Life after Saint Mary’s: Two seniors discuss their post-graduate plans

By Tamika Robinson
Feature Editor

With graduation near, the reality of completing college is setting in for many seniors who now have to plan for life after Saint Mary’s University.

Senior Renee Mompremier plans to graduate with a bachelor of science in biology in May. After graduation, she said her goal is to attend graduate school, get a master’s degree in nursing and become a widwife. For now, Mompremier plans to take a year off to work, gain experience, study for the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and then apply to schools in Minnesota. She also plans to go to Liberia, where her family is originally from, in the winter and volunteer in orphanages for a month.

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The planning process leading up to this point has been far from easy. “Deciding what I wanted to do with my degree has been the question since freshmen year,” Mompremier said. “My area has changed a few times as well as my intensions for my degree.”

She said she finally decided to think of what made her the most happy and to seek a job that modeled it. From a young age, Mompremier said she was interested in helping infants and volunteered at daycares and the Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. Her classes about the reproductive system and human development also interested her. All of Mompremier’s interests led her to her chosen path, she said.

While reflecting on SMU’s impact on her, Mompremier said she feels prepared for life after college. “The work load, expectations, as well as the challenges within both, I feel have prepared me for the world,” she said. “Coming here was a dramatic change as far as the level of diversity and the level of exposure many students have had pertaining to diversity. All of these lessons and more have prepared me as a scholar, employee and individual.”

She particularly notes her teachers in the Biology department with influencing her and feels that the best part about being a biology major is the appreciation for human life that students gain and the knowledge that they will make a difference in the lives of others. Mompremier also said that courses outside of her major, like English composition and extra-curricular experiences, have allowed her to explore other cultures and make connections with other students.

“All experiences are a means of learning and growing, so I would not change how things worked out,” Mompremier said about her college experience. “It gave me a chance to think intently about what I wanted to do and become, value my skills and want to help others.”

She said that she will take the values SMU has taught her - being determined to succeed, being unprejudiced to all kinds of knowledge and knowing when to ask for help - and integrate them with the knowledge she gains in the outside world. “I am ready to be a functioning member of society,” she said. “College is a period in our lives, not our life. There is more out there to see, do and become.



Senior Ruth Sobrevilla, who will graduate with a major in electronic publishing and minor in Spanish, plans to move back to her home in Chicago after graduation to get a job and gain experience in an environment where she can apply what she learned at Saint Mary’s University.

“I was kind of upset (with the idea of) going back home because it’s totally a new experience after being here in college for four years,” Sobrevilla said of her plans. “Everything is close. The gym is close, I have my friends here, and now I’m going back to Chicago (and) I’m going to be there in the real world.”

Sobrevilla said that she tried to plan for her future and also tried to think positively about getting a job and not stress out.

Sobrevilla said she feels that SMU has also prepared her for life after college. “I feel like everything has helped me here, whether it was planning for homework, planning my schedule for events or searching for free time,” she said. “Classes have helped me, everything helped me (including) my friends’ advice. I feel that being active here in school, like in activities, helped me a lot.”

Activities such as attending Mass and community service made Sobrevilla realize what is waiting for her and that she also has to serve other people. “(Saint Mary’s) helped me religiously,” she said. “That’s how I grew here, not just professionally but also in my religious beliefs.”

Classroom experiences such as giving presentations, she said, also taught her how to be organized and calm her nerves when speaking in front of people.

Before coming to college, Sobrevilla said that everyone told her how difficult college life would be. “(They said) it’s so stressful, you have a lot of homework, you don’t have time for everything, but I feel that you do have time for everything,” Sobrevilla said. “You have time to get to know people, you have time to go to activities, you have time to go to church, time to go to the gym (and) time to do homework if you know how to prepare ahead of time. I think that is the main key.”

“If you don’t know how to prepare, then comes the stress and then thinking ‘I hate school,’ and ‘I can not do it,’ and ‘It’s so overwhelming,’” Sobrevilla said. “But you are the one who makes (college) overwhelming, so it’s all about learning how to schedule your life here in college.”

With graduation approaching fast, Sobrevilla said that she’s nervous about leaving because she is still searching for a job, but she said she is prepared in terms of knowing what she wants to do. “I know my plan,” she said. “I know what is my dream and my main goal, but I’m not so sure if it’s going to happen because it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know if that’s the way it’s going to be, but do I have something planned out? Yes, I have planned something. Am I scared? I am scared just a little bit to go out there because now I have to apply everything I have learned from here to the real world and I’m not sure if I will do it the right way.”