NATCHEZ — May 10 will be a special day for brothers Thomas and Tyler Ballard.

The Cathedral School alumni will be graduating from Ole Miss — Thomas, 24, from law school, and Tyler, 22, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

They’ve spent the past few years in Oxford enjoying Ole Miss together, and when The Dart landed on Tanglewood Road Saturday, it found Thomas and Tyler at the home of their parents, DaNell and Tony Ballard, preparing to watch the Rebels baseball team take on LSU.

Ole Miss has strengthened the brothers’ bond, but Thomas says he and Tyler have always been close.

“We’ve always done everything together,” he said. “Even at Cathedral, his freshman class and my senior class were close and would always go do things together.”

With graduation less than a month away, Thomas and Tyler have been giving a great deal of thought to life after college.

Thomas, who was an undergraduate at Mississippi College before law school, was an intern this semester at the Adams County District Attorney’s Office, where he said he gained insight into the court system.

“My dream job would be working for the government with the FBI, ATF or DEA,” he said.

Thomas said he is considering joining the military, possibly the U.S. Air Force.

“I think law school was a good way to get my foot in the door for where I want to go, and I think the military could also be a good direction,” he said.

Tyler, who was a summer intern at the Natchez Police Department, said he may take the teaching route.

“I think I may get certified to teach … and teach history or social studies for middle school or high school,” he said.

Regardless of where they go after graduation, Thomas and Tyler say they are both ready to see what the “real world” has to offer.

“I don’t know where it will go … but I am ready to start my life,” Thomas said.