By Brylee Beckley
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
This is something seniors in high school have heard countless times since elementary school.
When you begin your senior year, this question begins to feel daunting to some students and thrilling to others.
If you were to ask that same question to senior Ella Bright three months ago, she would not have been able to give you an answer.
Now, Bright will tell you that she plans to major in speech language pathology at Ball State University. Speech language pathology is helping people who have speech impediments or who are not progressing with their speech. Those issues may be due to a stroke or other cognitive disabilities.
“When I found out about speech pathology, I thought it sounded like something I might enjoy,” Bright said. “I then researched about it and decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
Senior Maggie Hunt has always had a passion for wildlife. She will be pursuing a major in wildlife, forestry, and natural resources at Purdue University.
“I’ve always had a strong passion and a connection to animals all my life,” Hunt said.
This major will take Hunt four years to complete, though afterward she might decide to get her doctorate in the major.
“I’m excited for my future to be outdoors and to spend my time with animals and to not have to spend my time in an office or classroom,” she said.
Senior Brenden Mead cannot wait to become a chemistry teacher.
“I have a real passion for chemistry,” Mead said. “I love the subject, and I love to learn about different scientific elements.”
Mead will be pursuing his passion at Ball State University with a major in chemistry education.
Mead got interested in chemistry when he took his first chemistry class as a sophomore at his school in Texas.
“The way my teacher presented the information to me really connected me to chemistry and made me love to learn about it,” he said.
Mead wants there to be more teachers who will influence their students like his teacher did.
“I hope to make a difference in my future students’ lives and to be able to make chemistry fun,” Mead said.
Senior Hannah McDowell plans to go to Purdue University to study a major in film and video production.
“I took a yearbook class my sophomore year, then when I took Eagle Zone News my junior and senior year,” McDowell said. “By being in those journalism/communications type classes, my passion for film and video production just grew so much more than I thought it would.”
McDowell will be able to graduate with this degree in three years due to her taking college credits in high school that will transfer.
She has not come to a decision on what she plans to do with her major long term.
“I could see myself being in the social media world, where I can travel, and be the one in charge of social media branding,” McDowell said.
All of these seniors are going in different directions, but they all have one common thought.
“No matter what I end up doing, I just hope that when I wake up each morning, I chose the career that I enjoy,” Bright said.
