By Liz Bramlett
While some seniors are picking out their dorm room decorations or
bragging about new college apparel, other seniors are breaking away from the typical pattern of ¨having to go to college.”
Senior Hailee Hamilton is one of them.
Instead of going to college, Hamilton is preparing for her basic training. In the future, she is working toward going into the military.
This idea hasn’t always been Hamilton’s plan.
As a child, Hamilton said the military used to scare her and make her feel nervous, but the more she learned about it, the more it stuck with her.
That is when Hamilton knew this is her forever dream.
¨It became more known it was my own choice,¨ Hamilton said, ¨even though I always grew up thinking college was the right choice and I needed to go there.¨
Now she is more confident in her choice and said she would much rather be out helping and caring for people than be in a classroom learning for the next four years.
Hamilton will begin basic training on Aug. 5 at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
After finishing her training, she will return home, ready for duty.
Continuing her military desire, Hamilton said her overall goal in the future is to work in the Criminal Investigation Department in the Army.
She knows this won’t be easy, but that’s not stopping her.
Although Hamilton said she sometimes thinks that maybe this is not the right decision or that it is going to be hard, she would rather follow her genuine passion than fit into the basic mold of having to go to college.
Hamilton isn’t the only one pursuing her own path. Senior Gavin Case also plans to take a unique route.
Case is heading to the electrical side of things, a pathway that excites his own interest.
A couple years ago even Case himself wouldn’t have believed this would be the road he is taking.
¨I started out taking a lot of college classes in high school, thinking I would go to college,¨ Case said, ¨but then I realized that I couldn’t sit behind a desk for another four years.¨
Case has already begun his career by joining an internship for a private company and plans to continue advancing his career after graduation by going into trade school.
Case is looking forward to getting hands-on training and getting his freedom rather than having to do worksheets every day in a school.
With less time and energy going into college courses, Case said the electrical trade will give him more opportunities to have freedom and better/more ways to make money.
Case said one of his biggest goals in life is just being successful in what he loves doing.
Senior Nash Keesling on the other hand, has had his mind set on something outside of the common classroom since a young age.
Instead of continuing his education throughout college, Keesling plans to work with his dad doing construction.
Keesling believes hands-on work is more fulfilling in life, rather than sitting in a desk.
“I don’t like school,” Keesling said. “I would rather work.”
Although you may not have to go to college to sit and learn, these types of jobs still aren’t easy.
While college isn’t required for this pathway, Keesling understands that the construction industry still comes with its own challenges.
“There is definitely a lot to learn about this path,” Keesling said, “but it’s better than going to college.”
Keesling has a greater goal in future years, continuing his construction path by owning his own business.
Some may believe that you can only succeed with a college degree, but other students see it differently.
“People think you have to be smart and have to spend money to gain knowledge,” Keesling said, “even though you can just make money to learn.”
