Graduating high school early is a common thing by now, but many wonder why someone would want to. Some people say that high school is supposed to be the years of your life. However, everyone has their own separate path.
Senior Mercedes Houston is one of the students at Warren Central that are choosing to get ahead of the curve and graduate early.
“I chose to graduate early because I wanted to get a head start on figuring out my future path,” she said. “I plan to save money for college and enjoy my time off.”
As a young adult though, a decision like this might have some weight to it. And that means good and bad influences can come into play. Luckily Houston has some pretty good figures in her life.
“It was mainly my own decision, but my parents and friends helped me solidify it,” she said.
Senior Daniel Swank had a different process when it came to making his decision, due to the fact that he knows exactly what he is going to do while getting ahead.
“A big part of my decision was realizing that college was not something that I desired to attend,” Swank said. “I learned that I love working and learning with hands-on activities and that I would rather do physical work for hours at a time than sitting in a classroom and studying for hours on end.”
And hands-on work is exactly the career that Swank plans to get into.
“I chose to graduate early because graduating early would benefit the career path I'm choosing,” he said “I plan on working and getting more experience as a plumber with the extra time I am gaining.”
However, Swank is still planning to get some sort of higher education as a plumber.
“I will be obtaining my journeyman plumber’s license as a form of higher education,” he said.
As far as whether graduating early is a good pathway for others, both Houston and Swank have words of wisdom for anyone thinking about or are on their way to graduating early.
“If it is an option for you, I say take it,” Houston said. “You're going to need all the time you can get to prepare yourself for adulting.”
Swank agreed and has his own insightful advice.
“I would recommend others to graduate early if they are not going to college and have a plan in mind for their future,” Swank said. “I don’t think it’s smart to graduate early just to get out of high school, and I don’t think it’s smart to graduate early if you plan on going to college.”
All in all, early graduation is only one of the many routes students can take towards the end of their high school career, and everyone needs to explore and choose the right one for them.