<p>timely; I surprised myself not getting teared up at my sons graduation. However, I did have tears running down my cheeks for the newly commissioned men and women standing straight, tall and proud in their respective uniforms.</p>
<p>D graduated on Saturday. She will be a field organizer for a congressional reelection campaign. After November, ???</p>
<p>Awww…that’s sweet, Sax! S1’s commissioning was a big tear jerker. H is in the National Guard and was deployed to Iraq at the time. S1’s ROTC leadership arranged a closed circuit connection with Iraq, and at the beginning of the ceremony turned on the video feed and introduced H as a special guest who would be giving S1 his oath of office. S1 was blown away and got pretty teary-eyed. So did everyone else! S1 had been stoic but sad that his dad wasn’t going to be there. His ROTC leaders were pleased as punch that they had pulled it off! As you can imagine, that video will go down in our family history. :)</p>
<p>Very nice Timely!
S1 graduated May '09. He commissioned into the Navy the day before grad. He is currently an Ensign stationed in FL and just recently bought 1/2 of a boat. His roommate bought the other half!<br>
S2 is a rising college junior majoring in Criminal Justice. Lives in an off-campus dump(w/ 3 roommates) that makes Animal House look like the Hilton. </p>
<p>I’m still here because I do still have one kid in college but mostly because I could never get this much entertainment for free anywhere else.</p>
<p>S - Just graduated UG in May. worked in medical research whilst applying for med schools — kind of like following somemom’s D2’s footstep but one year later. He is sad he needs to leave his 4 wonderful years in college behind, and to say goodbye to almost all of his close friends in college. I heard that several of them (who either live nearby or are still hanging around campus) have already had a mini-union in less than a month after commencement.</p>
<p>I found CC after S had just gotten into college. (but was a lurker for a long time.)</p>
<p>D graduated in 2008 from Stanford with a BA in English. She didn’t have a “plan” but had interests in writing, travel, and possibly teaching. She worked for a year in a travel industry internship (supplemented by SAT tutoring). She has just completed a year at American University in their MA TESOL program and is headed in two weeks for a two-year stint in the Peace Corps! She will be teaching English in China (that’s all Peace Corps does there) in a university somewhere to be determined after finishing three months of training. After that, who knows?? At this point, life for her is one adventure after another, and the future is filled with many possibilities.</p>
<p>S graduated in EE last month. He was hired in February & will be told his start date in the near future. In the meantime, he plans to travel & visit friends & family. He’s excited about his new job with the federal government, even tho it is in the East Coast. We told him we will enjoy visiting him there :)</p>
<p>Hi, HImom! can’t believe your son is now graduated!!</p>
<p>I went through this thread and looked at the Join-Date on each post. Wow - It’s an Old Timer’s Reunion!</p>
<p>The actual Join Date of the old timers may be even before the Join Date listed since the current join date only covers the latest iteration of CC (Oct 08). I’ll admit to being here since spring 03…</p>
<p>"The actual Join Date of the old timers may be even before the Join Date listed since the current join date only covers the latest iteration of CC "</p>
<p>You are correct…all old timers were assigned at date of aug, '04…I think I am here since '03.</p>
<p>I do believe I did sign up sometime in 2005, as the date was indicated. It does amaze me that our kids keep growing and going on to new challenges. I’m so thrilled with the adults they’re becoming but am concerned about the tough job market they are facing. Am relieved S was able to find a job he’s excited about which has a lot of potential and stability, especially when many of his friends are floundering a bit, trying to decide whether to go to grad school or grab whatever job they can cobble together.</p>
<p>Hard to believe we’re the “old timers,” but I guess we are. There are sure a lot of very nice folks here!</p>
<p>‘There are sure a lot of very nice folks here!’</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more!</p>
<p>I had over 1000 posts in the “old” CC site. I was really bummed when they moved everyone over to the “new” site (this one) and I was suddenly a Junior Member.</p>
<p>My oldest graduated from Loyola of Baltimore in May of '09 with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in digital media and a minor in Marketing. He now works at NYU Law doing some web design and social network advertising for them (along with whatever else he’s told to do). He also does freelance graphic and web design work on his own.</p>
<p>One down; two to go. My middle son just finished his sophomore year at Rutgers and my youngest just finished her junior year in high school so we’re looking all over again.</p>
<p>Her favorites so far are College of Charleston and Elon.</p>
<p>RSK</p>
<p>I did not even pay attention to that join date, I am pretty sure mine was fall 2000! Maybe Spring 2001, I found the PR board first then shifted over to the ‘nice’ people.</p>
<p>Well I’ve been posting since 1999, so there! Honestly I do think I had discovered CC, or some earlier version, by no later than 2001. Anyway…</p>
