By Zach Carter
Once high students hit senior year, it becomes time to decide their future plans. Some know from the start and others won’t decide until the last second. But at one time during kindergarten, they all had an idea.
Senior Anna Cardemon had two career dreams during kindergarten. One was a surgeon and the other was a dolphin trainer.
“I wanted to be a dolphin trainer because my favorite animal is a dolphin and I loved swimming with them,” she says. After this, she became interested in the medical field. Television shows like Grey’s Anatomy swayed her to the medical field. Potential income was also a factor.
Even though she will not be a surgeon, she plans to stay in the medical field.
“I plan on getting my RN and becoming a nurse and working in a hospital,” she says.
Zach Freel wanted to become an astronaut when he was in kindergarten.
“We did a project at that time,” Freel says. “We basically had to carve a pumpkin and it was supposed to be over someone famous. I did Neil Armstrong and I really got into space and topics surrounding it.”
This phase of Freel’s life lasted a year.
He ended up finding things that were more realistic. Now, he plans to work at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. He got this idea from his mom, who works in dietary at the hospital.
“I actually got offered the position I wanted,” he says. “I would basically move patients from one room to another.”
His interest started about two years ago. He was unsure of what he wanted to do and then saw the opportunities and benefits of working there. He plans on moving up as his time there moves on
Another student who has switched career choices since a young age is Walker Boyle. In kindergarten, Boyle wanted to work with the DNR (Department of National Resources).
“My family has always been around the outdoors,” Boyle says. “We did things like hunting and fishing. I just thought it would be something that I would like since I did things related to it.
He wanted to be a park ranger. They go around their assigned park and check licenses and enforce rules. Since then, there have been a few factors that changed his mind.
“I realized that there’s not a whole lot of money as compared to construction,” he says. “‘I started getting into a lot more hands-on building at the (Muncie Area Career Center) and that really pushed me to my decision.”
Boyle plans to go into the sheet metal union and do HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). They hang pipes and ducts in commercial buildings.
When Savanna Hickey was young, she wanted to be a veterinarian.
“I thought it would be fun to hang out with dogs all day,” Hickey says.
As time went on, she lost interest in that career field and is now focusing on business. She plans to study business at Ball State University.
Even though these seniors have decided what they want to do with their futures, their kindergarten selves always had backup plans.
