As this school year comes to an end, many seniors are looking forward to life in college while also looking back on their time in high school. For students Lachyn Bekiyeva, Anahi Vasquez Ochoa, Ayoola Sobomehin, and Mychal Sonier the future looks full of growth, ambition, and new opportunities. While on different paths, these students have career goals in mind and share similar motivations.
Sonier is committed to Baylor University, majoring in Kinesiology.
“I’m looking to go to college so I can build a better community and further my education because I’m looking to go the pre-physical therapy route, and I feel like going to college would be the best step,” Sonier said.
Soboomehin is aiming to become a sonographer.
“I’m looking to go to college to pursue a career and make a living for myself,” Sobomehin said. “I’m looking to go to Lone Star. I might transfer, but I’ll figure that out later.”
Bekiyeva sees college as less of a choice and more as a necessity. Wanting to be a lawyer initially, Bekiyeva is now set on chemical engineering as her career and will be studying at the University of Houston.
“In order to achieve the goals I have for my life, I have to go to college and get my education,” Bekiyeva said.
Similarly, Vasquez Ochoa looks to succeed in a nursing program at Texas Tech.
“I plan to go to college because I really want to become a nurse and learn more and help save lives,” Vasquez Ochoa said.
Aside from career goals, some students also wish to grow in areas of their personal lives.
“I’m hoping to meet a lot of new people, hopefully save up, and learn how to budget because that’s really important, and I just really want to learn how to live life besides eight hours of school,” Sobomehin said.
“I’m trying to study and do the things that I wasn’t able to do in high school without it being too boring,” Bekiyeva said. “In high school, I was a little lazy, and I didn’t study much for my tests or quizzes, and in college I’m hoping to change that habit.”
Relatedly, Sonier wishes to build connections and have an overall good time.
“My goals for college are probably just to further my education, make more friends, have friends I can have for life-long, have fun, and I know it’s cliche, but find myself and just have fun,” Sonier said.
Reflecting on their high school journey, students all have a unique opinion on their experience. Sonier admits it was fun, but didn’t match her movie expectations. Meanwhile, Bekiyeva found a conflict in her assumptions of what high school would be like.
“I thought it was gonna be a lot more serious,” Bekiyeva said. “When you’re young and you look up at upperclassmen, they look so much older, but when you get to that age, it’s not that old; it doesn’t even feel that serious, and I’m graduating next month, and it still doesn’t feel like it’s real.”
Although high school is an extensive process, Vasquez Ochoa was surprised by how quickly she felt it all went by.
“I didn’t really expect it to go so fast, so always enjoy your year while you can because it is true whenever they say it will go quick,” Vasquez Ochoa said.
With a mix of excitement and reminiscence, Sobohemin shares a similar sentiment about her time in high school.
“It was definitely very challenging but now looking back on it as a senior, I’m gonna miss it a lot,” Sobomehin said. “All the memories and the friends I’ve made, teachers I’ve met, I would not trade those memories for the world.”
