The ceremony was a lot of fun. Things were a little cozier than other graduations, possible because of the weather and some who had hoped to make it couldn't. One graduate couldn't make it because of job opportunity and we certainly understand that.
We had a delicious lunch with a lot of wonderful dishes. Whether it's because the Thanksgiving holiday is so near or because people just got into the spirit of the graduation, there were some excellent foods with great takes on traditional recipes.
One observation on this graduation is that the dignitaries who were invited have all been promoted since the last time we saw them. That's good for them and exciting to see.
We at the school all hope the job prospects for our fresh grads are improving. The labor market results for California and Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties came out today with some good news and bad news:
The bad news:
Employment is still high (over 12%). The overall employment picture for the last month hasn't improved a lot since the months before .
The good news:
Unemployment hasn't gotten worse. There seems to be some stability now and that what layoffs are still happening are being balanced by some hiring.
It does seem that the standards have really changed when the phrase "unemployment hasn't gotten any worse" is seen as "good news," but these are not ordinary times. They are surely times with extraordinary challenges.
With extraordinary challenges comes extraordinary people and we feel our graduates from our programs are extraordinary people who will soon be working for good companies.
Good luck to the 2010 class that graduated today!
