Congratulations, Triton! You have made it to the final stretch of your undergraduate journey. Although your time at UC San Diego is coming to an end, this marks the beginning of an exciting, lifelong adventure. As you navigate the stress of senioritis and upcoming graduation, here are some things you can prepare for and look forward to as someone who will be one degree hotter!
☐ Make your way to Booth by Bryant to splurge on some photo booth grad pics with your cap and stole
☐ Hold onto your old papers and dorm name tags to start a keepsake box or scrapbook full of items that held sentimental value to you during your time as an undergraduate
☐ Binge a show you never had the chance to finish while bogged down with finals — the new season of BEEF on Netflix for a tension-filled drama or the Off Campus series on Amazon Prime for a feel-good romance
☐ Write thank you letters to give to anyone who guided you through your academic journey, whether it’s your favorite professor or an unforgettable classmate; pair letters with flowers or a gift card if they really left an impression
☐ Make use of University of California Student Health Insurance Plan coverage while you can. For most graduates, the medical insurance is valid until the day before the new academic term, so get that pap smear or mental health counseling done now
☐ Stock up on alumni merch from the bookstore to max out your remaining Triton Cash
☐ Clean up the files on your laptop — store old assignments and projects you can’t part with on a USB or hard disk — and change that wallpaper you’ve had since your first Fall Quarter while you’re at it
☐ Invest time in a passion project, like picking up that film camera that has been collecting dust or starting that professional website you’ve always wanted to build
☐ Join local social clubs — try checking out bookstores near you and seeing if they host any book clubs or browsing social collectives online — to build community outside of UCSD
☐ Frequent third spaces like Lestat’s on Park or Balboa Park to ensure that your post-graduate activities of tailoring resumes, creating portfolios, and applying for jobs are done in a scenic and peaceful spot — time to conquer unemployment head-on
☐ Gather your graduating friends and host a collective garage sale or apply to be a vendor at the many local flea markets around San Diego to give your old “going-out clothes” a second life
☐ As a soon-to-be UCSD alum, check out the mixers and gatherings on the calendar of alumni events
☐ Get your body moving! Buy a gym membership or start training for a marathon — get a head start on the post-graduate to long-distance runner pipeline
☐ Write a letter to yourself detailing all of your accomplishments and the hurdles you’ve overcome and open it when times get hard to remind yourself of how far you’ve journeyed to get here
☐ Give yourself the biggest pat on the back for all of the hard work you put in these past four years — congratulations!
