Medill senior Thomas Berenato has had a job lined up for after graduation since before high school ended.

Not that he had a choice. As a member of the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, the U.S. Navy pays Berenato’s tuition in exchange for four years of his service as a naval officer after he graduates.

But that security doesn’t make the job any less daunting. Berenato will board the U.S.S. Forrest Sherman, off the coast of Norfolk, Va., in less than four weeks and remain there for most of the next four years. He’ll be in charge of about 30 other men, many of whom have been in the Navy for years.

“I’ll have to lead people competently without being a prick or a softie,” Berenato said. “It’s a very macho, straightforward environment, very different from Northwestern.”

Like Berenato, many members of the class of 2006 say entering the real world and saying goodbye to NU proves both exciting and scary.

Communication senior Antony Merkel will start work as a legal assistant in New York City in July.

“(I’m) not so much scared as I am eager to get established,” Merkel said. “I’m scared of the transition period where I’ll be struggling to make the change from student to working adult.”

College graduation isn’t the “pure excitement” that high school graduation was, Merkel said.

“College is kind of like the last hurrah,” Merkel said. “After graduation, the honeymoon’s over and the real world begins. There wasn’t any apprehension between high school and college. That’s definitely not the case now.”

Staying in touch with friends is a big concern for most graduates.

Weinberg senior Stefanie Brody, who will head to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall to study sociolinguistics, said she feels ready to move on. But she said the feeling is bittersweet because of her memorable experiences at NU – from Dillo Day mornings to her performances with Fusion Dance Company.

“I will miss being able to see the friends I have made here,” Brody said. “Though we’ll keep in contact, we will be spread across the globe.”

That concern isn’t as great for Weinberg senior Jamie Hatten, who will return to NU in the fall to finish her teaching certification.

“A part of me is sad that I won’t be able to get a job just yet, but I’m happy that I’ll be able to see some of my friends again,” Hatten said. “The hardest thing about graduation will be not knowing when or if I’ll see some of them again.”

For Merkel, NU’s sense of community is what he’ll miss most.

“It’s really felt like home these past few years,” Merkel said. “I’ve made great friends and taken advantage of so many different aspects of Northwestern, and that’s all going to change once I graduate.”

Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].