A look at some of the members of the Class of 2007, where they've been, and where they're going.

Name: Ron Eritano
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High School: Moon Area High School
Major: Law and international business (IMBA)

Ron Eritano had a plan. The plan worked. Naturally, he recommends other students do likewise as they prepare for graduate school.

"Know what you want to do," said Eritano, a Pittsburgh native who earned degrees in law and international business this semester. "I knew what I wanted to do, and I was able to place myself in a successful situation because I had a plan."

Eritano came to the University of South Carolina because of its strong reputation in international business. He'd also factored in the state's record of economic development over the past 10 - 15 years and considered it a good location to observe business growth. And, finally, it was near the beach.

His dual-degree program afforded him the opportunity to spend an internship in Germany, working with FedEx. He soon will begin a four-year executive financial leadership program with General Motors in Detroit.

The university, he said, has allowed him to be exposed to "a wide array of business cultures in various parts of globe."

With help from law professor Joel Samuels, whom Eritano cited as his greatest influence while at the university, Eritano composed and ultimately published a paper, one of his most rewarding student experiences.

"It has definitely, from an academic standpoint, been great for my skill development: learning to use instruments, applying theory," he said of his time at the university, "but also in the soft skills: writing, communicating, standing in from of people. It has helped me be more confident.

Now bolstered with impeccable academic credentials, Eritano says he also will draw from the university's diverse student population as he embarks on his career in business.

"I was most impressed with the diversity of student body in work background, geographic background, experience. It was just vast," he said. "It makes a great camaraderie."