Every type of Stanford senior

When that clock struck midnight, and the calendar year changed from 2015 to 2016, graduation suddenly became that much more real. As in, six months from now I will be forcefully ejected into the real world and be forced to do real adult things. Remember when you thought 20 year olds seemed so wise and mature? Truth is, adults truly are just big children who only pretend to know what they’re doing.

When I asked my friends about how they felt about our looming graduation ceremony, I received mixed responses. Some declared they felt minor anxiety but mostly excitement, some said they were “so pumped to get out there”, and others just stared at me with pure terror. I’ve noticed a trend in the responses I have received from my friends, and that seniors can be separated into three categories.

The Consulting/iBanking crew

These folks have the future all figured out. The’ve had their job offer lined up since last summer. I see you Goldman Sachs.

Megan Davis, current Stanford Senior majoring in Human Biology and one of my best friends, falls into this category. She interned as a Business Analyst in sales and marketing consulting with ZS Associates last summer and “absolutely loved it.” Megan claims “it was the summer of my life, rigorous work, but I enjoyed every second of it.”

Although she is still not sure what her life plan is, she is confident that her Human biology major opens a lot of doors. “Going into the year post-graduation, I feel confident about my ability to be a real adult, but I still have no idea what the next five years will look like,” she said.

Megan (left) enjoying her first Stanford football game as a freshman. Fifty football games and four years later, her Stanford education has paid off and she is on her way to carving out a successful career as a consultant. She is one of the lucky ones who knows what she wants to do next year, enjoys her work, and has secured her dream job.

The CS squad

These are the future coders of our generation. The new Mark Zuckerberg, or more appropriately, the new Evan Spiegel, Stanford’s very own frat star who went on to invent Snapchat. These guys probably took their very first CS class, CS 106A, as freshmen and haven’t looked back since.

After 106A, they thought it was “definitely the best class Stanford has to offer” and encouraged everyone to take it. They all struggled through CS 107 together and here they are now with a job offer from Google or Facebook. Cayman Simpson, current Stanford senior majoring in Computer Science is fast on his way to becoming the new Zuckerberg after accepting his job offer from Facebook last month.

Cayman is “extremely excited to be able to help people through his coding abilities” as he will be working with mental health and LGBTQ issues at Facebook. However, he still has mixed feelings as he believes that he has taken the easy route without exploring alternative paths, having gone through “the Stanford funnel” which he says directs students straight towards Facebook or Google.

Cayman enjoying his coconut ice-cream, happy as a clam knowing what next year has in store.

The I have no clue crew:

This is where many (most?) of us fall. We’re 21-years-old, we’re allowed to have no idea what we want to do with our lives yet. I definitely am part of this category. A little taller and 15 pounds heavier than I was four years ago, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do after graduation.

Bieler, a senior who is also in my boat says: “This is the time to experiment, to explore, to do things you won’t be able to do when you’re 40.” She plans to spend her year either “traveling, starting her graduate career in Earth Systems, or working for some environmental organization.” She has no clue what the future holds but she embraces the uncertainty and is looking forward to exploring and trying new things. One thing’s for sure, we’re all going to live up our last couple months at Stanford.

I have no doubt Bieler will succeed in whatever she chooses to do.