Graduating: The end is nigh

So it’s over and done with. And if you hadn’t guessed by the title of this entry I’m not talking about England’s Euro 2012 chances after an injury crisis. Nor am I talking about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I’m talking about my degree.
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Unlike the Jubilee celebrations the climax of university was rather a damp squib. With third years all finishing at different times, and in different ways (such as special projects, exams and dissertations), there wasn’t really a discernable finish, more a gradual disintegration.

If, as graduands, we were standing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace waiting for the fly past the Red Arrows flew over our heads out of formation, days apart. And instead of streaming glorious red, white and blue they were billowing black smoke, weathered by the ravishes of student life in Luton.

It’s been a strange few years in the concrete metropolis of Luton. And whilst some of my so-called peers would cite social events as their highlights most of mine have been outside of University. Working, and writing, for the BBC at Wimbledon (John McEnroe joked with me, Boris Becker liked my coffee and Chris Evert said I could: “grab her any time!”), being part of the production team on the H & J Show at Talksport and working in both the Eitihad and Wembley press boxes to name but a few.

These opportunities would never have been possible however if it weren't for the University of Bedfordshire . And not only has it given me a platform to launch a career it has also given me the chance to interview figures such as Dame Kelly Holmes and MP Eric Joyce.

I’ve had to listen to a lot of schmaltz and faux depression as many bemoan the end of their student lives, labelling these as ‘best years of our lives’. But my point is that university is merely a launch pad for us to make a life for ourselves. Yes, the lack of responsibility and, for many, the first taste of independence is fun. Living with your friends in a carefree environment, albeit in grotty student houses, is great. But what’s greater is getting paid for doing something you love. Using this money to buy, decorate and furnish your own house without any reliance on parents or the Student Loans Company. Nothing is more independent than that.

So if you can push past the hyperbole currently being spouted by those facing the prospect of moving back home and having to find a job remember that this is the start of our chosen lives, not the end.

Maybe I have the advantage of life experience, having worked and lived in London prior to becoming a student. I’ve seen the big bad world and it’s exciting. Scary but exciting.  

The key for graduating students now is not to lose focus or purpose. Yes, the shackles of academic essays and exams have been torn away, but this is where we stop relying on lecturers to give us direction and we take our own.

Anyone will tell you that the job market is now tougher than ever but I’ve never been deterred by a little competition and neither should any other graduate. Whilst we may not have the experience of others we have the advantage of being newly trained, enthusiastic and willing.

So my message to my fellow graduands and graduates across the globe is this: Show you’re willing to do literally anything for a job (and I mean anything) and hopefully things will work out.

Good luck!