Senioritis and Job Searching

"Mentally, I'm ready for school to be over," admitted Cindy Agoncillo, senior graphic design major. Like many other students, Agoncillo admits that she has senioritis. "I've found myself trying to figure out how to do as little work as possible," she said.

Senior communication major, Josh Bittner, says that he, too, has a touch of senioritis. "But then again, I've always been a bit of a procrastinator with my work," he added.

Bittner says he has noticed more seniors putting off work until the night before an assignment is due. Agoncillo adds that a high number of seniors are skipping classes.

"Luckily, I have a pretty light semester. There are only a few classes where the work is absolutely necessary. It's really a matter of prioritizing and figuring out what needs to get done," said Agoncillo.

In regards to her job search, Agoncillo said, "I'm looking at graphic design jobs, since that's what my degree will be in, but I'm also looking at resident director jobs to continue working in residence life. I probably have at least ten resumes out right now, in both fields, and I'm just waiting to hear back about interviews," said Cindy Agoncillo, who is currently an RA.

"I quit job searching weeks ago because it was so time-consuming," reported Andrew Bargh, a senior English major. Bargh, like many seniors, is waiting to try to find work.

Bittner says that he is waiting until he goes back home to Connecticut to start applying for jobs. "I'm looking at copy writing, human resources, or sales representative type jobs. However, my dream is to be a professional touring guitar player and I have a band back home, so we'll see how things play out," he said.

Bargh says that he is planning on moving into the Sycamore House. "Sycamore House is a community for recent graduates run by St. Steven's Cathedral in Harrisburg. Recent graduates live there for free in exchange for community involvement and 15 hours of weekly service," he explained.

Bargh hopes to find a job through contacts of the Sycamore House. "Someday, I'll go to grad school for American anthropology, but for now I'd love to do any work that focuses on improving a local community," he said.

Other Messiah College students report that they have been applying for jobs for a while now.

Senior nutrition and dietetic major Amanda Frankeny says that she started her job searching process during the school year and already has a dietetic internship lined up at Penn State. "It was a year-long process that is finally over! Advice I would give would be: plan, plan, plan ahead!" said Frankeny.

Agoncillo says that she has balanced her job searching with her school work. "I have built time into my week specifically for job searching, and when homework isn't too intense, I'm online looking at job postings," she said.

Bittner reports that he has had a light semester. "My course work wasn't too difficult this semester. Just time-consuming since two of my classes are service learning classes and all my classes have events outside of class we have to do," he explained.

Bargh says that he does not have senioritis yet. "At this point I'm still jumping through a few hoops to get my piece of paper, but a lot of my projects are things that I feel are valuable for their own sake," he said.

Bargh also added, "I know that if I haven't done anything fun with friends that my work will take a lot longer because I will be stressed, so I make sure to make time for that."

"As much as I'm ready for school to be over, I'm not really ready for college to be over," admitted Agoncillo.