Seniors take the next step
Blaine Hubbard - May 1st, 2008For seniors, graduation is just the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and, for many, does not mark the end of their college career.
Allysin Alati and Liz Winkelblech have both created a four-year legacy that has had a lasting impact on them and everybody around them. Both will be receiving undergraduate diplomas this spring and both intend on continuing on to graduate school.
Alati is an active member in many aspects of the NAU community. She is a member of Gamma Phi Beta, Mortar Board, Relay for Life, Golden Key International Honor Society and has lived on campus all four years. She is also a National Residence Hall Honorary and the recipient of the Gold Axe Award in 2008.
Winkelblech has left her mark in the student-athlete community. As goalkeeper for NAU’s soccer team, she has set records and has received many awards, including three-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete recipient and two-time All-Big Sky All-Academic selection. She set a school record with five consecutive shutouts with a total time of more than 513 minutes without allowing a goal.
During their experience in Flagstaff, these seniors learned valuable lessons that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. For Alati, time management, responsibility, keeping healthy and handling stress were some of the things she learned. For Winkelblech, patience, perseverance and teamwork were the traits she drew from her college experience.
“I think teamwork is something that every employer looks for; somebody who knows how to work with other people, who knows how to cooperate,” Winkelblech said. “It is not just in the workplace, it is everywhere in life. You have to know how to work with other people.”
For many seniors, graduation would not be possible without support from family and friends.
“My coach, Andre Luciano, has been the biggest influence on me,” Winkelblech said. “Whether it was teaching me to be a better player, or teaching me time management and how to be a better student, he has been like a dad away from home. If I ever had a problem I knew I could go into his office and talk to him about it and he would help me through it.”
If given the chance to speak at her graduation ceremony, Alati would give credit to those who helped her through the past four years.
“I’d probably say thank you to all of the people who are there as far as faculty and staff,” Alati said. “And to my peers, I would wish them the best of luck and a congratulations for graduating. I could have not made it through the last four years without my friends’ and family’s support.”
Graduation marks a pivotal moment in a student’s life. It represents a time for reflection on the past as well as preparation for the future. For many, it signifies the end of the education process and the beginning of a lifelong career. For students like Winkelblech and Alati, however, it marks a period for relaxation before continuing on to seek a graduate diploma.
“If it was a job, I would probably be a professional student,” Alati said.
Graduation has an effect on people that arouses the most complex emotions, ranging from anxiety and nervous panic to excitement and ambition.
“Yeah, I’m nervous, really nervous…but excited,” Winkelblech said. “Nobody is forcing me to go to school anymore, I am going because I want to. People expect you to be more mature and more responsible. In college, you can have fun and people understand, but as soon as you graduate that is cut off and you are a grown-up now.”
Alati is experiencing the same nervous excitement as many graduating seniors are going through right now, including apprehension toward the future.
“The only thing I worry about is finding the job that I will be happy doing for the next 40 to 50 years,” Alati said. “I am sure I will not find the job that I will keep for the rest of my life right away. That would be lucky.”
For students who have been a part of the college community for four years, leaving friends behind is going to be a difficult transition.
“I think the hardest part about me leaving is that I won’t be a part of the team anymore,” Winkelblech said. “Leaving the team, leaving my friends and leaving competitive sports is going to be really hard.”
For Winkelblech, her college experience was a time to be involved with new groups and expand her horizons.
“NAU showed me a different lifestyle, one not so glamorous and not so materialistic,” Winkelblech said. “People here are a lot more laid-back and open-minded. It really exposes you to a diverse group of people and cultures and I think that is the whole point of going to a university.”
By the time graduation approaches, many seniors have focused all their thoughts on the future and they do not begin to reflect on their college memories until they are gone.
“It feels like the last four years have gone by really fast,” Alati said. “I remember being a freshman, just graduated (from) high school, and thinking ‘I still have another four years of school ahead of me, this is going to take forever.’ Now I look back and it feels like I was just moving in.”
Winkelblech plans on continuing to play soccer after graduation and before applying to graduate school. She hopes to play professional women’s soccer somewhere in Europe, preferably in Germany, Holland or Belgium.
“Being a student-athlete defines who I am, I am a soccer player and I am a Division I student-athlete,” Winkelblech said. “That has contributed the most to my experience here—learning the meaning of hard work, dedication and teamwork. Those girls who were my teammates are going to be my lifelong friends.”
Alati plans to take one year off of school, move back in with her parents in Phoenix and seek work in the psychiatric unit at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. After her one-year break from the university, she plans on applying for graduate schools in New York or Oregon.
“My parents always tell me that once you start working, you will never stop,” Alati said. “You will have bills to pay and a family to raise one day. This is the time to be selfish and to focus on what you want.”
Winkelblech shares the same plan to enjoy some free time before re-entering the education system.
“My first and foremost goal is to continue to play soccer,” Winkelblech said. “After that I want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor one day, but I figure medical schools are not going anywhere, so there is no rush.”
College is all about the experience. It is about the fun you have and the people you meet. By submerging yourself into a university setting, you are forcing yourself to learn who you want to be and what you would be the happiest doing after you leave. The years you spend in school define you as a person and, after graduation, you take with you some of the most important lessons that you could not have learned anywhere else.
“Four years changes people,” Alati said.
Alati said she looks forward to graduation with great enthusiasm and is grateful for the people she met and the lessons she learned over the last four years.
“I’m probably going to be hearing a lot of ‘oh, I am so proud of you,’ which I do not mind…because I am going to be proud too,” Alati said.
Five years from now, Winkelblech said she sees herself on her way to becoming “Dr. Elizabeth Winkelblech.” She recalls that she has wanted to go on to graduate school since high school when she had the opportunity to dissect a cat in her anatomy and physiology class.
“I liked it,” Winkelblech said. “I wanted to cut the cat open and most people thought that was weird. I thought it was really cool and I remember thinking ‘this is what I want to do. I want to explore the human body and I think I will be good at it.’”
This year’s graduating senior class totals 2,650 at Yuma and the Mountain Campus.