Remember when you were in high school and undergraduate school when you were in your last semester of your senior year? There was this disease called Senioritis that everyone had and it made you tired, bored, anxious, and just pretty much over school, homework, classes, and professors. Well, if you are in your last semester of Graduate School, then my friend, you may have caught Senioritis . . . again! I know for a fact that the excitement of being in a full-time position where I no longer having to write papers and attend night classes is causing me to have Senioritis, but unlike the last time I had this incorrigible sickness, I am taking steps to help relieve my symptoms and get things done like my job search and homework. But really the job search.

When it comes to surviving this last semester, I have taken many steps to keep myself engaged, awake, and most of all on track so I am not scrambling to finish up things and ready myself for walking across the stage. However, each part of my life is strategically planned to make sure I keep up, especially when the Senioritis really hits and I take a Saturday and literally do absolutely nothing but watch Disney movies from my childhood. (No judging! I like to indulge my inner kid every now and then and I know there are others who do the same thing.)

For my job, I have done everything as early as possible. Room reservations were made in the Fall when departments were allowed to start booking rooms, food orders were taken care of all at once, etc. The Lunch Speaker Series I do for our commuters on campus have dates picked out, rooms reserved, and food ordered. Not all the speakers have been contacted, but that’s in the process.  Our Grab-N-Go Breakfast events have their dates, times, and locations. All we have to do set up food orders. These events are easy enough to get stuff done in advance; it’s our new program, Off-Campus Mavericks Appreciation Night, that is something that only so much can be done in advance.

For my coursework, I have been lucky. This last semester I am taking a Higher Education Law class that is more discussion than anything else, an independent study course on Diversity, and my Capstone internship. All three classes have their challenges, but scheduling things out makes it easier to keep up with all assignments, presentations, and meetings with professors. Pretty much throughout grad school, scheduling things out has made life so much easier! Get yourself a reliable planner or use your phone and schedule, schedule, schedule.

For the job search, yes, the job search, I actually partnered with a friend of mine and together we meet up on Saturdays to review and apply for jobs. We are working on our own during the week, but we both seem to have found that coming together and setting goals has helped us be diligent in applying and preparing for The Placement Exchange (TPE) experience as well as pre-TPE interviews we may receive.

Keeping track of everything that has to be done before certain dates is my trick, but also strategically working on different projects and finishing them ahead of time or right on time works well too. I understand that this is not necessarily for everyone, but if you are a planner and organizer, like myself, then this is what I suggest to help get through everything without dropping the ball due to Senioritis. Dropping the ball is the last thing I want to do and I am sure everyone else would agree with me. The last piece of advice I can give is to not stress and just believe in yourself and your abilities to rock your job, your classes, and the job search. You got this!
 

> BONUS <

Podcast With Dr. Elizabeth Allan on College Hazing Prevention

> BONUS <

Podcast With Quint Geis on #SAGrad, Life, and Job Searching