Seniors Make College Decisions by Audrey Baudek
For seniors, the end of this year didn’t just mean a final goodbye to Melbourne High School and the friends they’ve always known. It also meant the start of a new era, in which the options were limitless, and the pestering question of “Where will you be going to college?” was finally answered. For senior Wyatt Reisinger, the University of Central Florida was the ideal option for college, the pros of the school far outweighing any potential cons. “I chose UCF because I had heard from my teachers and peers that they had a great computer science program,” said Reisinger. “It’s highly renowned for my intended major, and it’s close to home so that I can come back and visit my friends and family often.” Reisinger also planned to continue his extracurriculars during his time at UCF. “They have a great marching band there, which I hope to join because I’ve loved my time in marching band during high school. I’m very excited for the opportunity to continue my passion on a larger scale.”
Reisninger wasn’t the only graduating senior from marching band hoping to continue his endeavors, however. Senior Rosie Zaricki hoped to join the marching band at Florida State University. “I’m really involved in the music programs here at Mel, and they have a really great music program at FSU,” said Zaricki. “It’s probably one of the best in the country, especially their marching band, which is really good. I’ve gone to music camps there, and my dad used to do music camps there too when he lived in Tallahassee. They’re very renowned.” Zaricki’s intended major was a program called “STEM Entrepreneurship”, a program specific to FSU. “The college of business and entrepreneurship is very good at FSU. I’m really interested in starting my own business, and learning how to run and manage a business. It’s a major that doesn’t actually exist at any other school, so this is a very unique opportunity for me. I plan on minoring in either math or computer science too, so I can continue to learn skills in those fields as well.”
Another senior planning to continue music, was Hayden Mies, who would be attending the University of South Florida in the Fall. “I’m excited to continue singing in a choir when I go to USF, since I love chorus here at Mel,” said Mies. “I found out about the school because my older brother actually went there and majored in vocal performance, and he loved the program so I’m very excited to work with the same instructors just in a more extracurricular setting.” Mies chose USF because of their speech pathology program, which was a career near and dear to her heart. “I want to become a speech pathologist because I think it’s a really important job that makes a difference in someone’s life. My older sister experienced some developmental delays with speaking, so she was nonverbal for a while when she was little. If she hadn’t gotten speech therapy or anything, she might still be nonverbal, so it’s something I’m very passionate about.”
These three seniors were looking forward to moving on to bigger and brighter things, just like others graduating, whether they were entering the military, entering the workforce, going to a university, or attending a community college. Way to go seniors!