News
2 The Mirror
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010
Seniors, alumni have big plans, expectations for their lives after college ERIC HEINZ editor@uncmirror.com
Students leave college hoping it has given them all the necessary tools to succeed in contributing to society. To excel, however, may take some innovation and personal sacrifice. Some graduating seniors and alumni have paved their own roads to finding fulfillment while benefitting communities and basic needs of others. Adam Davidson, a UNC alumnus (class of 2007), has hosted many events to include members of the University of Northern Colorado and Greeley communities. The activities have been centered on local businesses and have helped raise funds for different causes. “My motivations after graduating were to go into graduate school,
and I had these high aspirations of getting a master’s degree,” Davidson said. “My statement of intent was to use local culture and small events to provide a better quality of life and to enliven the local economy.” Although the idea intrigued many professors, Davidson said his prior education didn’t give him the merit to attend graduate school. “(My statement of intent) was too rooted in sociology and economics, which my background is not in, so I didn’t get in initially,” he said. “So, I ended up developing a sub-culture of events in Greeley, which all revolved around supporting local business and getting people off the couch, primarily in cycling and climbing. As a student, I always heard that there was nothing to do in Greeley. People tell themselves there’s nothing to do. Greeley has a wealth of opportunity for get-
COURTESY OF THE 48 IN 48 PROJECT
Seniors Merida Teot, left, and Kelsey Bigelow take pictures during a test photo shoot in Denver. ting things going; once people see it, it’s very novel, and people really get into it.” Davidson sees this lack of activity as a wealth of opportunity, which he and others used to create
the group The Greeley Revolution, a biker’s organization with different themes each ride. Davidson said the most recent event at Crabtree Brewery attracted about 130 attendees. In 2008, Davidson and his future wife hosted an event for Second Chance Animal Rescue, from which they adopted a dog. He also hosted a climbing event to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society in April. “Any students who have any motivations to want to make something happen need to go and do it; people in school sometimes have great ideas, but they don’t put them into action,” he said. “Great ideas aren’t great unless they’ve been brought to fruition.” For seniors Kelsey Bigelow and Merida Teot, graduation is the opportunity to travel around the country in an RV, but it’s also the chance to help those in need. The two soon-to-be alumnae created The 48 in 48 Project, a nationwide tour that will set up photo workshops to raise money for impoverished areas that do not provide clean, consumable water. Both said they want to try to get professional photographers to help with the workshops in 48 different cities in 48 weeks. Workshops will cost $25 — $20 will go to Thirst Relief , a charitable organization that helps pro-
DAN OBLUDA | THE MIRROR
Chezra Sankey sells back her textbooks at the Bookstop prior to graduation.
vide clean water, and $5 will go to trip expenses. “We’ll be traveling in a C-class RV,” Bigelow, an art major, said. “We want to make it to Las Vegas for the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Convention and Trade Show in February to really get this going.” Graduation is a time of celebration and reflection on academic accomplishment, but it can also be an intimidating period of uncertainty. With jobs and the future on their minds, both women admitted it is going to be a mental test jumping into the workforce. “It’s scary,” Teot, an English major, said. “It’s like graduating high school. You think it’s such a big deal, but now ... I really am going into the real world. There’s no more school, no teachers I can hide behind.” Still looking for sponsors, the two remain optimistic and determined to make the journey a reality. With the economy in bad shape, taking time to do humanitarian work is taking a serious financial risk. Both women will have to swim against the current to make ends meet. “We are graduating at a time when the unemployment rate is at its highest,” Bigelow said. “It just means we have to create our own opportunities, which is the entire point of the trip.” Communication studies major Jodi Ciarvella said she plans to get married soon and move back to Denver with her fiancé, but she is still looking for a job or internship. “I’ve just started contacting people,” Ciarvella said. “I feel like once I get my foot in the door, I’ll be OK, but there’s so many areas to go into.” Ciarvella also said she wants to find something in public relations or journalism but will live with her parents for about nine months until she can find some job security. “I had a blast at UNC, but I think I am just getting ready for the next chapter of my life,” she said.