For students, life after graduation

Published 1:33 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE VALLEY – High-school seniors may have their final-exam essays in mind and graduation parties all planned out, but as they prepare to leave the Snoqualmie Valley School District, an inevitable question comes up.

What next?

It is a question Mount Si High School Vocational Director and Dean of Students Thomas Mosby has been asking his students all through high school.

“Hopefully none of them are saying, ‘What next?’ this late,” he said.

All graduating Mount Si High School students have been following a plan of classes and extracurricular activities set up by the student and their adviser called “pathways.”

It is a flexible arrangement and students are welcome to change it along the way, but it provides them structure and accountability when making post-graduation decisions.

Mosby said about 60 percent of this year’s graduating class students will seek additional schooling, with 40 percent going to four-year colleges and universities and 20 percent going to two-year schools. The remaining percentage will probably enter the work force.

Those entering the employment ranks may have had the opportunity to begin working while still going to school.

Melissa McLean, who graduated in 2001, was unsure of exactly what she wanted to do entering her senior year in 2000. She was interested in marketing and was picked by her advanced marketing teacher to work at the Sno Falls Credit Union branch that opened at the high school.

She continued working for the credit union after she graduated, eventually moving to the Fall City branch. She has been promoted and is planning and saving for additional classes in marketing at Bellevue Community College.

“I don’t think I could have done this without the help of the school,” McLean said.

Senior Lauren Davis is taking the traditional route. This fall, she will attend Washington State University and major in broadcast journalism, a field she grew interested in while broadcasting announcements at Mount Si.

“I’m always in tune to current events,” Davis said. “We mostly did announcements about sports and clubs, but we would mix in some world issues and see how they apply to us.”

Davis said she is looking forward to her studies, but is also itching to get into a new environment. She has lived in the Valley since kindergarten and is ready to get out on her own.

“I’m looking forward to a new place with new people and a chance to get away from home,” Davis said.

Mosby said only a small percentage, about 1 or 2 percent, end up going into the military. But for those who do choose to enlist, they can sometimes begin their military service while still in high school.

Senior Jim Daughtrey set his sights on the military when he was young and decided to join the Army when he was 17. Through a program called the “split option program,” he was able to take part in basic training last summer before his senior year even started.

“It was an experience,” he said. “I was already in good physical shape, but mentally was something else. I came back more confident and more willing to lead.”

When Daughtrey started the program, he said he was in it for the scholarship money. But by the time he finished his training, two days after the Sept. 11 attacks, he had changed his mind.

He said his experience last summer dispelled many myths about the military and proved that serving his country was a noble cause.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about the Army,” Daughtrey said. “People think it is like ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ but that’s not true. There are a lot of things the Army can do.”

After Daughtrey completes more training this summer, he hopes to be stationed in Bosnia for about eight months. He said he would like to get into Army propaganda or return to Washington and study psychology.

Whether students are asking for scholarship information or if a business is hiring, Mosby said Mount Si has tried to be with them every step of the way. He said all the students have had a chance to receive some guidance before answering that all-important question.

“It used to be set up that students would just kind of go through school,” Mosby said. “We have a better system now with their goals in mind.