finally, if you're looking for some great gifts for a new graduate, click HERE to check out some of the book and coaching packages I'm offering to help you, help them.

Congratulations class of 2008!

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A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success.  ~Robert Orben


Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.  ~Richard Halliburton


There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises."  Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.  ~Orrin Hatch


Your families are extremely proud of you.  You can't imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing.  This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.  ~Gary Bolding


The tassel's worth the hassle!  ~Author Unknown


The fireworks begin today.  Each diploma is a lighted match.  Each one of you is a fuse.  ~Edward Koch


All that stands between the graduate and the top of the ladder is the ladder.  ~Author Unknown


Graduation is only a concept.  In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on  until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.  ~Arie Pencovici


At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards.  My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros.  ~Paul Freund


When you leave here, don't forget why you came.  ~Adlai Stevenson, to college graduates


Graduation day is tough for adults.  They go to the ceremony as parents.  They come home as contemporaries.  After twenty-two years of child-raising, they are unemployed.  ~Erma Bombeck


You are educated.  Your certification is in your degree.  You may think of it as the ticket to the good life.  Let me ask you to think of an alternative.  Think of it as your ticket to change the world.  ~Tom Brokaw