As the school year comes to a close, a great number of White Station High School (WSHS) students are preparing to take the next step into a four-year public or private college. However, not all students are taking this path. Whether it is the military, trade school, community college or other programs, there’s a variety of options for graduating seniors to pursue.
Kallista Wright (12) is one of these seniors. Instead of taking the four-year route, Wright is opting for a one-year paramedic program. This year will allow her to be solely focused on gaining her paramedic’s license instead of having to take core classes such as English and math. This focus is beneficial to her as she has not considered herself big on academics, but she still wants the opportunity to make a change.
“I don’t specifically wanna be a paramedic, but I wanna be a firefighter, and you have to have a paramedic’s license first,” Wright said. “And so I want to do this because I really like helping [people], and this seems like a really fun [way to do it].”
Layla Ray (12) is also taking another path. Attending a local community college, she hopes to take on cosmetology courses. Like Wright, her classes will not include the standard classes a four-year college offers but instead classes such as waxing, nails or makeup.
“I’m going into cosmetology school to hopefully become an aesthetician, someone who does facials, someone who does waxing, stuff like that,” Ray said.
Some speculate about the worth of a community college degree, and although it is true that in upcoming years there has been more of a need for at least a bachelor’s degree to get a job, going to these alternatives does not make one unprepared for the workforce. Community college, for example, allows students to focus more on their chosen field, resulting in a narrower but highly effective training experience. Additionally, students that opt to go to the military have access to healthcare and a steady job.
“I don’t feel that you should have to go to college to be successful in life,” Wright said. “I mean, I do feel that you should do something after school.You shouldn’t just go straight into the workforce. You should find something to focus on whether it’s beauty school or [something else]. But I don’t think college is required.”
Alternatives also tend to be cheaper than college. For example, in the 2019 to 2020 school year the average tuition for a community college student was around $3,730 while the average annual tuition for a public four-year college was closer to $10,440. Additionally, the class size tends to be smaller at these institutions and the application process is quicker and easier. Really, however, it just comes down to people following their passions that could have emerged even in childhood.
“I think when I was a kid, I was [often] doing my Barbie’s makeup [or] doing my Barbie’s hair,” Ray said. “My mom was like, ‘Oh, that’s so cute.’ And, of course, I’m sitting here like, ‘I’m perfect at this.’”
Despite these benefits, people taking alternative routes can receive some pushback. Older generations, peers and sometimes even family members can be at the root of this disapproval. A big concern is that they won’t make enough money to support themselves, but WSHS’s students argue that in the end it doesn’t matter as long as they are enjoying what they are doing.
“A lot of my family has been like, ‘Well, why don’t you just go ahead and go to normal school or go to college first?’” Wright said. “‘It’ll be so much easier for you, and you’ll have something to go back on when you’re older in case this falls through.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, what if it doesn’t fall through?’ … I think success is being happy in the end, and at least for me, having a family is being happy.”