After four long years of hard work and dedication to get to these last moments, the class of 2017 has finally done it; walking the stage is at the forefront of every seniors mind. Whether these last four years have been dedicated to working towards a certain goal, or purely just working towards the future, every senior now knows where they will be as of fall 2017 – and it’s not Heritage.

I sat down with four Heritage Seniors that are all taking different paths for their future, none better than the other, and all unique in their goals and ideas.

 Briana Sanders (12) will be attending UC Santa Cruz

What is your long term goal?

• “My long term goal is to have a family and work in a job I’m happy in. I don’t have any concrete ideas for my future, I just want to do something that makes me happy.”

Why did you choose this path?

• “I chose to go to a four year university because I felt that it would expose me to opportunities that that could help decide my future.”

How did you decide on UC Santa Cruz?

• “I decided to go to UCSC because my friends are going there. It was honestly the most comfortable choice for me and would make the transition of living on my own much easier. It is also a beautiful campus and apart of the UC system – making it a more prestigious school”

What are you the most nervous about?

• I’m mostly nervous to have to figure out what to do with my life. At this point I have so many ideas and it’s extremely hard to pick one.

Tyler Jones (12) will be joining the Marine Corps

What is your long term goal?

• “My long term goal is to use what I gain from being in the service service to further my goals as an entrepreneur.

How did you choose this branch?

• “I decided on joining the Marine Corps because I’ve talked to a lot of people from different branches and out of all the Marine Corps culture is what led me to want to earn the status of a US Marine.

What are you most nervous about?

• I am most nervous about going to boot camp because even though I have watched videos and talked to Marines I still don’t completely know what to expect. I know it will be hard and will suck but I’ll be better for it.

Hannah Margolis (12) will be attending LMC

What excited you most about your future?

• “I am most excited for my career and family. I want to be a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner. After I land a job as an oncology nurse I want to have a family with 2-3 kids, with many dogs.”

Why did you choose this path?

• “I chose this path for multiple reasons. I’ve always wanted a family, I know I will be an amazing mom someday. However, I used to want to just be a stay at home mom and have kids young. Now that I have fallen in love with a career, I don’t want kids until after I establish my career.

What makes you the most nervous?

• “Nothing makes me nervous about the future, I know I’ll do great things because I have a positive outlook on everything in life.”

Rachel Margolis will be attending San Diego State

Why did you choose this path?

• “I chose this specific path because I have always loved helping people and always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but once I discovered how much I love biology I decided I wanted to be involved with literally creating life using science.”

How did you decide on your school, so far away?

• I decided on my school because I love the beach and have always wanted to move down south! San Diego was perfect for me because they have a great biology department and have a major study abroad program that I’m really interested in.

What are you the most nervous about?

• I’m the most nervous about being away from all of my friends and not being able to properly balance a social life, a job, and my academics.

No matter if you’re going to a four year, a junior college, the forces, the workforce, or anywhere else, the last four years at Heritage High School have prepped the 2017 class for nothing but success.