As a senior in high school, it is hard for students to know what they want to pursue in life. Students face a difficult decision as there are many paths that they could choose to go down such as college, work, or the military. Therefore, when graduation arrives, students face a roadblock and many are unsure of what they’re going to do with their future. However, graduation is also a fun and exciting time for students as they’re about to experience a drastic change in their lives and focus more on becoming independent adults. HHS student Christopher Lora said, “college changes you and you become responsible for your own life.” All throughout high school, students are told “stay focused, do your work, and be responsible”, but some kids don’t take it that seriously. Being in high school stands as the final test for students and is the time when they must determine who they want to be and take responsibility for their lives, since adults don’t follow students throughout their whole lives and monitor them to make sure they’re always doing the right thing… that responsibility gets placed on them. However, it’s good to have a plan for post-graduation and no matter the plan, there’s never a wrong decision. For example, many of our current seniors are planning on attending college after high school, but some are planning on enlisting in the military, while others are planning on pursuing a trade or entering the work force directly out of high school.

College is a scary time for many and it can either make you or break you. Students either become more independent or just get lost and end up losing themselves. If they’re not focused, it’s easily to fall behind in classes and get lost very quickly, as teachers aren’t nagging on people’s backs reminded them of what they missed. A greater responsibility is placed on students’ backs and they must decide how they’re going to react. Many current HHS seniors told the Herald that they believe that they’re ready to face the outside world, but some said that they weren’t and they’d rather just stay in the comfort of high school. However, despite students’ feelings, the future is coming soon, as graduation is less than five months away.

As mentioned above, many HHS students are taking advantage of the opportunity to further their education in college. Many are planning on attending a 4-year college, including Valeria Ortiz’19, who plans on attending AIC next fall. At AIC she will be majoring in Criminal Justice and she will also be playing on the tennis team. “My plans are to go to college to pursue my career in AIC’s criminal justice program. I’m also playing tennis for their team,” said Ortiz’19. Ortiz believes that this experience will help her become more independent, find who she truly is as a person, and ultimately change her life completely for the better. She plans to dorm at AIC and is excited for all of the experiences that living away from home will bring. She also plans on staying focused and managing her time at school wisely, while also balancing a job and sports. 

Other students are considering a two year community college, including Deiyston Corriano’19 who will be attending Holyoke Community College in the fall for their culinary arts program. After two year he plans on transferring his credits to Westfield State and plans to graduate from there. He told the Herald, “I plan on [going to] HCC because I’d like to know if the major I’m going into is the major I wanna do for the rest of my life. I don’t want to waste my time.” Deiyston is currently at Dean taking the culinary arts program over there. He’s been a member of this program for three years, really enjoys it, and wants to see if that is his true passion at HCC before he decides on a career for life.

Holyoke High also has some students who are planning on going into the air force, such as Taina Velazquez’19. She plans on going to the air force for 4 years and is excited for this opportunity because she wants to travel the world and experience new things. After finishing her term, she wants to travel on her own to explore more of the world and help those in need. “I’ve had to convince myself for a while that I would be okay being so far from my family and my friends, but I know I will be and I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things and better my future,¨ said Velazquez.

As you can see, people are planning on going in many different directions after high school, whether it be working, the military, college, or traveling. However, no path is the wrong path, so long as the students are happy. The Herald’s excited to see where our soon-to-be graduates will end up and wish them all the best in their futures!