All eyes on the future

By Eric Bradshaw, staff writer
The Sun

May 14, 2008 02:47 pm

— The fourth year of high school can be tense for students whose eyes are constantly fixed on post-high school concerns.
Seniors meet with their counselors and talk about what they want to do with their lives. They talk to their parents about living on their own and, more than likely, get more than one lecture on fiscal responsibility.
Very few, if any, have zero plans post-graduation.
“I don’t know what school I’m going to, but I know everything else. Beat that,” Kayla Hill challenged a fellow Midwest City High senior Tuesday.
Hill and five other Mid-Del seniors said they felt very prepared for the college classes, sports and jobs they will soon be taking part in.

Psychology on the brain
Austin Taylor was not ready to start his senior year at a new high school.
So when his family moved from Del City to Norman, he opted to commute 35 minutes and graduate from Del City High School.
“I just decided I couldn’t leave my senior year,” Taylor said.
But the move did place his parents closer to where he will be attending school — the University of Oklahoma.
Tristan Torres, another Del City senior, will be attending the University of Central Oklahoma.
Both share a desire, instilled by their high school teachers, to pursue interests in psychology.
For Torres, psychology is a certainty in his future. He plans to double major in psychology and business and go on to complete a master’s and doctorate degree at OU.
“I’m not sure what area I’m going into in psychology. Not counseling, hopefully research or something like that,” he said.
Torres said he’s always had an interest in social sciences, but has learned a lot in his AP Psychology class under the tutelage of Lea Harlo. One thing he learned was about conflicting theories of what came first — the cognitive or physiological expression of an emotion. Torres has his own theory.
“I say that it’s at the same time.”
Taylor’s primary focus is to get a job that will allow him to travel, which is leading him to major in French. But he may take on a second major in psychology after studying it under teacher Tracy Rotroch.
“I thought it was very interesting. It’s a lot deeper than I thought it would be,” Taylor said. “You can take it as you want to and apply it to a lot of areas in your life.”
He also credits French teacher Linda Bahan for preparing him for a future career overseas. With her help, Taylor is already quite fluent in French and served as a translator for a school trip to Europe.
Both Torres and Taylor will be working while in college — Taylor at a Starbucks in Norman and Torres at Texas Road House and as an Tae Kwon Do instructor.

College has nothing on Cahill
Midwest City High School seniors Kayla Hill and Danny Brownlow have both learned first-hand of math teacher Cathy Cahill’s fearsome reputation.
“Her class was the hardest class I’ve ever taken at Midwest City High School,” Hill said. “You’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, I can’t handle this,’ but you’re really learning something.”
Hill said she took a course at Rose State College and considered it a “breeze” compared to Cahill’s class.
Both also have respect for Stephanie Bailey, who teaches a similarly difficult AP Biology class.
Hill, who wants to become an engineer, has been accepted to several out-of-state colleges such as Missouri State College. Because of their distance, she is waiting until the summer to visit their campuses before deciding. Hill will continue to play volleyball at the college level.
Brownlow is having a harder time deciding what he wants to study but knows what college he will attend — Oklahoma State University.
“They do have nice dorms. They have really good food, too,” he said.
Brownlow is currently leaning towards biochemistry, which he studied through two special programs for high school students at OSU and Oklahoma City Community College.

Future teacher, doctor to stay in Oklahoma
Jessica Wilson, a Carl Albert High School senior, may return to the Mid-Del school district as a teacher.
Wilson will be studying early childhood education at the University of Central Oklahoma. She was turned on to that particular career field by a “teacher cadet” program at Carl Albert which allowed her to learn about teaching under the watchful eyes of Soldier Creek Elementary School teachers Mary Clark and Sandy Campbell and Carl Albert High School teacher Carole Rains.
“I want to have a job where I enjoy going to work every day,” she said.
Wilson said that if the Mid-Del district would have her, she would come back to teach after she completes her bachelor’s degree, and, maybe even a master’s.
Samantha Bachman is also looking for a fulfilling career.
“I’ll do anything that will having a lasting effect (on a person’s life),” Bachman said.
To this end, the Carl Albert senior wants to become a doctor and will study at OU. She said that she may specialize in either reconstructive surgery or oncology.
Bachman’s interest in reconstructive surgery comes from what she’s learned from a family friend who works on the victims of car accidents.
“It’s just amazing how that (reconstructive surgery) can change a person’s life,” she said.
Bachman, star pitcher for the Carl Albert softball team, will be staying at the athletic dorms with a room to herself at OU. Five other softball players from Carl Albert will stay at the same athletic dorm, which Bachman is looking forward to.
Bachman said she might try her hand at pitching lessons as a college job. Wilson, who will be interning with her church’s children’s minister over the summer, is not sure what work she will do while in college but expects that it will involve children.

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