As cold, gray mornings give way to sunny afternoons, KHS seniors get one step closer to the end of high school and the beginning of their college journeys. From degrees in STEM and liberal arts to pre-professional programs like medical or law, the class of 2025 has chosen various paths and universities across the country.
Senior Tina Xu, who will be studying at Boston University for Global Business, explains her process for choosing her major, stating, “When I was in middle school, I applied for vo-tech, and they offered a global business course because I was waitlisted at my other choice. This is now my chance to go into that concentration because it sounded really interesting. Now that I know what I want to do, why not just take the chance?”
Xu notes a strong influence from her family on her choice, saying, “I work with my dad to pack goods and ship them out for his friend’s company, so that was my first exposure to business… My mom also did something in global business, my uncle sells charcoal, and a lot of my other family members went into business.”
Senior Alexander Ives, who will be going to the Rochester Institute of Technology for Mechanical Engineering, explains the benefits of picking a mechanical engineering degree, stating, “not only is it so generic, but it also intermingles with the other branches of engineering. Like you can be a mechanical engineer and work with a bunch of aerospace engineers, or on deep-sea things, or cars. So it’s very broad.”
Ives is thinking about pursuing a dual major in college, potentially in computer engineering or physics. He explains the benefits of having a second major and how it contributes to career advancement and his passion for innovation. He says, “You’re more qualified, so there’s a bigger paycheck. But the better answer is that you know more about what you’re doing. And for mechanical engineering, when you group that with a degree in computer science, you can construct the thing and code the thing at the same time.”
Many high school students enter college as “undecided” each year. However, this is often not because they lack interests, but because they have many competing passions across multiple areas. Senior Hope Sirinides, who plans to study at the University of Delaware for Music Education, has many passions she plans to explore in college. Sirinides explains that she’s still indecisive about her major because “I know I want to keep practicing music in my life, but I’m not sure if I want it as my only occupation because I have so many other interests. Like I love the natural world, I love helping people… But Music Ed is very intense credit-wise, so you wouldn’t really be able to do both, so that’s why I’m a little on the fence.”
Music has been an influential part of Sirinides’ life. She’s been playing the flute since middle school, and performs in multiple bands in and out of the classroom. Regardless of her major, Sirinides plans to continue her passion for music, saying, “I’m always going to be in a band somewhere… But I might try to minor in another program or switch to a music minor and major in something… Short answer: I’ll try to be in a band no matter what I do.”
For high schoolers interested in STEM, Ives suggests that students “see what’s happening in science. That’s what kind of drove my love for STEM a little bit further. If you look up NASA, or science, or biology, or bioengineering… you’ll see a bunch of different stuff. Also, there are open courseware subjects for multiple schools… So if you definitely want to do STEM but aren’t sure what area, especially for engineering, just go on to an open coursework software and look at the different courses.”
As a high school senior with many competing interests entering college, Sirinides recommends that upcoming high schoolers shouldn’t “try to plan every minute or anticipate everything you’re going to like. One, you don’t have to have it figured out, and also, a lot of people don’t. So don’t be worried that you’re the only one, because there are a lot of people who don’t know. And two, just try something. You can always try something new, you can always switch. There’s a lot of flexibility in the system.”
Though many students develop their interests through high school, often culminating in a college major and career path, Xu recommends that underclassmen keep an open mind, saying, “For the majority of my life, I did science, and now I’m going into business. So really, what you do in high school or your past doesn’t define what you can or cannot do in the future.”
As graduation approaches, each senior’s choice reflects a unique blend of passion, curiosity, and personal vision for the future. Even through different paths, the class of 2025 shares a common goal of growing and exploring their own stories beyond the halls of KHS.
