Senior Issue 2023

B6 | Senior Issue Friday, May 26, 2023
Ranking the Class of 2023’s high school years
Tanvi Pandya
Staff Writer
Our past four years of high
school have been eventful to say
the least. Between Covid-19,
countless changes in administration
and the occasional
campus threat, we’ve made a
lot of memories.
Each year has been unique,
coming with its own ups and
downs, but some have definitely
been better than others. Let’s
look at a ranking of the past four
years because there is definitely
a lot to discuss.
No. 1 - Senior Year
Unsurprisingly, coming in at
the top of the list is senior year.
Being our final year, a lot
of new changes appeared. We
were met with a completely
new administration team when
we returned to school, accompanied
with a lot of new and
unwelcomed rules (remember
those?) We also finally earned
the privilege to sign out, thank
god. Well, most of us at least.
Sorry 17-year-olds.
Maybe the biggest change
from last year to this one is the
decrease in COVID-19 cases.
We were finally able to walk
around and eat together without
fear of contracting the virus.
Especially compared to junior
year when we saw everyone
in masks for the better part of
the year.
It feels like things finally
returned to normal.
Naturally, there were some
negatives to the year, too. I
still haven’t recovered from the
stress of college applications.
Honestly, it’s been hard having
to say goodbye to high school.
But we have a lot of great
Californian file illustration
Sophomore year ranked surprisingly high because students didn’t even need to get out of bed to attend virtual school.
memories to treasure. We had
a fantastic final homecoming,
outdoors for the second year
in a row. We’ll always have
our Friday Night Lights to look
back on, accompanied with tons
of fun spirit themes like neon
and pink out.
And there’ll always be Colorfest
too, but that one might
be more of a funny story than
a sentimental memory.
More than anything, senior
year has been about making the
most of it. And I think we’ve
done that.
No. 2 - Freshman Year
Next up, maybe a surprise to
some, is freshman year.
I’ll preface this by saying I
don’t think freshman year would
be this high if COVID-19 didn’t
happen.
And in a way, freshman year
is the only year that doesn’t feel
tainted because it was our first
and only taste of normal high
school.
It was also just…fun.
We were wide-eyed and
young, excited to see what this
new world of high school had
waiting for us. We got to meet
and develop relationships with
tons of new people, including
our fellow freshmen from other
schools and upperclassmen.
We had a fabulous indoor
homecoming, our only one of
high school, and plenty of high
energy rallies run by our muchmissed
upperclassmen.
COVID-19 definitely
stopped us in our tracks though.
But even after the stay at home
order began, the schoolwork
was essentially nonexistent and
it was an adventure of its own.
Freshman year was the year
of new beginnings.
No. 3 - Sophomore Year
Placing sophomore year at
third might be a little…controversial.
But let me explain.
Sophomore year for the
class of 2023 is a touchy subject.
There isn’t much middle
ground. You either hated it or
loved it.
On one hand, it was pretty
easy. We didn’t even have to get
out of our beds to go to class, and
we basically had an hour and a
half of naptime everyday with
the online student support and
lunch periods. Zoom troubles
aside, we had a pretty easy
academic sophomore year.
On the other hand, it was kind
of an extrovert’s nightmare.
We missed a whole year of
school dances, football games
and just hanging out with our
friends. A whole year of memories,
lost to the pandemic. We
didn’t even see each other’s
faces most days, just a black
screen with our peers’ names
written in block letters.
It was depressing, to say
the least.
So, if half of us loved online
learning and half of us hated it,
it’s only fair it goes somewhere
in the middle.
No. 4 - Junior Year
And that brings us to last
place: junior year.
Junior year was, in a way, a
transition year.
It was our big, triumphant
return to in-person school. We
were finally back, this time as
upperclassmen, masked up and
ready to go. Things were finally
back to normal.
Except, they weren’t really.
We all had to be completely
masked up. There was no eating
indoors. Everything was
being adapted to fit COVID
restrictions. While all of these
adjustments were for the greater
good, it all felt a little dystopian.
Add to that the anxiety of
junior year studying for the
SATs, AP classes and the generally
overwhelming idea that
we had to decide the rest of our
lives pretty soon, the year was
stressful to say the least.
That doesn’t mean it was all
bad. We were all thankful to be
able to see our friends again.
And as much as we complained
about school, we were all happy
that we could have some faceto-face
interaction again. Junior
year might not have been the
best, but it was necessary to
get back into the flow of things.
And that wraps up the last four
years. Even with world-shaking,
global catastrophes, we made it,
Class of ‘23. It’s been an interesting
journey, but the memories
we have made will always be
cherished as we go off to pursue
our passions and dreams.
Some seniors take non-college paths
Rebecca Haghnegahdar
Staff Writer
Despite constant pressure
from parents, peers and even
teachers to attend a four-year
university directly after high
school, many students choose to
go down non-traditional paths
that will work best for them and
their skills.
The days are gone when a
four-year university degree was
viewed as the sole gateway to
a successful career. Today, Cal
High students are opting for alternative
routes that better align
with their passions, interests and
desired outcomes.
From enlisting in the military
to going straight into the workforce,
there are endless routes
that students can explore.
Cal’s college and career
adviser Kathryn Nichols helps
students explore their options
and find what path is best for
them. By embracing non-traditional
avenues, students are
finding unique opportunities for
growth and securing their places
in an ever-evolving job market.
“I think one really important
thing is to get experience in a
field to make sure it’s right for
you,” Nichols said. “So I think
if you can volunteer and get
ahead in your field, it will really
help you.”
There’s multiple factors that
students have to consider when
deciding what to do after they
graduate. Students need to take
factors such as cost, personal
preference and environment,
among other things, into consideration.
“I knew I didn’t want to work
a desk job in the future,” said senior
Julian Ackerman, who will
be attending Butte College as a
part of the school’s fire academy,
said. “So the firefighter program
really appealed to me.”
There are a multitude of vital
jobs within society that do not
require the completion of a four
year degree, with firefighters
and EMTs being just a few of
them. Instead of going through
four years of schooling, students
can partake in programs at
community colleges that will
give them hands-on experiences
and get them into the workforce
faster, saving them not only time
but also money.
With a rise in tuition costs as
well as cost of living in many
cities throughout America,
attending a four year university
is no longer a financially
reasonable option for some
students. As students start to
realize the reality of the financial
burden a four year education
can have on them and their
families, many are beginning
to seek alternative routes that
will provide them with a stable
career without putting them in
significant debt.
“I knew a four year university
didn’t make sense for me
financially,” senior Melina
Kamranifard said. “I realized
real estate was a good way to
earn a lot of passive income.”
Programs through local community
colleges can provide
people access to an affordable
education, flexible schedules,
and programs tailored to meet
the needs of local industries.
The programs can allow students
a gateway into a four
year university to pursue their
education or put them directly
into the workforce.
While there are many alternative
routes students can take
after high school, there are
also unconventional options
within the realm of four year
universities. United States
training academies provide
students with a free education
in exchange for nine years of
military service. Though it is
a big sacrifice, it is one many
students are willing to make.
“Over the summer while my
peers get to go on vacation, I’ll
have to do military training,”
said senior Patrick Lee, who
will be attending the United
States Military Academy at
West Point in the fall. “You’re
definitely sacrificing a bit of
your freedom.”
As the world of education
continues to evolve, many high
school students will continue to
choose alternate paths that will
provide them with the proper
tools for success.