Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 5/15/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Carlos Moreno Kaitlyn Capella, a senior majoring in business management is among the few graduating students with a 4.0 GPA.

As graduation day approaches, some students prepare to don the cap and gown and walk. Some seniors at the top of their class said they felt like graduation came none too soon.

Xiaoling Lao, a senior electrical engineering major at the top of her class, said she can't wait to move on to the next phase of her life.

"I prefer to live in a reality," said Lao, who currently has a 3.89 GPA. "I don't want to stay in academia all the time. I want to live in a practical world. In order to do that, I need qualifications."

Although Lao is a senior, she still has two core classes and a few electives to pound out.

About maintaining an "A" average, Lao said the trick was to stay focused.

"I say it's all about motivation," Lao said. "It's all about attitude."

Kaitlyn Capella, a senior business management major who currently has a GPA of 4.0, would seem inclined to agree with Lao's eagerness to move on.

"I'm ready for the next phase of my life," said Capella. "My family is ready for the next phase of my life, too."

Before being accepted at SJSU, Capella could very well have gone down a different path and become an air traffic controller. She said she took an aptitude test that determined that the best career for her was either that of a doctor or an air traffic controller.

Since she had no interest in being a doctor, she said she decided that being an air traffic controller might be a nice change of pace. So, she visited the University of North Dakota, which she said has a good program for becoming one.

"I was looking for direction," Capella said. "When I really thought about it, it didn't appeal to me so much."

Unlike Lao and Capella's urgency to move on, Pradeep Senanayake, an electrical engineering major, feels the need to savor his education. He said that in college, especially in electrical engineering, the philosophy is to get in, take your classes and get out, because there is generally a job waiting for electrical students on the other side.

"I've chosen not to do that, willfully chosen not to do that," said Senanayake, whose GPA is 3.92. He said he plans to attend graduate school in the fall.

Continued...

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