Teenagers on the Journey Toward Good Lives

Then keep reading under to study how these teenagers’ lives have adjusted during the earlier 12 months.

Dino Sabic

Throughout his senior 12 months of significant university, Dino Sabic of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was emotion pressured about the pandemic and let down about his interrupted football seasons. He was considering finding out company in university, having started off to reconsider his previous intention of working in medicine.

Soon after graduating in spring 2021, Dino enrolled at the College of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where by he now studies. He also proceeds to work section-time at a logistics enterprise.

“I love it so significantly!” Dino stories. “Awesome university and awesome position!”

Vernell Cheneau III

Budding businessman Vernell Cheneau III had made the decision towards going to college or university by the time he graduated from significant faculty in spring 2021. In its place, the New Orleans resident was energized to start out a task in the human resources office of a Fortune 500 strength business.

Vernell says he has been undertaking terrific get the job done at Entergy ever considering that. He is expecting a increase shortly and states his supervisor asked for that Vernell continue on to get the job done in her section for the reason that he is this sort of an “asset.”

About the previous yr, Vernell has stopped his facet organization of reselling phone conditions. Now he has a new business: marketing T-shirts by a internet site termed Villain Headquarters.

“Long tale short,” Vernell states, “life has been excellent for me.”

Spencer Risenmay

As a member of a farming spouse and children in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Spencer Risenmay prepared to pursue a college diploma in agribusiness to learn about the scientific innovations shaping agriculture. But just before enrolling in bigger schooling, Spencer planned to complete a two-yr mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After graduating from superior university in spring 2021, Spencer embarked on that church mission. He is at the moment serving in Ghana, in accordance to one particular of his previous teachers.

Efiotu Jagun

With her powerful math competencies, moreover family customers with science-concentrated occupations, Efiotu Jagun as soon as viewed as finding out engineering in university. She even gained a scholarship to Ga Tech.

But by her senior 12 months of higher college in Durham, North Carolina, she had recognized that she needed to check out other passions and routines as an alternative. She questioned whether it manufactured sense to enroll at the know-how powerhouse of a university.

Efiotu finished up setting up college at Georgia Tech, and she suggests, “It’s quite great so much!” She’s learning public plan and sociology there, in addition to participating in Best Frisbee, setting up a chapter of a pupil-advocacy organization and interning at the Ga Basic Assembly for the 2022 legislative session.

Princesa Ceballos

Faculty is however on the horizon for Princesa Ceballos, a busy superior college scholar from Porterville, California, who divides her time taking part in tennis matches, boosting livestock, major clubs and performing local community services.

Princesa says she has been approved to four universities so considerably: California Condition College at Fresno, California Point out University at Chico, California Condition University at Pomona and College of California at Berkeley. Berkeley provided to deal with most of her tuition, she claims, as nicely as invited her to be a Regents’ scholar. Ideal now Princesa hopes to research agriculture and environmental plant sciences in order to develop into a pest management advisor.

In in between operating on higher education applications, she has recently savored touring over and above her town in the San Joaquin Valley. Lately, Princesa stated that “I’m going to be in Sacramento for a conference all 7 days and I’m incredibly energized about that.”

Maytee Guadiana

Major up to her significant university graduation, Maytee Guadiana seemed ahead to going to school, in purchase to keep on learning and to analyze to become a nurse. That was her profession of decision simply because of the options it would give her to enable many others.

But Maytee, who life in San Antonio, also anxious about currently being equipped to finish university. Many years previously, her mother hadn’t been able to find the money for to full her diploma.

In the past calendar year, Maytee enrolled at Texas A&M College at San Antonio and claims she’s keeping focused on university.

Kaiasia Williams

Regardless of her apparent profession targets and tutorial achievement in substantial university, Kaiasia Williams was apprehensive about going to faculty. She wondered no matter whether she could continue to be inspired, avoid procrastinating and stay self-confident in her abilities.

In spring 2021, Kaiasia became the initial individual in her family members to graduate from substantial university. She has since begun college or university at Clemson College, where she’s finding out engineering. “College has me functioning in circles,” she stories.

To assist get her there, Kaiasia gained a $10,000 scholarship reward from a few who also dwell in Charleston, South Carolina, as properly as a $20,000 CMiC-Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship from the Architecture, Development, and Engineering Mentor Plan of The united states.

“The scholarships I gained was more than enough to get me as a result of the doorways,” Kaiasia suggests, “and I am truly grateful.”

Alan Farfan

When Alan Farfan assumed forward to daily life following significant school, he named career steadiness as a huge own priority. And the college student from Austin, Texas, was not confident that a university diploma was the finest way to land a reliable position.

Alan is now a significant faculty junior using some faculty-level courses, like in UX Design. This summer, he strategies to intern at IBM. And according to just one of his teachers, Alan has began functioning at Whataburger, a task he is experiencing.

Freddy Zepeda

As a senior in large college, Chicago university student Freddy Zepeda hoped to appear out of school all set to obtain a occupation that passions him and that aids him construct the very good life that his family envisions.

Immediately after graduating in 2021, he enrolled at the University of Illinois Chicago, where by he is studying earth and environmental science. He claims he has been executing quite nicely there. Many thanks to credits Freddy earned whilst dually enrolled in high university and local community faculty, the university considers him to be a junior, and he has fulfilled numerous of the requirements for his main.

Freddy says he is now focusing on making use of for summertime internships whilst holding up with his coursework.

What can we understand from teenagers?

Grown ups constructing new pathways by means of school or job-education courses need superior insight about the place younger individuals in the end want to end up. That information will come from listening to teens.

“You want to know, for starters, what a youthful person’s do the job interests are, what their work values are, what do they want to get out of operate?” says Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown College Heart on Training and the Workforce.

By listening to these 9 youngsters, EdSurge figured out a number of critical classes. Young people’s brains are wired for passion, goal and experimentation. Even although some of them face major obstacles to achievements immediately after substantial faculty, they are likely to lean far more into their opportunity than into their limitations. They believe in their family members, pals and lecturers to tutorial them. And some youngsters are skeptical about the benefit of faculty, but loads nevertheless see better schooling as the most effective choice for meeting their objectives.

These insights can aid educators, policymakers and businesses greater layout packages for young persons.

“The more engagement and ownership youthful people have in the entire matter,” suggests Allison Gerber, director of work, education and coaching at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “the much more probably it will meet their desires, they’ll want to remain, really feel a perception of belonging, and it will be desirable to them and their peers.”