A mere 82 days remain before the University's seniors parade through Wallace Wade stadium in caps and gowns.
And with time quickly waning, the Gothic Wonderland's wisest undergraduates must prioritize what they have yet to do in their Duke career. "I want to explore more of North Carolina," said Susan Paul. "There's a lot of hiking and camping in western North Carolina. I haven't really seen the state at all, I've just spent time at Duke."
Paul is one of several students who wants to make sure she experiences more outside of Duke. "I want to do more cultural and social stuff in Durham, rather than on campus," said Genevieve Daftary, who also had one on-campus goal. "I want to see Nan's office. I feel like President Keohane is pretty open as far as students are concerned, so I think it would be fun. Plus, I walk by every day before class."
Other seniors hope to gain a different perspective of the campus. "I want to go to the top of the chapel," said Betty Tao. "I've heard it's a really good view and I've never been there."
Some had more obvious gaps in their Duke experience.
"I want to go to my second basketball game ever in the student section," said Jessica Rosen. "I only went to one freshman year, and I just feel like I should go. After graduation you have to pay."
The Sarah P. Duke Gardens are always free and open to the public, but Mike Lauer is unsure if he will be able to visit them after graduation. With no job lined up, his location next year is unknown. "I want to go to the gardens. I haven't spent time in them at all-ever," he said.
His first priority, however, is to find a job. The goal makes him one of many seniors who ranked employment high on their list of things to do. However, the perspective was different for those who had more secure plans for the future.
"My major course loads have always restricted me from doing exactly what I wanted to do and contributing as much as I wanted to my fraternity," said A.J. Tompkins. "Now I know what I'm doing next year and everything is set in stone. I have nothing to lose. I don't want to focus on school at all. I want to do no work."
Other took a slightly more extreme approach. "I want to drink as much as possible. I haven't drunk enough yet," said Ali Curtis. "I need to make up for lost time. I know what I'm doing next year, so I don't care."
Regardless of their job status, many members of the Class of 2001 want to be sure they enjoy these last few months. "I want to take advantage of the time I have with friends," said Tony De Yurre. "I'm going to Cancun with all of my best friends and I already rented out my house in Myrtle Beach. I also want to go skydiving-I've already priced it."
Ian Doherty also noted that his days with his Duke friends were numbered. "I want to end the relationships I've made at my four years at Duke on a strong note so I don't lose them after graduation," he said. "If you start off in a new place, you don't have any friends."
In addition to approaching her friendships from a new perspective, Lauren Ehlig approached her semester from a different angle academically. "I definitely saw this semester as a chance to take the time to do all the things I didn't have time to do before or didn't fit in my major," said the economics and public policy double major. "I'm taking Psychology of Education, which is totally random for me, but I thought it would be interesting."
Ehlig may have time to dabble in electives, but Doherty is still focusing on the basics. "I also want to fulfill the graduation requirements-academic and unofficial," he said.
Doherty is not the only one with non-academic graduation requirements on the brain. "I need to finish my unofficial graduation requirements," said Brett Pettigrew. "Whether or not I get them done depends on if the gardens get warm enough soon."
Other students are already looking ahead, preparing for the days when they no longer live in Durham. "I want to take pictures of the campus-it's something I never did," said Kelvin Black. "It's such a pretty campus. Being here for as long as I have, I don't ever want to forget what it feels like to see the Chapel coming up Campus Drive or East Campus and how pretty all the buildings are."
Finally, there are those members of the Class of 2001 whose dreams extend beyond their own self-interest or personal achievements to the cult of men's basketball.
"All I really want is celebrate a national championship," said Mark Adams.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.