For most NA students, summer vacation is a period between two school years. They look forward to the carefree months of ice cream, pools, and no homework ahead of them. For seniors though, the close of this year means something significantly different. 

After twelve years of education from North Allegheny, it is time for seniors to permanently vacate NASH’s halls. Whether they seek more education, enlistment, or something else entirely, it is officially a new era. 

Senior Ana Key is excited about going somewhere different and meeting new people, even though she has not officially committed to a school.

“I’m most excited about heading to a brand new place, making memories with complete strangers that will eventually become my life-long friends, and hopefully getting a nice education in the process,” Key said. 

Senior Rohan Puri is ready to start on his pre-med path at the University of Michigan.

“I am most excited for my freshman year of college,” he said. “I am excited to meet so many new people and to achieve great things in my pre-med major. I am also definitely looking forward to participating in musicals and shows at UMich and hopefully also major in vocal performance.”

Senior Alli Arend is also ready to make a difference by helping others with her major at Robert Morris University.

“I am excited to go into nursing to help others and to put a smile on their faces,” she said.

Senior Thomas Tyndall is excited to have the time to finally work on the things important to him at Point Park University.

“I am looking forward to some more time to do what I actually want, such as creative projects,” he said, “whether that’s music, writing, making a short film, or working on myself as a person.”

Like many others, senior Meg Patterson is excited to move away from home and experience a different environment at the University of Minnesota.

“I can’t wait to branch out, meet new people, and live in an unfamiliar place,” Patterson said. “Don’t get me wrong—I love my life now, but it is so exciting to think about basically starting a new one.”

With having an early wake-up time for the past four years, senior John Catanzaro is ready to have more control over his schedule at the University of Pittsburgh.

“In the future, I am excited to be living by myself and sleeping in more,” Catanzaro said.

Wherever people go, they will end up in a new situation than before.

“Overall, I can’t wait for a fresh, new experience, and I hope the same for everyone else as well,” Puri said. 

In just a couple of months, NASH’s seniors will officially graduate, and they will no longer be high school students. While some might stay close or some might go far, everybody will enter a new stage of their lives.

The current seniors will become graduates, and it will be time for the rising juniors to fill their shoes.  But, hopefully, everybody will be able to enjoy one last summer together before that happens.