Student Experience

From the Lawn to the Lakes: A Wahoo’s journey to a first job

Editor’s Note: Brynn Earl, a 2025 School of Engineering and Applied Science graduate, agreed to chronicle her journey from Final Exercises to first job, and all the emotions along the way.

I stood in a sea of balloons and buzzing graduates, holding my coveted sourdough with the UVA V-Sabre cut into its crust. My friends took bites from it as we waited to process. I loved that it was being shared and reshaped by everyone who has made these four years so amazing. It didn’t feel real – but it was. It was time to walk the Lawn.

I had already accepted a job offer at Epic (a software developer for health care applications) as a technical solutions engineer. But it still felt imaginary. Even my site visit made Epic seem more like a really intense dream than a future reality. For most of fourth year, I was just anxiously excited, picturing the next adventure without quite being able to feel it. Moving out of Charlottesville felt like a chapter was ending, but I couldn’t yet see what was beginning on the next page.

A few weeks after Final Exercises, I filled my car and a U-Haul trailer and, with my parents, drove more than a thousand miles from Virginia Beach to Madison, Wisconsin. The process felt like everything, all at once. Excitement. Fear. Pride. A little disbelief. I think we all grow up imagining what being an “adult” feels like. And when you get here, packing up your life with your parents and two dogs watching, you realize no one actually has it figured out.

Brynn Earl walking on the Lawn at Final Exercises 2025

Brynn Earl, with a loaf of sourdough bread in hand, heads to Final Exercises. (Contributed photo)

As we drove across the country, my excitement turned to anxiety as worries of, “Can I do this? How will I do this? What will it look like?” started to fill my head. But as we drove west, my nerves ebbed and flowed with the rolling hills of West Virginia, eventually flattening into something steadier as we crossed into Ohio and Illinois.

With my parents along for the drive – even knowing more than a thousand miles would soon separate us – I knew they would always be there for me. They understood, more than I do even now, that I’ve got this, even though I’m still an “adult with training wheels.” Their bittersweet excitement and overwhelming pride turned my anxiety into exhilaration. Their confidence in me made all the difference. By the time we reached Wisconsin, my fear had transformed into something quieter: readiness.

I’ll never forget tearfully hugging them goodbye and watching them walk away hand-in-hand, remembering this is their first time doing this, too. I looked confident, but I was scared to death. There is no longer a safety net. No easy drive home when things get tough. No familiar Lawn. But I reminded myself: I’ve got this.

Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.

I still don’t feel like an “adult” who should be managing all these responsibilities and chores and fun adventures, but in that moment, I knew I had to do the hard thing, and I knew I could. I don’t always feel like I have it under control, but that’s OK. I give myself grace. I cry over spilled coffee grounds and celebrate small wins like making dinner or finding the post office. I’m learning that being on my own doesn’t mean I’m alone. It just means I’m growing.

Driving to work my first day, I had to fight back every “what if” that tried to creep in. But the moment I walked in, I was met with kind, reassuring faces and people who were just as new and nervous as I was. What surprised me most was how many of my mentors remembered exactly what it felt like to be in my shoes – uncertain, overwhelmed, hopeful. Their honesty helped quiet the doubt in my head and reminded me I wasn’t alone.

Brynn Earl in the back of their moving trailer

Earl poses for a photo in the U-Haul trailer she and her parents towed from Virginia Beach to Madison, Wisconsin. (Contributed photo)

I was surprised to find that same kind of community I had cherished at UVA, people who genuinely want to help, who are excited to learn and grow together. It reminded me that connection doesn’t end at graduation; it just evolves.

I had braced myself to come home overwhelmed and filled with doubt. Instead, I came home more excited than I’d been in months. There’s so much to learn and, yes, it’s exhausting, but I’m soaking up every minute. For the first time, the future doesn’t just feel big and scary. It feels full of potential. This job, this city, this new version of me – it feels like things are clicking into place. Like the puzzle I’ve been trying to piece together is finally starting to make sense.

And maybe my time as a Hoo isn’t quite over. During all of this transition, I was accepted into the “Future Year Scholars Program” at Darden, so there’s a good chance I’ll be back.

Until then, I’m holding all of it close and moving forward.