A Message to the Class of 2014

By Kelly Martin, Toppel Peer Advisor

Working my final days of the school year at Toppel this past week handing out caps and gowns made this year’s graduation, and the all too rapid approach of my own graduation a year from now, become a reality. For the past few weeks I’ve been in denial that some of my closest friends and people I have looked up to since first becoming a Miami Hurricane are now graduating. And with their graduation, I officially become a senior!

While it is sad to think about campus next year without the class of 2014, ultimately I am excited to see what they do out in the real world. While everyone jokes around about being terrified of life after graduation and never getting a job, almost every single graduate I’ve talked to has something amazing lined up for after graduation. While it still may be terrifying to move on from UM, I have no concerns that they’re going to going to be just fine.

All I can say now is to younger students: become friends with students from every class during your time here! While it’s great to be close with those in your own class, the older students can teach you so much- whether it’s advice on which classes to take or avoid, or knowing the best place to go in the grove on a Thursday (over 21 of course), they can help you in every aspect of life and make your time here in Coral Gables that much more meaningful. And now, the older students give me hope. Hope that even though right now I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing after graduation, that’s okay, and I will figure it out.
So to the class of 2014, thank you for being the best friends and mentors, congrats, and go show the real world what Miami Hurricanes are capable of!