From dead week, finals and preparing summer plans, May is a month where everything from the semester comes to an end.

For seniors like Megan Nash, a liberal studies major, and Juan Sanchez, a political science major, their Chico State experience will come to a close with graduation.

“I just want to graduate already so I can stop stressing so much and start looking towards my next move,” Sanchez said.

While he doesn’t have a plan set in stone for after graduation, Sanchez said he’s going to search for a job in the Redding area

“All my family and friends live there so that’s where I’ve got my sights set,” he said.

Nash said that graduating seems surreal.

“Honestly, it is pretty scary knowing I graduate in less than (a) week,” Nash said. “I don’t think it has really hit me yet because none of my friends are graduating…the program I am in I was able to complete my undergraduate studies in three years instead of four.

“I also don’t feel old enough to graduate because I am still only 20,” she said. “However, it is also exciting. I have worked really hard to get to where I am and it is finally paying off.”

Nash said that the graduation process felt different than high school because she had to plan a lot of the details.

“The waiting is the worst part because it feels like time is moving so slow. Taking the graduation photos with your friends, sending out announcements, fighting to get the right amount of tickets (are all new to me),” Nash said. “In years past with high school graduation, a lot of the planning is done by your parents because you are in your hometown. But seeing that everyone is coming to me there is a lot of planning I have to do on my side of it with accommodating everyone.”

Nash also mentioned that these graduation factors add stress to dead week and finals.

“It has been a really stressful couple of weeks,” Nash said. “This whole semester was going by with a breeze and everything is hitting me like a freight train. I have final papers due left and right, graduation parties to plan, family to see before I leave.”

While most graduates leave Chico after graduating, Nash has had the opportunity to continue her education here next semester as a graduate student.

“I’ve been accepted to the Concurrent Credential Program at Chico State and will be pursuing two teaching credentials: multiple subjects and mild to moderate special education,” Nash said. “I am incredibly excited to start this next chapter of my life and begin co-teaching in a classroom.”

Nash advised upcoming seniors to enjoy college while it lasts.

“College goes by so fast and before you know it it’s gone. These years have been some of the best years of my life,” she said. “I have met incredible people from my time at Chico State and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Life gets really real really fast once you are out of school,” Nash said. “I think we take for granted the time we have here. Enjoy it, cherish it and make the most out of all Chico has to offer.”

Josiah Nicholl can be reached at [email protected] or @josiah_theorion on Twitter.