There are roughly 360 students in Leo Hayes’ grad class of 2022, yet there is one dreaded question they all keep hearing: “So, what are you doing after high school?”
I interviewed seven grads to hear the answer. What I found was that they all have distinct plans concerning their future. One grad suggested that this large variety could be due to “the population of the school” which consists of roughly 1500 lions.
Thanks to the interviews, I discovered that five out of the seven students I contacted were planning to attend university studies, while the other two were planning on going to college and a trades school. Two of these students planned to stay in Fredericton, two planned to leave, and the others remained uncertain. Many students felt that Fredericton was not able to offer as much as Canada’s larger cities, yet many others felt that due to Fredericton's respectable post-secondary opportunities that are so conveniently close to home, they would benefit from staying.
The career plans for these students ranged from becoming an aesthetician, a mechanic, a forest ranger to planning on doing something in the engineering field.
Stefanie Heade is a grad who said that she wanted to become a registered nurse. When asked about what impacted her career choice, she said, “I worked at a nursing home for three years before transitioning into the job that I currently have, and after I left, I realized working with elders and being a part of that community meant a lot to me.”
Even within a group of seven, our grads have very diverse and compelling aspirations.
When I asked the grads whether or not they felt that Leo Hayes had properly prepared them for their future plans, the majority claimed that our school had prepared them well both academically and socially. Annika Bastin said, “the learning environment has allowed flexibility in the classroom, resulting in independence [...] Being part of some [of the] great clubs LHHS has to offer has also taught me important lessons about leadership.”
Of course, the results of this article do not represent the entirety of our graduating class as The Mane only interviewed a small portion of our student body. We must remember each future plan is exclusive to the individual. However, it's our goal that this article will grant some form of insight into the many paths that lions are considering.
Good luck to all of the 2022 graduates! We hope no matter what path you take, it is a rewarding one.