Bad timing

I have a crush on a coworker, but I head to college in August. I feel it's too early to confess, and it will be better timing around the time I leave. So, I planned to confess right before I leave so that if she doesn't like me, we never have to see each other until winter/summer break when we may or may not work together. If she does, we can keep in touch. But I was told by a friend that it's a horrible idea because someone did that to her and she liked him and he was just gone, so she rejected him.

So the question is, if I know it's too early to confess until then, should I confess in August or just ask her if she wants to keep in touch and not actually confess yet? Or something else?