Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of “Where are they now?,” a series on the successes and failures of University alumni.

They are just like you, except they have salaries.

The transition from nights in bars to mornings at a desk is not as daunting as it may seem, according to three University graduates.

Dressed in khaki pants and a polo shirt, not the stereotypical lab coat and goggles, Joseph Whitlock, 23, from Banks County, begins work at the Department of Infectious Disease at approximately 9 a.m. each day.

Whitlock begins his job like the rest of the working world, but his work is far from typical. Aiding in studies hoping to discover an antibiotic to fight new strains of the Small Pox virus, his daily tasks include everything from infecting host cells with viruses similar to Small Pox, performing blots and general research.

Though Whitlock is serious about his research, his schedule is relaxed. “I always say science doesn’t work on whole numbers,” he jokes. “I leave work about 5 p.m., but I might skip out a little early to go throw a Frisbee.”

In the fall, Whitlock will attend the Medical College of Georgia, with hopes of practicing diagnostic medicine, “like Dr. House.” He believes the transition will be as easy as the one between graduation and his research.

“If you treat school like a nine-to-five job, then I can’t see having a problem with the transition,” he said.

Most University graduates will be closer to a cubicle than Small Pox, but even those in the corporate world make the transition easily. Joey Smith, 23, from Americus, has no trouble leaving the college lifestyle behind.

“I miss the people I left behind, but it’s not much of a change. I still do most of the same things I did while I was in college.”

As a Risk Management and Insurance major, Smith works as an underwriter for Auto Owner’s Insurance in Atlanta. While interning this summer, he had a taste for the business and knew what to expect.

“I genuinely like what I do, and it helps that most of my co-workers are close in age,” Smith said.

Kelly Fitzgerald may not work with recent graduates, but she doesn’t mind.

Tying shoelaces and preventing chaos, she looks out to a room of adoring fans.

“I teach elementary school. Basically, I color and throw parties that involve cupcakes and some sort of glue activity. Pretty much I have the greatest job in the world,” she said.

As a French teacher for kindergarten, first and second grade at Sharon Elementary in Suwanee, Fitzgerald rises at 5:00 a.m. each morning with a set plan for the day.

Fitzgerald may live a little less spontaneously, but her students keep life exciting. “I can’t tell you how unfiltered they are. They say whatever they want, but they love unconditionally.”

According to her, surviving the first few months are the hardest. “It’s different. When I was in college, I woke up thinking ‘What ridiculous thing can I do today?’ Now I wake up and think ‘When do I get to go back to sleep?’”