When it comes to what seniors are doing after they graduate, there are plenty of options. There are many paths to follow, and Bruins have spread themselves across all of them.
Cindy Henrygrimm, a counselor at Bear River, talked about some of the options Bruins have.
“Students do a lot of different things,” she said. “Some go directly to four year university; a majority of our students go onto two year community colleges, junior colleges, or training programs, and some go directly to work … There’s a lot of different options.”
A popular option is to pursue further education, which can take a couple of different forms. One is to attend a four year university, and Senior Asa O’Callaghan shared why he chose this option.
“I will be attending USC in the fall semester … I always wanted to go to college and pursue further education and research over stuff for four years and I felt USC was a great institution for that pursuit.”
Community college has also proven to be a great choice for many Bruins.
“I think the appeal of the two year community college or junior college is that not only do they offer a chance the get an associate’s degree in whatever you choose, but they also offer options for transfers so you can go on to a four year university if you like it,” said Henrygrimm.
“I’m going to Feather River College in Quincy, and I’m going to live there full time in the dorms, and I’m just going to get my general education and study a bit of child development,” said Senior Isabella Christmon. “I chose to go to a community college because I really don’t like going to school, and community college isn’t as tied down as a four year college would be. It’s a little bit more open and lets you kind of do what you want with your class schedule.”
Some Bruins have taken the path of joining the military, which often can help pay for a lot of the costs of education. Senior Marissa Kropf shared why she chose the Air Force.
“I always wanted to have a job that would have me traveling,” she said. “Going to new places, meeting new people, seeing stuff I’ve never seen before. I don’t have the grades to get scholarships, and I don’t have the kind of money to pay for a full-on four year college. Not only would the military pay for my college, they would pay for my car and my insurance, so I would almost have to pay nothing for the expenses of living. It’s a pretty good deal all around. I get three day weekends, I never have to work on Fridays, I get thirty days a year of paid vacation. Also, it’s an honor to serve our country.”
There are even more options that Bruins choose, such as certificate programs or going directly into the workforce.
“If you’re not really into the whole college prep stuff, like English and Math and History, that you’re required to take for core classes at colleges, they have an amazing amount of certificate programs so you can get your certificate in, say, video production, rather than associate degree,” said Henrygrimm.
Bruins leaving high school have a lot of options available to them. It’s up to each of them to decide which one is best for themselves.
