The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
by Jessica Cline
Staff Writer
High school graduation for Bradley seniors is right around the corner. A lot of them have worked their whole entire life for this moment. It’s a dream come true to be able to walk across that stage in a gap and gown. To have that moment feel perfect, the pressure to make a plan after graduation is high. Ever since the moment the class of 2023 stepped into these halls of Hilliard Bradley High School their freshman year, graduating has been on their minds. The choice of picking the right path after graduation will never be an easy decision. Exploring themselves as a teenager and exploring interests is something that is already a challenge.
The Covid-19 pandemic cut the seniors freshman year short. After that, their whole high school career had been flipped upside down. Tackling online learning, wearing masks at school, being in a new environment, taking standardized tests, friendship drama, family problems, pressure of school performance, playing a sport, being in the arts, taking advanced classes, and being a teenager was not easy to balance. They had lost a lot of what it meant to have school spirit and having the chance to have a normal high school experience.
After four years that seemed to take a million years but also went by as fast as a heartbeat, the seniors are so close to the finish line. Thoughts have been thought of, pro and con lists are being written, plans are being decided and hope to be made official.
Piper Brill (12) has been committed to play field hockey at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana ever since her junior year of high school. Earlham feels like home to her and is a great place to balance her academic and athletic career. In the fall, she will be majoring in Communications and Media and Business. She hopes to maintain a 4.0 gpa, grow as a person and earn a starting spot on the field hockey field before her senior year of college. Brill had many different plans before the pandemic.
The pandemic helped Brill learn what learning style works best for her and allowed her to explore more parts of life. Brill expresses, “Change is difficult but can be so so beneficial to your journey.” Brill understands the importance of making life decisions based on what makes you the happiest. As she is not sure of a specific career, she strives to find a way to give back to her community.
Lenora Pratt (12) has always been a big believer in knowing that the college path after graduation isn’t for everyone. Pratt plans to take a year off of school and reevaluate if college could be a path for her. Pratt doesn’t feel like she has a strong enough passion for a specific thing to make a career out of it that she does everyday.
She enjoys going to work and being able to save up money for her own place soon. Pratt advocates that it’s up to each person to make a happy life for themselves, knowing that a person doesn’t need to have every single detail planned out. As Pratt works through her plans after graduation, she knows she wants to have a successful job and be able to have the opportunity to finish writing her novel.
Pratt explains, “As cliché as it sounds, simply do what makes you happy and brings you joy.” Pratt thinks there’s a big stereotype around people who don’t go to college. Pratt believes that people are allowed to make decisions that are best for themselves and knows that every person has their own path.
Emma Hampton (12) will be attending University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music to study theatrical stage design. Hampton has had a great privilege of trying out every tech position and seeing what fits best for her. She fell in love with props and hopes to start out her prop career for film and tv. She has loved doing theater at Bradley High School and at Hilliard Arts Council so she made a whole career out of it.
She already has been a part of 20 shows in her high school career and that number will only increase after graduation.
Fatou Gueye (12) is going to The Ohio State University on a pre med track. College was something she had always been interested in and has made it one of her goals. She’s majoring in public health and that is something that she has always dreamed of doing. Fatou expresses that it’s important to explore many options that you are interested in to make sure you’re the happiest in the career you choose. Her goals include being happy within a medical career she pursues.
Isabelle Michel (12) is hoping to continue her photography business while attending Columbus State Community College in fall of 2023. At CSCC, she will be working towards achieving an associates degree in Education.
The spring semester of her senior year, she started tutoring at a neighboring elementary school and fell in love with teaching and being with kids. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, she saw herself reach for her camera more while being locked inside with her three sisters. Michel explained, “I never noticed but I do have to Covid to thank for starting up my love for photography.”
Through her photography business, (IKM Photography + Film), she has worked with many different clients. She took charge and took many senior photos for the class of 2023, she’s had opportunities to photograph weddings and expresses love through her couple photo shoots.
Through summers when not at school, Michel wants to focus a lot on capturing weddings. At first, Michel was concerned about others ' opinions when she wanted to attend community college. More and more seniors are choosing this route for themselves while getting an education and saving a bit of money. Michel knows that everything will work out in the future, keeping in mind that nothing is set in stone.
Jailyn Crowder (12) is choosing to go into the Navy to be a Personal Service. She has seen her parents and family members in the Navy and all of the great experiences that came with it. She looked up to her parents a lot and knew she wasn’t always sure college was the best route for her.
As a Personal Service, she gets to help others manage money and pick a retirement plan that is best for that specific person. Crowder is able to help so many people at her time in the navy and hopes to continue that after the navy, while working in the government after retiring.
She wants to express that many people see the Navy as intimidating but it’s way more than that. She has seen her dad travel the world and knew that the Navy was the best fit for her.
Bradley’s seniors have gone through it all and it has helped them in the long run to pick the future path that is best for them. No after graduation plan looks the same and that’s the amazing thing about the diversity at Hilliard Bradley High School. Good luck Class of 2023.
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