LIKE CHAMPAGNE, OPTIMISM FLOWS

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, May 21, 2007 by Taylor Atkins

By Taylor Atkins

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

I\u200An an oversized, yellow foam cowboy hat, Lawrence native Sean Hill made his descent.

"All the graduates walk down to the stadium," Hill said about The University of Kansas' traditional graduation ceremony, which took place Sunday afternoon on campus.

Members of KU's class of 2007 paraded through the Campanile and into Memorial Stadium. Hill, a political science major, then paraded right out.

"I don't know if a lot people stay for the ceremony," Hill said. "KU doesn't have a speaker or anything. Walking down the hill is really the point. It's like a big symbol for being done."

More than 6,400 KU students were finished with their degree work as of Sunday - and a large percentage of them participated in the precessional.

And as with Hill, a large percentage of graduates accented their black robes with oversized hats, Jayhawk paraphernalia, fashionable belts and other colorful objects.

One student attached a sign to his back that read, "It's all downhill from here," which spawned several high fives from students gathering at the top of the Campanile Hill before the ceremony began.

Graduate Annie Hagg, a communication studies major from Illinois, didn't share the sign's bleak outlook for life after college, but she said she understood where it came from.

"It's been too much fun. It's been way too short. And it's over," Hagg said. "We're about to start another chapter of our lives, but a better chapter. I'm very optimistic."

Hagg's friends also were optimistic about post-college life, even those without jobs. The women estimated it was an even split between graduates starting careers right away and those without a clue about what was coming next.

Shaina Meyers, a psychology major from Nebraska, fit into the latter category.

"I'm going to move away, Colorado or Montana. I just need a change of scenery," Meyers said. "I don't know exactly what I'm going to do. I just want to go somewhere else for a while."

Chris Jagoda, of Leawood, had more definite plans.

"I start work tomorrow," the finance major said. "It's for a firm in Kansas City. I'm excited. I'll be trading stock options on commodities."

Hill's immediate plans after graduation included an even loftier challenge.

"We have to walk back up there," he said, pointing to the top of the Campanile Hill. "That's where we parked."

Taylor Atkins can be reached

at (785)295-1187

or taylor.atkins@cjonline.com.