WOODBURY — Nonnewaug’s 2025 seniors are on the edge of their seats waiting for responses from applied colleges. The wait, the stress, and all the work put in just to determine what seniors will be pursuing for the next years of their lives. Thinking about life outside of high school could be scary and bring on a bunch of stress or it could be the most relieving thing needed in that very moment.
“I think college is one of the only times you’ll be able to be around thousands of other like-minded individuals, all looking for the same things, all searching for success in their careers,” said senior Liam Sandor. “It’s all about having fun making friends but ensuring you’re independent enough to still focus on getting your degrees.”
Many seniors are ready to start something new and test the waters. Putting in the work and striving for goals can be possible. Everyone will have a different experience when applying to colleges and planning for life outside high school, according to Kathy Green, Nonnewaug’s College and Career Resource Center counselor.
“I think when applying for colleges it involves a lot of self-reflection, and so, to be aware of what interests you, where your strengths are, and the habits you’re creating now, and how those benefits hurt you moving forward,” said Green. “We want our students to land in the best-fit school or the best fit for a post-secondary plan after high school.”
Green spends most of her days helping students through college and starting their journey. She’s the one who seniors rely on most during their senior year. It’s a time when seniors stress about deadlines and wait for responses from post-secondary options or colleges to which they may have applied.
Since Nonnewaug is known for its agriculture program, most students choose trades instead of post-secondary schools or colleges. But is that still making them want to reach out for help?
“Students have been super excited about reaching out for college help. It’s been awesome,” said Green. “At the moment, we have about 65% of our students have applied to their post-secondary education and all of those at this point are four-year or two-year schools, and I am well aware that some students are instead heading to trade school or heading straight into work.”
Seniors appreciate Green and her way of helping them through some of the stressful times of their lives.
“I would say Mrs. Green has been super helpful,” said senior, Grace Schmidheini. “For me, it was all a mental game and she helped me work through the college process without being so nervous about everything. She was very good with emotional support and she guided me through it and reassured me that everything was going to be okay and provided me with all the information I need to succeed.”
Being prepared for college takes a lot more effort than most think when they first start the planning process and get logged into the Common App. It takes a lot of thinking about yourself and boosting your self-confidence throughout the process.
“I think the biggest thing when applying for colleges is making sure you sell yourself,” said Sandor. “It’s easy to think that you are a qualified candidate, but it’s tough to portray. All of your attributes over these papers are tough to highlight what you think about yourself.”
Expressing yourself and expressing how you want to pursue the next years after high school. Each senior at Nonnewaug High School may have different career paths then each other. Some students have been wanting to be what they desire since they were little and some decided to take a path that they are very passionate about.
“I’m hoping to pursue mechanical engineering, and then hopefully take that degree to an environmental field,” said Sandor. “I did mechanical engineering because I like the idea of working with my hands and it’s a pretty broad degree. I can take my knowledge of mechanical engineering into the environmental field.”
Sandor wants to pursue mechanical engineering as he is currently in Nonnewaug’s agricultural mechanics department. Sandor is enthralled with hands-on work and being able to put his skills to work. Some other seniors have different plans.
“I think my college applications match up with the specific things I’m looking for. I went for my religion-based colleges because that is very important to me,” said Schmidheini. “I don’t want a big school because I find I don’t work well in huge groups of people.”
Schmidheini has a different plan for heading to a religion-based college and plans on going all the way through. She’s going to a school she’s very passionate about. It’s important to her on an everyday basis. Everyone has a different outlook on their future and that is okay. Nonnewaug High School wants all of its students to succeed in life.
“We are at a good point at this time of the year, because I do know that some students still plan to apply to community college, as well,” said Green.
