When Deja turned around, Amber was trying to bite back the smile on her face. Besides Alejandro, the best part of last fall had been writing Amber’s letters of recommendation and editing her graduate school applications only for her to get into every program she’d applied to. Amber was one of the students who somehow managed to hold down a nearly full-time job at a local fast food restaurant, while taking a full load of classes, and still excelling in her coursework and holding executive board positions in the BSU and the Asian American Student Union. Of all her advisees, Amber was the only one who preferred email because she just didn’t have time to come into Deja’s office each week when she needed help. Some semesters, Deja only saw her as they rushed past each other around campus or accidentally at the library checkout desk. But next month, she was graduating with the best GPA in the department, having just accepted an offer to attend one of the best Sociology graduate programs in the country.

“I’m going to sleep,” Amber said resolutely. “I’m working right up until two days before I move, but every second I’m not working or packing, I’m just going to sleep.”

Deja smiled, “You deserve it.”

Amber’s face shifted in a way Deja recognized. “Do you think I’ll be okay out there?”

The ‘out there’ could mean so many things. Amber had walked into college a first-generation student with a loving family that supported her emotionally but couldn’t help her financially. It was more than some kids had, but the material differences were stark. By the time Deja had arrived and been assigned as her advisor, she’d learned how to function nearly on her own, unsure of who to ask for help with things like applying for scholarships or graduate schools and too nervous to expose all the things she didn’t know. So Amber could be asking about the ‘out there’ off-campus, graduate school, or just generally the world.

Either way, Deja’s answer was the same. “You’re so much better prepared for the next phase of your life than I ever was. I think you’ll be amazing, especially if you learn how to ask for help.”

Amber smiled, “I’ve been working on that.”

“Good. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?”

“You wish? I have an idea for my master’s thesis. I want to walk into my new program with good ideas.”

Deja groaned and dropped into her chair.

Amber grinned. “You really thought I wouldn’t make you advise me right to the end of the road?”

Deja chuckled warmly. “See? Very prepared. I really need coffee, how about you?”

Amber’s eyebrows lifted. “I’ve been up all night. If you’re buying…”