I'm in the unusual situation of essentially getting two undergraduate careers<\p>--<\p>the result of the unusual process of having enrolled to get a master's degree, electing a year later to pursue a Ph.D. and then deciding that maybe it wasn't for me after all. (It's never too late to change lanes.)

Nonetheless, I took full advantage of the chance. In addition to taking two master's degrees worth of coursework, I've had the pleasure of writing news, sports and features at The Daily, clocking over three years as a KZSU sports broadcaster, educating the future engineers of the world as a teaching assistant, learning to cook and spending a brief period as The Daily's elder statesman following the retirement and graduation of the peripatetic but brilliant Nav Sivanandam.

What's an engineer doing brewing beer and building his own media empire? Well, engineers are taught to do a job right, not waste a lot of resources and not get loose with the facts<\p>--<\p>skills that transfer remarkably well to other fields. It's really been an opportunity for me to stay literate and well-spoken, a point of leverage in my career ambitions.

When I finally leave Stanford this summer, I will do so with strong memories of some things of which I will be forever proud, and can't be taken from me.

For one, I had the honor of broadcasting Stanford's historic win at USC last October.

I have told colleagues and friends that I am perfectly happy leaving sportswriting and broadcasting behind because I got to be part of a transcendent event, one that will stick in the public memory for a long time. All broadcasters wish for that experience, and I was lucky enough to get it. (I figured I'd get something after covering that 1-11 season the year before.)

But a football game is, in the end, a game; I also had the opportunity to do some actual lasting good. Last summer, the editors took a courageous step in printing almost verbatim my fact-filled but incisive exegesis of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax<\p>--<\p>the attempted framing of three students by a politicized district attorney with the encouragement of a portion of the Duke faculty. The column turned out to be wildly popular among followers of the case, getting posted on blogs and producing a comment war on the Daily's web site.

I was honored to receive the praise of one of the case's best bloggers, and thankful emails from the parents of players.

On the subject of perspective, I left college with what I thought were regrets, a disappointment about things I didn't get around to doing.

You know what's funny about it? After four more years in school trying to do all those things, I have the same feeling about a new list of things. I guess life's just too short.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this: for those considering graduate school, let me say one thing<\p>--<\p>run. (Just kidding.) No; graduate school can be a great step, but treat it like a job. Come to understand that it is not an extension of the undergrad years, and you will have a much easier time adapting. And think very

hard about whether you want or need a Ph.D., and don't even start the process until you are sure.