<p>Son has BS in computer science and MS from Carnegie, 2005. A proud moment for me…at the height of this recession he resigned from his NYC investment bank. Didn’t think getting home @ 9 (sometimes later) many nights was worth the bucks. He thought I’d be upset! Working, still in the city, for another company, palpably less stress. He and his gf, who share an apartment, are on the same page…no wedding till they’re ready for kids. </p>
<p>Daughter has BA and a master’s, class of 2008, and is teaching special ed. She’d like to leave PA and come back to NJ…only problem–not a job to be found in NJ, not this year anyway. Hundreds of teachers (mostly non-tenured) statewide have gotten pink slips. So she may set up shop still across state lines, but closer, till things loosen up here.</p>
<p>Love having adult children. They are my friends and I really don’t think they’re too embarrassed of me any more! Or maybe they just feel sorry for me.</p>
<p>Why I’m still here: I’m bored? I rarely post anymore. And, there’s my 15 yo nephew in the wings, good student and an athlete…let the fun begin!</p>
<p>I’ve been around a long time. S#1 graduated 2005 after 3.5 year leave of absence to start a software company which has been bought by a media company. S#2 graduated 2006 and went to southwest China to teach English for 1.5 years. He returned in middle of recession and had trouble finding post production film job so took two internships and then returned to China to teach math and computers at new international school in Beijing. He plans to teach a second year. S#3 just graduated college. This summer he is traveling with son #2 in China, working on organic farm, and touring with his band. His plans for the fall are undecided. I think he’d like to travel but since he will be short on money he probably will string together a bunch of film production jobs. I will be a happier mom once the younger two are more focused and settled…</p>
<p>Wow, what a great thread. You know how you don’t see someone’s kid for a long time, and want to keep them at the age when you first met them? That’s how I feel reading some of these posts. Even though my own kids have grown and gone, I am surprised to see that happened to others, too.</p>
<p>In 2004 when I started posting, I had a college junior, a HS senior, and a HS freshman.</p>
<p>S1 graduated UPenn in 2005, has been working for the government in economics ever since. (FWIW Says he doesn’t create the situation, just reports on it.) One more year of part-time grad school, although he’s now thinking about going on for PhD. Has g/f; that may affect future decisions.</p>
<p>S2 graduated with his master’s from Juilliard a couple weeks ago. (It was figuring out what he should wear to his undergrad auditions that brought me here!) Went directly from NYC to Charleston where he played with the Spoleto Festival. He’s now home for 2 weeks, then leaves for another festival in Europe. He was offered fellowships with two different performance groups for next fall. Though no “real job” yet, he is earning enough to live on.</p>
<p>D is a rising college senior. How the heck did that happen? She is happily working her summer camp job in PA again this summer. We have no clue what she is going to do with her violin performance major and Chinese minor. She’d like to go to grad school for linguistics, but that will involve getting a few more pre-reqs, as well as paying off some undergrad debt. I’m not too concerned. I was convinced that both my boys were majoring in things they’d never get jobs with, and have been proved wrong twice.</p>
<p>Why am I still here? Well, I’m actually here much less than I used to be. But this is still the smartest, most diverse group of people I know - good for a laugh, a bit of wisdom, a contrary view, or sense of community. Something rare enough that one just doesn’t walk away.</p>
<p>S just graduated UG in May. He’s knee-deep in spreadsheets, commuting and working ft for a big firm in center city. It’s not a perm slot…but it pays very well and is gets him much needed work experience in his field. He’s doing well and they’re talking about extending him till the end of the year. In the meantime, he’s been invited to all-day team building picnics and Philly game outings. Not bad. He had ZERO interest in Inv Banking! And his longterm gf is local so I don’t think he’s relocating any time soon. That’s good for us 
</p>
<p>Oh boy, I’ve been here a long time…and I lurked for quite a while before I joined. Hang out in the Parent Cafe now and find it to be addictive. Really helpful and smart folks there. No plans to leave!</p>
<p>I’ve been on CC forever also, having posted in the original PR site. </p>
<p>D graduated from Pomona, went to work in DC for a few years and returned to grad school for an MBA. She’s been very lucky, having a job offer prior to her MBA graduation in 2009. She’s loves her job working in CPG (consumer packaged goods) at a big pharmaceutical company.</p>
<p>S graduated from undergrad Wharton in 2004. After graduation, he worked in finance in the east coast for 2.5 years but was happy to relocate back in CA when his former boss offered him a position in a private equity firm. Two months ago, out of the blue, he was approached for a position in NYC. After much thought and deliberations, he finally accepted the position in buyside finance. </p>
<p>For the first time in 12 years, my kids are living within 10 miles of each other. But we are on the other coast. They are blessed in that they have been fully employed since college and grad school graduation.</p>
<p>I stay in CC for much of the same reasons as the other posters had mentioned. I learn something every day.</p>