Features / People

West Perry High School’s graduating class of 2024 has mixed responses to life after graduation. Plenty say that they don't feel ready, while others are already accepted to college. The seniors share their feelings through a survey, and a teacher sits for an interview to weigh in. 

“They know what classes they need to take to graduate [high school]. They're prepared for that, they have teachers' guidance,” Grazyna Geer says, “But when it comes to college it's a difficult process because of the uncertainty. Some kids don't know what they want to do and it's a huge financial commitment. There's a lot of elements that go into being prepared for college.”Geer has been one of the Career interest teachers at the highschool for three years, and has worked with students in every grade. According to her, “You have to be really prepared, and everything has a timeline. You have to figure out where to go, what you want to do, how far away from your house you want to go.” 

Prior to the interview, a survey was sent out to the graduating class of 2024 to determine the students plans for their post graduation life and how prepared they felt. The students were all asked if they were going college, if they were a votech kid, or if they were neither. Each of these three groups answered their own questions, and all were asked to share if they felt West Perry had prepared them for life after High School.

73.5 % of students that took the survey reported that they were pursuing a post high school education. Almost half of these students are either applying to college or have been accepted already, and of the same 73%, only 33% say that they are actually prepared for college. Almost the entire other half of future college students say that they are still unsure about which college they will be attending, and 21% of students still confess that they are unprepared.

Kids in the vo tech program, everyone who answered in that category said they had a job lined up, and nearly all of those kids say that they are ready for it.

Of course this still leaves the kids who don't fall into either category.  The majority of these students (63.6%) report that they have a job lined up after highschool. However, 27% of those who responded still say they have no idea what they are going to do. Most who answered the survey agree that West Perry and/or Vo Tech has thoroughly prepared them for life after High School, but 28% say it has not. 

So clearly, as far as preparedness goes, the numbers are scattered. Some students are ready and some students are not. “You want them to be a hundred percent prepared,” says Gear, but sometimes that won't happen. 

Geer was asked what she would tell every graduating student one thing, what would it be. “Be who you are,” she said, “and don't be afraid to fail.” 

(disclaimer; not all seniors answered the survey, data may be skewed)