Life is full of many adventures that can lead down an infinite number 的路径. For many graduating this semester, their paths will intersect for one brief moment at the winter 2022 毕业典礼 ceremonies.
Two upcoming graduates reflect on how their 个人的旅行 got them to w在这里 they are now, and what lies ahead during this exciting 他们生命中的时间.
作者:米歇尔·科菲尔
Long Ho, who will earn a bachelor's degree in general management, has 今年要庆祝的不仅仅是毕业证书.
This July will mark the 10th anniversary of when Ho's family arrived 从越南来到密歇根. “我们在2012年离开，当时我12岁 在六年级，”何说.
He will be the first in his immediate family to graduate from college and said that was the reason behind his family's move from Vietnam. "The main purpose for why we came 在这里 was for me to get a good 教育. In Vietnam, the 教育 system is so competitive," 何鸿燊说.
The family stayed with a relative before finding their own home in 怀俄明. 何鸿燊说 怀俄明 High School had a diverse student population 但亚洲学生并不多. 他更多地了解了亚洲文化 他于2018年来到大峡谷. 何的室友把他介绍给 the Vietnamese Cultural Association and he was soon active in the Asian Student Union and other student organizations.
"The Asian community on campus has been a great support for me, not only for personal development but also academic achievement," 他说.
Last August, Ho served as a student leader during the second Asian 学生辅导. 他是研究生院的学生工作者.
Ho plans to apply to Grand Valley's Master of Public Administration 程序. As a first-year student, Ho was a computer science major and 后来改为管理信息系统. 这是生意 courses in that 程序 that piqued his interest enough to change his major a third time, to general management, and set Ho on a course to 学习公共管理.
"I didn't think I would go on to graduate school but I learned I really like working with people and learning how to solve problems 在一个组织内部，”他说. “我想继续努力 the administrative side of an institution, maybe working with public policy."
希拉·巴比特著
As graduation grew near, Grace Pallissard searched for jobs that would allow her to be immersed in nature while contributing to its 健康与保育.
Eventually she discovered a job outlining the need for a botanist to assess and monitor remote land in the desert of Nevada.
Inspired by time spent 在户外 and sustainable living arrangements, Pallissard’s degree in natural 资源管理 will be put to use 紧接开工后.
Pallissard will be working for a consulting and engineering firm that does contract work for the Federal Bureau of Land Management. 该公司 works on projects that often involve ecologically conscious landscaping and hydraulics that require botanists to make sure the ecosystems in which they are working remain balanced.
The job requires eight-day shifts, hiking to remote locations in the desert to assess soil health, take inventory of plant life, spread seed, thin invasions and occasionally oversee prescribed burns.
Pallissard is not at all intimidated by the challenge of spending 在沙漠里不间断的生活. “我很兴奋 opportunity to preserve and connect with nature as my full-time job.”
Pallissard gravitated to this major after a summer living off the grid deep in the Appalachian mountains uncovered her passion for the 在户外. T在这里, she and others lived off the land and were 100 自持率.
“I went to West Virginia as a social work major, but seeing the beauty when the environment and people coexist drove me to make the jump to natural 资源管理,” said Pallissard. “我想。 维持这种关系.”
Her classes up to that point had discussed many social issues in the 世界. “I knew I needed to spend my time doing something to make a positive impact, but I asked myself, ‘What positive change would be left to make if t在这里 was no sustainable ecosystem left for us to live in?’”
These moral battles were overwhelming at times, but Pallissard found 舒适在大自然的自然平衡中. “有一种纯真 它吸引了我，给我带来了平静.”
As she sets out to wrap up her undergraduate career, Pallissard 回顾她过去四年的旅程.
“Last summer I knew I had made the right decision for my future and 我的幸福在于转换路径. 我在50英尺高的空中工作，被绑住了 用电锯砍树，”她笑着说. “我知道办公室工作可以 永远都不适合我.”
The Winter 2022 毕业典礼 ceremonies will be held on April 29 和30. 将提供直播 在这里 在活动当天. 点击这里了解更多相关信息 .
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