The McNicholas Milestone

It is almost impossible to accept that the Class of 2022 aren’t freshmen, sophomores, or even juniors. They are nearly graduated seniors, about to embark on the challenges of the real world with none of it being possible without the adults in their lives that kept pushing them such as parents, teachers, and even older students. 

Four long years ago the Class of 2022 was new to McNicholas High, and the Class of 2019 ruled the halls, and now just like when they were seniors and the Class of 2022 were freshmen, members of the Class of 2019 have advice on what to be ready for in the next step of life after McNick. 

Starting off with what to be better prepared for, McNicholas graduate and University of Cincinnati business major Kyle Bolin said, “I wished I was prepared for the amount of work college had in store for me. I was able to slack off in high school, but missing assignments in college really can ruin your GPA. I’m [still] affected by my grades from my first semester of college.” 

Another McNicholas 2019 graduate and University of Cincinnati social justice major McKenna Collins said, “I wished I knew that it was okay to not be perfect in college. I thought I would have a 4.0, be in a ton of clubs, and have a huge social life. Turns out doing all of those can lead to burnout. It’s better to take your time and prioritize what’s important.” College brings a lot more to the table in school life and social life, so it’s important to be okay with change and learn how to adapt to new situations.

It’s always good to be prepared for the worst, but every situation is bound to have its surprises. Collins added, “The biggest surprise of my college experience is the amount of time I have to dedicate to my studies. Since it is harder to work with professors, I had to teach myself a lot of the material.” 

Most would agree that college takes a lot more critical thinking and whether a student may be good at that or not, they still might be surprised. Not all hidden surprises of college are bad though. Bolin said, “The biggest surprise has been the amount of people I meet. Every day I meet someone new with a completely different life. It’s nice to able to meet people from all over the world.”  College may require lots of more studying and hard work, but when that’s not going on it’s an amazing place to see what the world has to offer.

Bolin and Collins hinted at the future of what the Class of 2022 is going to miss about their home of the last four years. Bolin said the thing he misses the absolute most was “being on a smaller campus. Every class is within a 5-minute walk at McNicholas. At college, it takes at least 20 minutes to get from one building to another. It was a blessing I took for granted.”  Trying to have better time management in college might be something students need to learn, or maybe they were looking for a reason to walk, but either way the size of McNicholas might be something these students underappreciated.  “I miss the teachers the most from the McNicholas community. It was nice being able to create strong relationships with teachers in a smaller community. It’s much more difficult to bond with teachers in a college setting,” Collins said.