My daughter's recent graduation from Ithaca College brought back distant memories of my own 35 years ago, causing me to reflect on both the similarities and differences in our experiences. Our paths were similar in that both of us transferred to private colleges after attending SUNY institutions for a year, where we found the experience to be less to our satisfaction, craving a more stimulating and challenging learning environment. After High School I went off with a group friends to a Community College near Albany and ended up the only one out of the 4 to go on to get a degree. The rest headed back to our home town after only a year, lonesome for their boy friends. It turned out to be a pivotal moment for me as I realized I needed to surround  myself with like minded people who shared the same goals and dreams.  I serendipitously found this and much more at my Alma matter 13 hours away from home. My daughter also headed to school several hours from Albany and although she enjoyed the proximity to NYC, she got tired of the laid back attitude she felt many took regarding their educational experience.
 We both formed close friendships and thrived in the small classes with personal attention from professors in our respective majors. We worked on campus and joined various clubs making the most of our college experience and discovering much about ourselves in the process. But that's where the similarities end and the differences begin. My career choices in 1974 were limited to that of teacher, secretary and social worker, according to the Guidance Counselor and my parents. Fortunately, in 2014 our daughter's choices for career opportunities are unlimited, thanks in part to the women from the Baby Boomer generation who went before them and helped break through the glass ceiling we were confined to. Today's college graduates are sadly leaving with record debt on an average of  $33,000, nearly tripling the amount grads paid back over 30 years ago when I graduated. The younger people of this generation will have to be more creative about making a living, with corporate shrinkage and fewer jobs. I believe they will be able to accomplish with the Internet and all the many facets of communication at their disposal, which they are so adept at utilizing to accomplish their means. My daughter told me about a case in point where a graduate from IC is a Youtube sensation with over a million hits of her unique comedy routine.
 Despite the dismal facts, I'm still convinced that the path my daughter took has made her a more confident, prepared person that will lead her to a fulfilling career and that she is living in a time of unsurpassed opportunity.