Teenagers on the Journey Toward Good Lives
What ought to youngsters do after highschool?
With rising school tuition bills and overwhelming scholar mortgage debt, there’s a debate underway about whether or not school or job coaching is the proper path for younger individuals who face monetary limitations and different challenges.
But educators, policymakers and employers who’re busy redesigning postsecondary choices don’t at all times perceive what youngsters really need and need. If they listened, what would they study?
The quick reply is: Young individuals need greater than good livelihoods. They need good lives.
That’s what EdSurge came upon by speaking at size with 9 numerous highschool college students from round the U.S. in 2021 about the lives they’re working towards and the selections they’re making to get there. Read profiles, see portraits and take heed to the voices of these college students right here.
Then hold studying beneath to find out how these youngsters’ lives have modified throughout the previous 12 months.
Dino Sabic
During his senior 12 months of highschool, Dino Sabic of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was feeling harassed about the pandemic and dissatisfied about his interrupted soccer seasons. He was contemplating finding out enterprise in school, having began to rethink his earlier objective of working in drugs.
After graduating in spring 2021, Dino enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the place he now research. He additionally continues to work part-time at a logistics firm.
“I love it so far!” Dino studies. “Awesome school and awesome job!”
Vernell Cheneau III
Budding businessman Vernell Cheneau III had determined in opposition to going to varsity by the time he graduated from highschool in spring 2021. Instead, the New Orleans resident was excited to start out a job in the human sources division of a Fortune 500 power firm.
Vernell says he has been doing nice work at Entergy ever since. He is anticipating a increase quickly and says his supervisor requested that Vernell proceed to work in her division as a result of he’s such an “asset.”
Over the previous 12 months, Vernell has stopped his facet enterprise of reselling cellphone instances. Now he has a brand new enterprise: promoting T-shirts by a web site known as Villain Headquarters.
“Long story short,” Vernell says, “life has been great for me.”
Spencer Risenmay
As a member of a farming household in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Spencer Risenmay deliberate to pursue a university diploma in agribusiness to study the scientific improvements shaping agriculture. But earlier than enrolling in larger training, Spencer deliberate to finish a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
After graduating from highschool in spring 2021, Spencer embarked on that church mission. He is at present serving in Ghana, in response to one among his former academics.
Efiotu Jagun
With her robust math abilities, plus members of the family with science-focused careers, Efiotu Jagun as soon as thought-about finding out engineering in school. She even received a scholarship to Georgia Tech.
But by her senior 12 months of highschool in Durham, North Carolina, she had realized that she wished to discover different pursuits and actions as an alternative. She puzzled whether or not it made sense to enroll at the expertise powerhouse of a college.
Efiotu ended up beginning school at Georgia Tech, and she or he says, “It’s pretty good so far!” She’s finding out public coverage and sociology there, along with enjoying Ultimate Frisbee, beginning a chapter of a student-advocacy group and interning at the Georgia General Assembly for the 2022 legislative session.
Princesa Ceballos
College continues to be on the horizon for Princesa Ceballos, a busy highschool scholar from Porterville, California, who divides her time enjoying tennis matches, elevating livestock, main golf equipment and doing group service.
Princesa says she has been accepted to 4 universities up to now: California State University at Fresno, California State University at Chico, California State University at Pomona and University of California at Berkeley. Berkeley supplied to cowl most of her tuition, she says, in addition to invited her to be a Regents’ scholar. Right now Princesa hopes to check agriculture and environmental plant sciences to be able to turn into a pest management advisor.
In between working on school functions, she has currently loved touring past her city in the San Joaquin Valley. Recently, Princesa talked about that “I’m going to be in Sacramento for a conference all week and I’m very excited about that.”
Maytee Guadiana
Leading as much as her highschool commencement, Maytee Guadiana regarded ahead to going to varsity, to be able to proceed studying and to check to turn into a nurse. That was her career of alternative due to the alternatives it could give her to assist others.
But Maytee, who lives in San Antonio, additionally anxious about with the ability to end school. Years earlier, her mom hadn’t been in a position to afford to finish her diploma.
In the previous 12 months, Maytee enrolled at Texas A&M University at San Antonio and says she’s staying centered on college.
Kaiasia Williams
Despite her clear profession targets and tutorial success in highschool, Kaiasia Williams was anxious about going to varsity. She puzzled whether or not she might keep motivated, keep away from procrastinating and stay assured in her skills.
In spring 2021, Kaiasia grew to become the first particular person in her household to graduate from highschool. She has since began school at Clemson University, the place she’s finding out engineering. “College has me running in circles,” she studies.
To assist get her there, Kaiasia acquired a $10,000 scholarship gift from a pair who additionally reside in Charleston, South Carolina, in addition to a $20,000 CMiC-Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship from the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Mentor Program of America.
“The scholarships I won was enough to get me through the doors,” Kaiasia says, “and I am truly thankful.”
Alan Farfan
When Alan Farfan thought forward to life after highschool, he named profession stability as a giant private precedence. And the scholar from Austin, Texas, wasn’t satisfied {that a} school diploma was the finest technique to land a dependable job.
Alan is now a highschool junior taking some college-level programs, together with in UX Design. This summer time, he plans to intern at IBM. And in response to one among his academics, Alan has began working at Whataburger, a job he’s having fun with.
Freddy Zepeda
As a senior in highschool, Chicago scholar Freddy Zepeda hoped to come back out of faculty able to discover a job that pursuits him and that helps him construct the good life that his household envisions.
After graduating in 2021, he enrolled at the University of Illinois Chicago, the place he’s finding out earth and environmental science. He says he has been doing very effectively there. Thanks to credit Freddy earned whereas dually enrolled in highschool and group school, the college considers him to be a junior, and he has fulfilled lots of the necessities for his main.
Freddy says he’s now focusing on making use of for summer time internships whereas maintaining together with his coursework.
What can we study from youngsters?
Adults constructing new pathways by school or job-training packages want higher perception about the place younger individuals in the end wish to find yourself. That info comes from listening to youngsters.
“You want to know, for starters, what a young person’s work interests are, what their work values are, what do they want to get out of work?” says Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
By listening to these 9 youngsters, EdSurge realized a number of key classes. Young individuals’s brains are wired for ardour, objective and experimentation. Even although a few of them face vital limitations to success after highschool, they have a tendency to lean extra into their potential than into their limits. They belief their households, buddies and academics to information them. And some youngsters are skeptical about the worth of faculty, however lots nonetheless see larger training as the best choice for assembly their targets.
These insights will help educators, policymakers and employers higher design packages for younger individuals.
“The more engagement and ownership young people have in the entire thing,” says Allison Gerber, director of employment, training and coaching at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “the more likely it will meet their needs, they’ll want to stay, feel a sense of belonging, and it will be attractive to them and their peers.”
