New Cal grads enter 'real world' clutching diplomas and hope
BERKELEY -- Saturday was commencement day for thousands of students at the University of California in Berkeley, a day marking the end of a multi-year journey into the "real world."
Naturally, many graduates are concerned about what the future holds and, while graduation is typically a time of great optimism, young people who grew up in the age of information are well aware of the challenges they'll face.
As the sound of "Pomp and Circumstance" echoed through the UC Berkeley campus, there was a feeling of celebration and accomplishment. Thousands of graduates filled the stands at Memorial Stadium to hear remarks from Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer.
"Life is not about accomplishment. It's about happiness," Woz said. "Be gracious, whether you win or lose. Life is not a dress rehearsal. You are living it."
The man who introduced information technology to the masses also made young people more aware of the world than previous generations. Not all the news is good. Ryan Morris and his friends are happy to be graduating but he's concerned about all the recent layoffs in the technology industry.
"I think it's a big problem. I think a lot of this stuff has to do with AI. Personally, I might be going into the tech world, as well, if I don't end up pursuing law and I think we're going to see a shift in what we focus on in school, especially UC Berkeley.
Morris, a political economics major, believes the emergence of artificial intelligence will lessen the value of a lot of time-honored fields of study.
"I think I will be able to shift it into something more relevant to the new line of work but I think some people should be worried," he said. "And I think the younger individuals should really consider their majors when they choose their majors."
"I've been looking for a job since God knows when," said Tal Ferguson, an economics and data science major. He is worried about other weaknesses he sees in the financial sector.
"For me, it's the banks, 100 percent," Ferguson said. "Seeing these regional banks such as SVC (Silicon Valley Bank) and First Republic -- these well-established banks -- closing down has just been very worrisome for me as a new grad. I feel like it's the worst time to graduate, unfortunately."
It wasn't all doom and gloom. Yohana Aguilar said she feels confident as she heads into the health profession, a sector with a lot of room for growth.
"We're not going to struggle finding a job because we already have a degree," she said. "And it's harder for others who don't have a degree."
Avalon Gagnon, an architecture student, revealed her reason for being upbeat.
"Everybody that I've met going here has given me incredible optimism as to where we're going in the future," she said. "Everyone has really good morals that I've met and everybody's really smart and sweet."
English literature major Sam Tilles said he's accustomed to all the economic and social upheaval.
"I've grown up in an America where there's always that level of uncertainty and anxiety so I can't say that I feel that this is anything new," he said.
Tilles said he thinks the future is still there for the taking but it helps not to be too gentle about it.
"It's a quickly changing world that we're being thrust into but one that I think we can take by the scruff of the neck, a little bit. I don't know," he said, laughing.