There are many different options that graduating seniors can choose to pursue after high school, including a four-year college, a junior college, a trade/tech school, or joining the military. The BSHS class of 2024 has students taking each one of those paths. This article will highlight four seniors and their post-graduation plans.

Four-Year College

The Pow Wow’s very own editor, Katelyn Fogelman, is headed to a four-year college. She will attend the University of Kansas to study graphic design. Fogelman says KU stood out to her because they had the best design program.

“I was gonna go to [Pittsburg State University],” she says, “but I went and visited both schools, and KU kind of just held themselves better and just presented themselves in a more professional way.”

In college, Fogelman is looking forward to having more free time during the day, not just going from class to class with no time in-between. However, she will miss some of the teachers here at BSHS. The teacher she says she’ll miss most is Mrs. Rausch.

Finally, when it comes to planning for the future, Fogelman has some advice for underclassmen. “Think long and hard. Don’t rush through it. Genuinely take your time and your time isn’t really up. Until May…you have that much time to think about it.”

Junior College

Elijah Carrell is going to a two-year college, Kansas City Kansas Community College, and majoring in business or management. However, the career path he wants to pursue is ministry. “It’s very important to be able to teach young kids the word of God and so I want to be able to help them grow on that,” Carrell says.

He chose business as his major for a couple of reasons. He shares that a big part of a pastoral position involves managing. The business degree will also be beneficial if he has to get a second job.

KCKCC was Carrell’s choice because it’s free for him, but he wants to continue his education at a four year university afterward, if he can get enough scholarships. One college he has in mind is Ozark Christian College, in Oklahoma.

Carrell is looking forward to meeting new people in college, but the person he will miss most from BSHS is Mr. Davidson. Finally, he offers this advice for underclassmen: “Don’t think too hard about it. Because you know, doors will close and doors will open. You’ve just got to trust the process and live in the moment.”

Vocational/Technical School

Paige Davis is going to the KCKCC-Tec school next year, for both the Culinary program and the Law Enforcement program. Some day, Davis says she would like to be a head chef, but plans on being a police officer until then.

Both of her career aspirations are close to home, since she has a family connection to both. “I’ve always loved to cook and my family has always loved cooking together, so it just made my love for cooking grow,” Davis shares, “I have some police officer relatives and they talk about how they’ve been able to help people, which made me just want to go out there and show people I’m here to help and let them know I care.”

Davis is most excited about the independence she’ll have after high school. She’s looking forward to getting out into the real world and experiencing new things on her own. The teacher she will miss most after graduating, though, is Mrs. Jolley.

“When choosing a career, just choose something that you love,” says Davis to current underclassmen, “You should pick something that makes you happy, something you wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of your life. As Bob Marley says, ‘love the life you live, live the life you love.’”

Military

Some seniors are going into the military after high school. One of those students is Aiden Mosqueda, who is going into the Marines. He chose the Marines because he has a family connection to it. “I have long family connections with most of the branches of the military but none more than the Marines,” he says.

He wanted to go into the military for a couple of reasons. “Simply, I would have to say it is sort of a moral obligation for me,” Mosqueda shares, “It can also be attributed to the camaraderie and the brotherhood that comes with joining as well.”

Within the Marines, Mosqueda is going to be part of basic infinity, which he says is boots-on-the-ground and the first ones fighting. He felt that no other role really interested him. Before that, though, he is looking forward to graduating boot camp, something he has wanted to do for a while.

When Mosqueda graduates, he says he will miss all his friends: ones he’s known since elementary school and ones he only met recently. His advice for underclassmen is this: “Take your time. If there is one thing I didn’t like about my senior year it was the rush, it is ok if you don’t know what you want to do after high school. Take a year off if you need to, do what is right for you and be on your time, no one else’s.”

Good luck to everyone in the class of 2024 as they make the transition out of high school!