University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Dean Sutton of the School of Law emphasizes a point during the Sunflower Ceremony, a tradition adopted in UT ' s early years where graduates receive symbolic flowers. L Limelight 395

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LIMELIGHT Edited by Debbie Whitehurst Assisted by Martha Anderson IE FOLDED gown and the cap are put away. The last strains of Pomp and Circumstance have faded. The film of the graduation ceremony is on its way to the photo processor. After four tough, fun, anxious, exhausting years school ' s finally out. Or is it? For some of the newly degreed, a com- mencement meant exactly what the dic- tionary says commencement means a beginning; the real challenge of education was just beginning. Many of UT ' s most visible students aspired to a post-graduate degree. Whatever course of study they followed before em- barking on graduate work, all graduate school applicants faced some of the same hurdles in the process. Common to all were tests and the need for a satisfactory score on the appropriate one. The LSAT (law school), MCAT (medical school), GRE (other specialties), GMAT (management) students could take them cold, cram on their own, get help from special programs or go the Stanley Kaplan route professional test -taking training. Aspirants also needed at least decent and preferably top notch grades, and persons (usually professors) to write lavish letters of recommendation. Aspirants also had to Degree Signals ' Freedom ' or Another Onslaught of Exams - - Entrance Exams Is There Life After Graduation? by MAUREEN CREAMER decide which schools to apply to and then file applications and sometimes pay a fee just for the privilege of filing. Committees scrutinized applications and decided which ones to axe and which ones to welcome. If welcomed, aspirants got to wonder about finances and housing. The process was a has- sle and a subtle hint of what lay ahead: teaching, research, paperword, thesis, orals, dissertations and deadlines. With all that expense and red-taped paper work, it was no wonder some students put their graduate work aspirations on tem- porary hold. Jorge Dominguez, senior, plan- ned to fulfill his long-time ambition of becoming a doctor. However, his plans in- cluded working for a few years before going on to medical school. Senior Andrew Rivin had the same idea. I felt a need to take a year out of the system, said Rivin, who planned to spend a year teaching in Kenya before going to law school. Some students didn ' t wait that long. Kim Mickelson, con- currently enrolled in the School of Law and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, started a law degree three days after receiving her bachelor ' s degree in 1981. I ' m really tired of school, she said as law finals approached to an uncomfortably close distance. The catalog for the Graduate School at UT stated that applicants to graduate school at UT should have adequate subject preparation for the proposed graduate ma- jor. The word should suggested the varie- ty of preparatory work undertaken for post- graduate degrees. Senior James Mitlyng was accepted to UT ' s Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. His undergraduate major was finance. Everyone says that doctors are the worst businessmen. I grew up with The Wall Street Journal, Mitlyng said, adding that doctors say not to choose biology. You ' ll have plenty of it in medical school. Mitlyng had already gained experience ap- plying his knowledge of finance to real situa- tions; he had operated his own landscaping business in Dallas for several years. Andrew Rivin ' s aspirations to law school were supported by his undergraduate humanities major. I wanted to specify in graduate school, he said, adding that he had chosen a liberal arts-humanities major with law school in mind. Becky Cabaza, a junior Plan II major, found herself consider- ing graduate school in business. If I want to go into the business world prepared, an MBA is what I would need to have, Cabaza said. She did, however, wonder about the possibility of a glut of MBAs. Graduate school to go or not to go? If you have a degree in something specializ- ed, Cabaza said, stop after four years if that ' s what you want. But if you have a degree in something less specialized, you should go on if you want a well-rounded education. Limelight

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Outstanding Students Elizabeth Jane Akard, a senior majoring in elementary education, was the 1981 Dad ' s Day Outstanding Female Student. She was a member of Mortar Board, Senior Cabinet and the 1981-82 University Council. Betsy was also a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Preston Howard Blomquist, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, was a member of the Friar Society and Mortar Board. He was also a member of Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and was a Longhorn Band section leader. Brett Milhim Campbell, a senior majoring in Plan II. was president of the Tejas Club and the Liberal Arts Council. He was a member of Mortar Board and Pi Sigma Alpha honor society. He also participated in the Junior Fellows Honors Research Program in Arts and Sciences. - 396 Outstanding Students