Beginning of the End, Part 2

Well folks, it’s getting closer.  Graduation is now officially 24 days away!  With one more trip home scheduled for Memorial Day weekend and lots of projects due between now and then, it still hasn’t really hit me yet that my life as I’ve known it for the past two years here in San Luis Obispo is coming to an end.  Soon after graduation, I will be moving back home to the valley, where I will continue looking for a job.  I have a few potential positions I’m pursuing, including Blue Diamond and California Farm Bureau Federation, but I’m keeping my options open and hoping to find the perfect fit for me. 

These last few weeks at Cal Poly have, and will, consist of banquets and get togethers with friends and club officer teams from this past year.  Just last night, the Agricultural Education and Communication Department held their end of the year banquet.  This is a fun event because it brings all our department together for an evening of awards and fun.  I really enjoy it because it’s an opportunity to see a lot of my close friends from my department.  I was of course excited to attend the banquet, but was running late because I was babysitting beforehand.  After getting home about 30 minutes later than I had planned, I rushed to my room to get ready.  As I was in the middle of touching up my makeup and about to start curling my hair, I hear the door bell to my apartment ring.  I found this really weird because hardly ever do people ring our doorbell, but being late as I was, I didn’t really think much into it, just got up and ran to the door.  I looked out the peep hole just to see who it was before I opened it, and to my great surprise and shock, it was my mom and sister!  I threw open the door, yelled what are you guys doing here, and then went into a minor panic because I was running so late.  So I ran back into my bathroom to finish getting ready and they followed, and I hadn’t even realized by good friend who has been going to school in Vermont for the past year was with them too!  Needless to say, my mom had come down for the banquet and my sister and friend decided to come along for the ride.  Long story short, I finished getting ready, my mom and I went to the banquet, and my sister and friend went our to dinner and to the beach.

Me, my mom, and friend Carrie Isaacson in line to get food at the banquet.

At the banquet, I was honored to receive several awards.  In addition to receiving recognition for being an officer in two of our department clubs and being on the Dean’s List, I also received the President’s Award for Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, an award given by the club president to an officer who helped out a lot throughout the year.  I also was honored to receive the Outstanding Scholarship Award, recognizing the graduating senior from our department with the highest GPA.  With a 3.936 GPA, I was excited and honored to receive such an award, recognizing my hard work.  All in all, the banquet was a great success, with my mom right there with me!   

Some of us seniors at the "What Happens in Vegas" themed banquet.  From left to right, myself with the Outstanding Scholarship Award, Michelle Jimenez with the Outstanding Agriculture Education Student Award, Carrie Isaacson with the Outstanding Agricultural Communication Student Award, and David Jones with the Outstanding Non-Ag Communication Student Award.