Students plan life after graduation.
By: Audrey Levine
They have Senior Society, Senior Week and Senior Picnic. But on Tuesday, they will celebrate the most important part of senior year graduation.
"It’s unbelievable that it’s next week and in another week, I’ll be finished with four years of high school," said Stephen Waniak, who will attend Boston College in the fall.
Stephen is one of about 560 students who will graduate from South Brunswick High School this year. The ceremony is at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
Most of the students will be attending four-year schools, though their choices of colleges differ greatly. Some, like Stephen, said they are glad that they will be on their own, making a new start.
"I would feel cheated if I went in knowing a lot of people," he said. "I will be exposed to people I don’t know and (have the chance to) make new relationships and that’s good."
Shelley Tibbetts, who will attend Rider University, also is looking forward to meeting new people. But she said she is glad some of her classmates will be attending the Lawrence Township university with her.
"It is better than being the only one," she said. "I’m used to seeing people in the halls and now they will be all over the (country)."
Connie Lin, who will major in computer science at Carnegie Melon University, said she feels a mix of excitement caused by the prospect of new experiences and sadness, because she will be leaving almost everyone she knows to go to a school seven hours from where she grew up.
"It’s an exciting time of life, but it’s sad because it’s one of the last times you will see your friends for awhile," she said. "But technology makes it easier to stay in touch."
That’s one reason she is happy to know a few people who will be attending the same school.
"It’s a chance to move out of cliques, but still see familiar faces," she said.
"I’m excited because I can’t wait to go off and pursue goals," said Matthew Johnson, who will attend Pennsylvania State University, which is about four hours from South Brunswick. "(But) I’m nervous because I’ll be on my own with no one to fall back on."
The students said they are looking forward to the opportunities ahead both in and out of the classroom.
After working on the high school yearbook and being involved in Key Club, Shelley said she wants to look into those activities at Rider, as well as trying others she did not have time to try.
Stephen said he wants to try new things, although he would also like to work on his college newspaper.
"I’ve liked the experience and got a lot out of it," he said, having been co-editor-in-chief of The Viking Vibe, the high school newspaper, for the past two years. "It will be a completely different experience (in college). It’s anyone’s guess how much I’ll get into it."
Connie, a member of Key Club, Viking Volunteers and the Medical Futures club during her time at the high school, said she is looking forward to seeing college plays and being involved in volunteer and other organizations at the university.
"I think it’s important to find a religious group," she said. "And maybe I’ll find an a cappella group."
Matthew, a member of the high school football team for two years and the track team for four years, said he plans to continue his track career at college.
"It’s more competitive and there is a higher level of performance," he said.
Stephen said the teachers at South Brunswick helped him feel ready for what lies ahead.
"This year, knowing it’s senior year, the teachers helped prepare us for college (and) it will help in the end," he said. "(Also) the environment is conducive to doing what we want and trying new things to prepare for college."
Shelley also agrees that many of the teachers did their part to help the students understand what would be expected of them in college. She said that English teacher Harry Schultz was one who really made an impact.
"He taught what the college would expect," she said. "What other teachers would normally accept, he didn’t."
"South Brunswick has a lot of good programs and teachers who don’t just teach the subject, they teach stuff to know for life," Matthew said.
Connie said she believed the way classes are scheduled at South Brunswick also helped.
"Block scheduling gave us more experience with long classes, so it will be less intimidating in college," she said. "(And) AP classes helped because they required independent work and taught us to be self-motivated."
Both Shelley and Connie, whose older siblings are juniors at The College of New Jersey and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst respectively, said it is good to know someone else who was able to make the transition from high school to college.
"It is easier knowing that someone else got through it and if there’s a problem, you can go to them," Shelley said.
Connie said she felt the same way, although she had a slightly different take on the subject.
"There are tips she could give me," she said, referring to her older sister. "But it is something you have to experience for yourself."
Overall, the students said they are excited and ready for the new experience.
"It’s uncanny how quickly it came up," Stephen said. "It may not have sunk in yet."