Entering the Real World

In just over two weeks my daughter will graduate from college and for me it seems those four years have just flown by.  Lately she has been a little bit anxious because the right job opportunity had not presented itself and she wasn’t sure what she would be doing after graduation. Her major is Food Science, a program at University of Wisconsin that has boasted 100% job placement for the past nine years. She was afraid she might be the one to break the streak!!  She received a couple of job offers but they were more quality assurance positions and she had hoped for something in R & D.  Yesterday she called to say she had accepted an offer as a Food Technologist, her dream job where she will research food products and develop ways to enhance flavor, improve quality and increase food safety. She was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to share her good news.  It was wonderful to hear how excited she was about the opportunity but after we hung up I was a little melancholy as I faced the realization she won’t be moving back home. 

Fortunately, though, she will be living in La Crosse, WI which is only about 3 hours away. It is a beautiful city right on the Mississippi River so it offers lots of outdoor activities and has plenty of shopping and nightlife (it’s a college town!). 

It will be tough to see her start out on her own, but I know she’s well prepared and more than ready to take on the real world.