Web log tracks grad progress

After the Carolina blue graduation caps have been tossed and the photos have been taken next to the Old Well, many seniors leave UNC and stop leaving traces of their time here.

But for eight young alumni, cyberspace has created a loophole to the tradition.

With the help of the General Alumni Association, several members of the class of 2004 have been participating in a Web-logging project in which they chronicle their transition from the University into the real world.

The idea was a collaborative one, coming from last year's senior marshals, the GAA Student Advisory Board and the president and vice president for the class of 2005. Their goal was to generate ideas for this fall's Homecoming weekend.

Once the concept was established, they began to brainstorm names of seniors whose future plans fell into one of four categories: service/nonprofit, business professional, professional school and undecided.

In addition, the invited students needed to be standouts in the University community.

"We wanted people that students would know and remember," said Mike Ludwick, coordinator of student membership for the GAA. "The names we came up with were generally presidents of organizations or very active on campus."

The results of their efforts are eight young alumni, all of whom just posted their fifth journal entry on the GAA Web site. Every Wednesday, the bloggers post what they have been doing during the week.

Kit Evans, chief senior marshal for the class of 2004, is one of those graduates. She now is teaching special education at a middle school in Washington, D.C., a job she acquired through Teach for America.

The strain of 12-hour workdays has shown her the direction she wants her blog to take.

"I definitely write exactly what I feel, and sometimes it fluctuates," Evans said. "I keep it real, and I tell everything that's really going on. I don't want to sugarcoat anything about how it is here."

Evans wants to ensure that students know the demands of being on their own financially, but she also wants students to realize the choices that are out there for them.

"I want students to know that they do have options," Evans said.

And that was the idea behind the online journals - to advise students who are preparing for life after graduation.

"We hope that by having a variety of students who are making a variety of choices, it will help others to make their own decisions," said Anita Walton, manager of student and young alumni affairs for the GAA.

The Web log site got more hits than any other part of the GAA Web site in its first few weeks.

"It seems that blogs are a very popular thing now, and after examining current trends and practices, we thought they would work for us," Walton said.

Josh Simmons, a 2004 graduate who is now a first-year student in the University of Virginia's School of Law, is another participating alumnus.

While at UNC, he studied in political science and economics and was involved in the Honor Court and Mock Trial team.

"I thought it was a cool way to document what I was doing," Simmons said of the online journal.

In it, he said he is hoping to discuss the trials and tribulations of starting law school so that his blog can serve as a guide for students preparing for graduation.

"I'm just going to try and gather what I'm going through," Simmons said.

"I want to give (students) a better idea of what law school is all about. I don't know if I'm exactly in the real world yet, but I definitely suggest staying in school. Work's overrated."

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.