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ALBANY, GA -- Nearly 400 Darton College graduates walked across the stage on Tuesday, ready to take the next step in their future.

“I've got applications in at Phoebe and at Palmyra and I’m hoping to stay close by if I can,” says Darton College Graduate Terry Whiddon.

Many like him are making plans to enter the workforce and those plans involve staying in Albany.

“My plans are to stay in Albany because I’m working as a teaching assistant at New Beginnings Christian School,” says Robert Beverly, a Darton College graduate who received an Associates of English and an Associates of Foreign Language.

Many college grads in Albany take their job search to outside of the city and talk of leaving Albany forever: It’s a dilemma that has entered the political arena where officials are searching for solutions.

“More than anything I think the one thing that we as people don't do is show appreciation. If they can give something back to us and them maybe can get more staying,” says Ycari Edwards, a Darton graduate receiving her Associates of Science, Early Education.

Beverly says, “I think one of the reasons why people leave is because they don't like what's here and I figure it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

Other graduates say the problem is a lack of employers in the city to keep graduates in Albany.

Regardless, the college grads are moving forward headstrong.

“I have a bulldog tenacity whatever I see coming I take it by the horns and I won't let go until I’m done with it,” says Whiddon.