Texas Tech University's "Before I Graduate" Chalkboard

Universities are buzzing with excitement, as the new academic year is about to begin. Texas Tech University (where I'm on the faculty) is no exception. Whether to capture the hopes and dreams of today's youth, or just for fun, or for whatever reason, the university invites students to write what they hope to accomplish "before I graduate," on a large chalkboard in the student union. Thinking that students' aspirations may (or may not) tell us something about emerging adulthood (EA), I took a photograph of the board yesterday. (You may click on the following image to enlarge it.)

Some of the statements reflect academic self-betterment ("I want to learn 3 languages"), whereas others are more whimsical ("Marry Kingsbury," in reference to Texas Tech's heart-throb football coach). One person writes, "I want to be a billionaire," unlikely in general, but especially before graduation!

Jeff Arnett writes in one of his books that EA "tends to be an age of high hopes and great expectations, in part because few of [these individuals'] dreams have been tested in the fires of real life" (p. 16).

Given that the bulk of emerging-adulthood research is on college students (presumably because they're such a readily available source of research participants), it is important to note that EA includes non-college youth, as well. In fact, this latter group has been labeled as the "Forgotten Half," for researchers' and policymakers' relative inattention to it.