As seniors get ready to graduate high school, many have to decide whether the activities that shaped their high school career will continue through the next parts of their lives.
Senior Hebron Mekonnen is one of them as she mentioned that joining community service clubs during high school helped her practice values that were already important to her.
“I’d like to say that I’m a pretty nice and kind person, and being involved in these clubs, it lets me validate my own perceptions of me,” Mekonnen said.
Throughout high school, pastimes including clubs, sports and hobbies have also allowed individuals like Paw Project Club president senior Amanda Casem the chance of curating friendships and exploring personal interests.
“Doing this club allowed me to strengthen bonds with my friends and new people because we all were actively collaborating on work, having discussions, etc,” Casem said. “It was all of that time communicating that made us all come together closer as friends because we spent so much quality time with each other.”
Senior Sal Cardenas-Mina, has been a part of SCHS’s theater department since their freshman year and has found it to be fundamental to their life. Cardenas-Mina elaborated that the community within theater is one of the most meaningful parts of the program.
“A lot of my friendships, a lot of my preferences, a lot of what I think about goes back to what I’ve experienced in theater,” Cardenas-Mina said. “There’s a lot of little things like that that make up what the community is in theater.”
As many seniors approach adulthood and further responsibilities, however, they are challenged with also prioritizing their passions within increasingly busier lives. Founder of Chirp Circle and member of Girls Achieving in Non-Traditional Subjects senior Palina Martsinechyk believes students often feel pressured to prioritize stability over passion.
“With the capitalist society that we kind of have right now, passions don’t get rewarded as much as your contribution and your usefulness to society,” Martsinchyk said.
Martsinchyk, who hopes to continue exploring environmental and wildlife-related work in college, noted that money often shapes students’ decisions.
“There’s always social pressure to earn as much as you can,” Martsinchyk said. “You’re happy, but other people don’t see that success.”
Even students who will continue their interests acknowledged that college workloads may limit their involvement. Senior Anvee Sharma will be pursuing pre-med studies coming from a STEM background but will likely not continue mock trial despite having been in the club since freshman year.
“I would honestly love to do mock trial in college,” Sharma said. “But I feel like I just wouldn’t have enough time. I’ll probably get busy with coursework.”
Still, many seniors emphasized that hobbies do not need to become careers in order to remain meaningful. Casem hopes to continue volunteering with animals in college, even if it stays separate from her future career plans.
“It just made me feel really good – volunteering, helping all these cats and dogs. I’m okay with just volunteering,” Casem said. “I’m still helping.”
Although graduation may change how students engage with their passions, many seniors believe their high school extracurriculars will continue shaping their lives long after leaving campus. Martsinchyk emphasized how no matter the difficulty that may lie ahead, passions do not need to be abandoned.
“It’s always possible to blend your interests. It just takes a little more work and exploring and maybe shifting your schedule or maybe your priorities, but it’s always possible if you really try,” Martsinchyk said.