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Community Corner

Class of 2010 Hopeful For the Future

College costs and unemployment rising challenge new grads.

West Islip High School held its 52nd commencement ceremony this weekend on the school's football field, in front of thousands of onlookers. As one proud parent said, " You wait a long time to watch your child accomplish something like this, it really is exciting."

Students, parents, families, and the entire West Islip administration braved the oppressive heat and humidity to welcome in West Islip's newest graduating class. School officials at the ceremony handed out hundreds of diplomas to anxious newly grads.

One of the graduates, Ariel P., celebrated her accomplishments with family and friends at a local West Islip restaurant and was thrilled to see it all come to an end this morning.

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"It is amazing…it's so great to know that all of my hard work has paid off," she said.

Having graduated as a member of the Honor Society and swim team, Ariel is excited that it is all over and says it is easy to reflect on a year that was full of challenges, surprises, and hardships.

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"I just wanted to be done…the entire year seemed to disappear so quickly but I can say now that it is over. Thank goodness," she said.

According to Ariel, the most challenging of her days came when it was time to apply to college, something she says was "beyond stressful." She is aspiring to become a biology teacher and wants to teach at West Islip when she graduates college.

As the rate of unemployment fluctuates around 10 percent across the country, and with the cost of college rising each year, many students worry about the possibility of choosing a major that they will not stick with.

One parent in West Islip said she was concerned with her son's decision because they could not afford to send him to college for more than four years.

"It's nerve racking, we hope he decides on the right one the first time around," she said.

 According to Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of MyMajors.com, 80 percent of high school graduates who plan to attend college do not decide on a major until they are enrolled, and more than fifty percent of college students will change their major throughout their course of study.

Perhaps an even more frightening concept is the fact that there are fewer jobs available for college graduates than ever before.

According to James McBride, executive director of The University of Virginia's office of career services, students from that college are taking positions in banking, both retail and investment; consulting; government; education; health care; information technology; manufacturing; consumer products, and other sales and service jobs because graduates have fewer choices of jobs as they come out of college.

More than 440 high school diplomas were handed out today at the West Islip graduation ceremony, with the vast majority of those students heading to college in the near future. Obtaining jobs after they graduate may be a different story.

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