The dreaded date for college applications is quickly closing in on us. Seniors are now crunching out essay after essay. But fortunately, the period after college application deadlines is going to be the last chapter in high school for the graduating senior class. Each year, over 70 students graduate from Saint Stephen’s and move onto the next part of their lives: college. Graduation day marks an exciting transition for high school seniors who will begin their new journeys as freshmen again. Only this time, in college.  So it makes me wonder: What is life like for these alums, who find themselves in a whole new ball park just months after graduation?

Despite the relationships seniors develop with underclassmen during their high school years, it seems that once the school year starts, everyone gets caught up with their busy schedules and forgets to keep in touch with one another. After a period of being away, we don’t really know what is going on in the daily lives of the alumni. Are they enjoying campus life? What are they enjoying most in college?  What should we be prepared for? These are questions that remain unanswered for the most part. In order to gain some insight into life after SSES, I reached out to two students from the Class of 2016. Here’s what Emiliano Concha Toro and Michelle Yan have to say.

Emiliano and Michelle both graduated as part of the Class of 2016. Emiliano is attending West Point Academy and Michelle is attending Columbia University.

According to Emiliano, college life is very demanding.  But with excellent time management skills, you can reduce the stress you put on yourself. Emiliano starts most of his days at 5:30am; he wakes up for company PT (personal training) which is a three-mile run. He then has a breakfast formation at 6:50 and begins eating at around 7:00. This lasts for 15 minutes and then he goes onto classes at 7:30 until 11:55. After classes they break for lunch for 30 minutes and he begins class again. Emiliano then heads to the highlight of his day at after school: rifle practice. He practices for four hours, has dinner, and finally after this, he has time to study in the evening.

Michelle Yan on the other hand, has a completely different schedule. She says that Thursdays are the new Fridays. Typically, Michelle starts her class schedule with Calculus around 8:40am. She has a short break in between classes and then moves onto her literature class until noon. After that she has a lunch break and then starts her Latin American Civilizations class. She ends her school day off with Science until 6:00pm. Michelle also attends various talks and seminar sessions at night. She says that her favorite class is Latin American Civilizations. As you can see both Emiliano and Michelle have very tough schedules and have to actively plan their days to complete their work on time.

A lot of interesting things can happen in college. Both Michelle and Emiliano says that they have experienced many good and bad situations in the first semester of college. Emiliano believes “interesting” can be interpreted in different ways.

He says, “During chemistry lab hours, our professors, who are currently commissioned officers with multiple combat deployments, blast music throughout the PA system. The music ranges from AC/DC and Metallica to Taylor Swift and One Direction. It is a once in a lifetime experience when you get to test absorbance in liquid solutions while fighting the urge to bust a move to Shake It Off.”

On the other hand Michelle says that she has had to face some pretty uncomfortable situations, including witnessing an intruder who didn’t even attend Columbia heckle the professor and students during a class. Fortunately, she was able to sneak out of class and call campus security!

However, besides the strict schedule that they try to keep up with everyday, they still try to experience new things about college life. Emiliano says that what he is enjoying the most is his rifle team. He said, “We are all from different walks of life with differing interests; however, we reunite every day to do something we love. We constantly spend weekday and weekend afternoons together to make us a more cohesive team. We eat our meals together, take similar classes, work out and spend what little free time we have on the weekends hanging out around base. They have become my family in a place where I am tested day in and day out.” Like any other college sport, his team is a new family away from home.

Michelle says that she also has joined interesting clubs that keep her occupied when she’s not studying.

An important idea to think about when these seniors head off is how you can stay in touch with them; you never know what you might learn! In fact, keeping in contact with our alumni not only benefits the school, but the entire student body. Nevertheless, from these stories of two students, there are many other tales that we’ve not heard yet. Contact Mrs. McFeeley, who is doing a great job connecting us with our alumni, if you have any stories you would like to share.