Throughout the first few months of school, many students scramble to prepare themselves for the future, whether that be through participating in standardized tests, applying to higher-learning institutions, or touring college campuses.

With the Nov. 1 deadline for submitting early applications recently passed, The Feather recently asked several senior students what their post high school plans are. During the next several days, additional stories will be published below.

In addition to these collected responses, The Feather encourages readers to email their own pursuits to [email protected] until the end of November.

Kendall Wheeler, ’12
Nov. 10, 2011

I am going to Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, Oklahoma. I will be majoring in biology. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue schooling after that on the East Coast. I hope to become an environmental marine biologist and be involved in deep sea research.

Gigi Thao, ’12
Nov. 9, 2011

I know for sure that I want a college with a good pre-medicine program. I do not have any particulars about where I am applying and so I have a very different assortment of colleges, ranging from UC Irvine to Stanford. I just know that God will put me where he needs me.

Jeff Roseth, ’12
Nov. 8, 2011

After graduating I plan on going to college. Right now a couple of my top colleges are Chapman and UC Irvine. I am not sure what I would like to major in yet, but I plan on taking a wide variety of classes and looking at a lot of different options.

Mary Hierholzer, ’12
Nov. 8, 2011

All I know for sure at this point is that I am planning on college. I just submitted applications to my top choices, but I just won’t know anything for sure until I get the results and visit all of my options. This is really my one certain chance to try a new atmosphere, so it’s important to me that I try out something other than the California life I’ve always known. I’d like to try my hand at cold weather, so I hope to end up in Boston or Seattle for school.

Wherever I go, I want to channel all of my interests into a career, and combine journalism with Christian missions. On one hand, it is a very specific idea, but it also leaves a broad range of possibilities. If I had it my way, I would write for a Christian organization in England after I get a solid college education in America, but I’ll just have to see where I end up. My ideas are certainly subject to change, so I’ll be interested to see where my education takes me!

Josh Hopper, ’12
Nov. 7, 2011

I have been accepted to Azusa Pacific University, but I’m not sure if I’m going to attend. I’m still trying to figure out whether I want to go to college. I feel like if I go to college to simply please other people, it’s not the right reason to go college. I want to be completely sold out that I want to go to college before I make that decision.

There is so much pressure these days to go to college and it makes me mad. People say you need to go to college otherwise you’re a worthless individual and I don’t believe that to be true at all. If I didn’t go to college I would start a small business or a non-profit organization or be in a band or make cookies. I don’t need a college degree to live my life.

Adam Wood, ’12
Nov. 7, 2011

After high school hopefully I will go to college; I don’t really know what I want to major in, but hopefully I get to play football because that’s been my dream for a long time and hopefully I get recruited. I hope that I go somewhere that I get to play and it’s somewhere that I want to be, at least a state I want to be in.

I want to stay in the west part of America, I don’t want to go to the East Coast because it’s kind of to far. I have not applied anywhere yet, but I plan to in the near future; I’m waiting for my SAT score. I’m not sure what I want to be yet, maybe a police officer or a special education teacher.

Jeff Barth, ’12
Nov. 7, 2011

I haven’t done much to get ready for college, I’m not sure where I want to go; I haven’t applied yet, but I plan to soon. I want to apply to Northern Arizona, the lumberjacks, or probably like city, or a Christian school like Tabor.

I will probably go to a city or a smaller school like a D II, I want to play football. I’ve played football since 7th grade so I will probably go on to play Canadian football.

Trevor York, ’12
Nov. 4, 2011

It has been a long process and I have sorted through many colleges. In the past month, however, I have decided that Chapman University is my favorite with Gordon College at a close second. I plan on studying something along the lines of business administration or public policy with a foreign language for a minor.

I’m not sure what I want to do with my life. I have many choices such as going into law, or business or maybe a job with politics in the government. I know that I do want to live in a big city and eventually settle into a job where I am in charge of things and lead this country. I’m not sure what job that I specifically want, but I am sure it will involve either business, politics, law or possibly all three. I am confident that I will find the right job for me and excel at it.

Dana King, ’12
Nov. 4, 2011

My dream is to move to New York and go to Columbia University and double-major in music and neuroscience. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for all of high school and, although it sometimes seems almost impossible, I still believe that I can one day achieve it.

Of course part of me wants to pick up and travel for a few years and just live. To have no responsibilities except for myself, to play music and meet all of the beautiful people in this world.

I want to be happy and do what makes me happy, so if that means that I have to be poor and be in a profession that isn’t acceptable cookie-cutter life according to whoever determines normal, then so be it.

Nick Avery, ’12
Nov. 4, 2011

I want to eventually be a writer, so my options for college are very open. I’ve recently come to the realization that no matter what my plans are, they will ultimately not be 100 percent of what I expected, which actually opens up a lot.

I was recently accepted into Whitworth University up in Spokane, Washington, with a pretty substantial scholarship, so that looks like a very feasible option. I’m also interested in journalism, so for the past few months I’ve been looking at Indiana University, which has an amazing online journalism program.

Hopefully, at the end of it all, I will be content wherever I am.

Gee Hyun Park, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

I haven’t applied yet, but I’m thinking about applying to art school in New York City, including Parsons New School for Design and the Pratt Institute. Since my parents disagree with me going art school, I’m applying to Cal Poly for architectural engineering as well.

I really want to move to a bigger city like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. I have lived in the city all my life and I spent my most recent two years in a rural area compared to my hometown. I feel like it’s time to get back to my original lifestyle.

Everything is stressful right now. Being a senior, feeling like I haven’t accomplished much, facing either many choices or no choice at all … most of all, taking the SAT in a non-native language is so stressful — I guess it’s a foreigner thing.

I hope the rest of the seniors are doing well, unlike me! Good luck guys!

Ryan Neufeld, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

I am applying to Tabor College and California Baptist University. I want to play baseball and get a degree in athletic training, and I hope to become a personal fitness trainer.

Josh Grinage, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

After high school I want to go into the Marines, and possibly special sniping or a special operations unit. I may go to about two years of college before entering, but I would really like to make a career in the Marines. My grandpa was in the Marines, and it always sounded fun to me when I was a little kid. When I got older, it just sounded better so I looked into it a lot more, and the more I did, the Marines just became that much more interesting to me. I’ve applied to some colleges, specifically one in Texas. So the stress some people have been facing doesn’t really bother me that much.

Sarah Schoneman, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

I am applying to Fresno City, Fresno State, Fresno Pacific University, The Master’s College and the Joshua Wilderness program. I am interested in pursuing the subjects of science and math, so I plan to attain a biomedical degree. I want to stay in Fresno, but God may call me to go somewhere else.

Nicole Hensley, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

I’m applying to Christian colleges like Westmont, Azusa, Biola, California Baptist University, Concordia, Fresno Pacific University. I am also applying to Fresno State. I wish to major in business and go into accounting.

Brahamjit Randhawa, ’12
Nov. 3, 2011

I am applying to Fresno State University and most of the UC colleges. I plan to get a medical degree and become a pediatrician. I hope to stay in Fresno.

For more from this series, read the Sept. 7 article, 9/11, ten years later: Join the discussion or the Dec. 31, 2010 article, Christmas traditions: Join the discussion.