As the Class of 2026 starts to get closer to graduation, many students have begun applying to colleges or have started to think about what college they may want to attend. College is such a big part of many students’ lives and is such a fun and important experience for many. Although the Class of 2026 college lives don’t start until next year, students have begun to start thinking about what they want to do in the future. However, everyone chooses their own different paths. So, I decided to ask 3 Class of 2026 Pitman High students 4 different questions about college just to show how different everyone’s plans are.
The 3 students that I interviewed for this article include Hannah Kanoun, Avery Carlson, and Emerson Newton.
One question that I wanted to ask the students was, are you planning on going to college? This is an important question to ask because all of the other questions connect to if the students are planning on going to college or not.
Kanoun stated, “I’m planning on going to college.”
Likewise, Newton also replied, “Yes, I am planning on going to college.”
Lastly, Carlson exclaimed, ”Yes!”
Another question I asked was what college do you want to go to? With this question, we are able to see if students want to go to college in Turlock, out of state, or even out of the country. All colleges offer so many different choices, courses, etc. Making sure to look for a college that would be beneficial to you, whether that be in the social aspect or the learning aspect where you can prepare for your future is so important to think about.
Kanoun explained, “I’m not sure what college I want to go to yet. However, I want to go to school in the Bay Area.”
Newton replied, “I’m not sure yet, but I’m applying to Stanford, Santa Clara, and the UCs.”
Carlson stated, “I have committed to UC San Diego.”
From just these responses, we can already see how different students’ futures will be. Some may not be sure yet and others may already be committed to a college. These responses also show that many of us will not be in similar areas for much longer.
Based on the colleges that they have chosen or have thought about, I also wanted to see what career they want to pursue and/or what they want to study in college. With this question, we are able to see what the students may have in mind for a job in the future once they graduate from college.
Kanoun replied, “I want to become a lawyer.”
Similar to Kanoun, Newton stated, “I want to be a lawyer and I will major in political science in college.”
Lastly, Carlson said, “For my career, I want to be a psychiatrist. In regard to what I want to study in college, I wanted to major in neuroscience and minor in psychology.”
Finally, I wanted to ask if they were excited for college and if so, what they were most excited about. Many students are excited for several different reasons. So with this question, we get to understand why these students are excited.
Kanoun stated, “I’m excited to go to college for new experiences and learning independence.”
Newton exclaimed, “Yes, I’m excited for college! I can’t wait to meet new people and gain valuable skills.”
And Carlson replied, “Yes, I am! I am excited about being able to focus my learning on more of my interests and subjects I am interested in. I am also excited about getting to experience a new environment and being able to meet and socialize with new groups of people.”
As these interviews have shown, students all have their own different paths and their own different decisions that will impact their future. Everyone will go their own separate ways and will eventually all have their own different lives. Although graduation and college may seem very far away, they are closer than we all think. So now is the time to apply for colleges and get a better understanding of what us students want to do for the future.