As high school seniors prepare to embark on a new chapter in their lives, it is a bittersweet moment for both students and educators alike. Saying goodbye to these young individuals who have grown and matured over the years can be an emotional experience filled with memories of shared triumphs, challenges, and growth.

Senior, Haidynn Bartholomew has her mind set on what she will be doing after high school.

“After High School, I plan to attend UM-Flint for Psychology. This way I can keep my job close and stay at home for a little longer. Journalism class has helped me work on communication and research skills that I will need for a Psychology degree. I’m excited to move on, but it’s really sad to leave everyone and this school.” Stated Bartholomew.

Senior, Malachi McCallum found her love for English here at KHS and hopes to make it a career.

“I plan to attend the University of Michigan Flint in the fall of 2024, where I will begin working towards my degree in secondary English education. I will continue to work during this and hopefully still work on my performance habits. I hope to start participating in the Flint Community Players Theater program and in my college’s choir,” explained McCallum.

Senior, Lydia McLain has decided to embrace her artistic side when it comes to life after graduation.

“I plan on going to Mott for my associate’s degree in graphic design and fine arts. After that, I will hop over to KCAD to get my animation degree. I plan on renting an apartment with my boyfriend when I go to KCAD because it’s over in Grand Rapids,” expressed McLain.

Senior, Maraya Dell plans to go into an especially difficult medical field, and work her way up to being a NICU travel nurse.

“I plan to attend the University of Michigan – Flint for neonatal nursing. I am going to get my bachelor’s degree right after high school. I plan to gain some experience and then go back to school for my master’s degree. After this, I want to become a NICU travel nurse,” communicated Dell.

These four students were asked what Journalism had taught them and how could it play a role in their future careers.  They were also asked what they thought about the class as a whole, and what their favorite aspect about journalism was.

“Journalism has taught me how to appreciate the craft of writing. I love to write and always have, but this class pushed me to challenge my writing skills and relearn the writing language.  My writing has made people’s days, many times people come up to me to talk about it,  and it is truly one of my biggest motivators. I will most likely use this in my career someday, as I plan to be an English teacher, and I hope I get to participate in more journalistic projects in the future,” gushed McCallum.

Dell had something similar to say about journalism.

“I loved having journalism as a class, I love writing and I can bust out a story within an hour if I have all of the information I need. I am not sure how I will use it in my career, but I will try to incorporate what I have learned in the past two years with this class.” She went on to say; “I loved journalism, I am very glad I was able to have this class. The teachers, for both years, were amazing. I love the relationships I had with the teachers and they are something I will never forget and always cherish. Both of them have become a big part of my life and I wouldn’t change a single thing about anything.”

McLain only had Journalism for one year, but she expressed her thoughts as well.

“Journalism is a fun class, but low-key kinda hard if you can’t self-manage. I struggled because of that but regardless I still enjoyed the class. It was very much worth joining,” she said.

McCallum conveys the importance of journalism with one last quote that sums up how important journalism is to the world today.

“I love journalism, it is important to me and our world frankly. There is so much happening worldwide, and we tend to miss things just under our noses. Journalists’ job is to study up and dig deeper into everything. Journalism is what makes the world go round, and my favorite thing about it is getting to learn and experience new things or see other perspectives.”