In my four years at the high school, one thing has always reigned true. College is the end goal. From freshman to senior year, I have heard the lines, “These are skills you will NEED for college,” and “We can’t send you off to college without knowing this!” These notations were never questioned because I had never considered the notion that there was anything but college in store for my future. I was never bothered by counselors coming into my classes to talk about college applications, or how to prepare for it. As graduation approaches, I have come to wonder why other options were not presented to me.

According to the High School profile, out of the 290 students in the graduating class of 2018, 78 percent of the class enrolled in a four year college, while 14 percent enrolled in a two year of technical college. In addition, 2 percent of students joined the military, and percent joined the workforce.

This is an excellent question. School counselors and career counselors have many resources to help students made post-graduation plans that do not include college. The career inventories that school counselors provide to students via Naviance provide specific pathways for careers.  Personally, I believe ALL seniors to have an individualized plan for what they want to do after high school. All that is required is an honest conversation and the willingness to explore options.

When talking to students, they mostly said the same things. That the high school encourages going to college only and sets the students up for the college education. They don’t mention joining the military or going straight into the workforce. When asking a teacher, she told me that the school probably does this due to societal norms.

College is glorified to everyone, and the idea of going into the military or going straight to the workforce is unnecessary to some. It seems like college is most important to the school. Even though college is a good place to go, it is not for all people. Despite the school having a college fair where the army and navy sometimes make an appearance, that is the only time the military is mentioned. The workforce however, is not mentioned. Granted, in order to do well in the workforce you must be very talented at something, but still it is almost as if getting a job out of high school is portrayed as not beneficial to the students.

Whatever you, the students, decide to do in the future is your choice and everyone should be proud of what you choose to do.