What happens after graduation?
The majority of the time you are never going to see or hear from most of the graduating class ever again, unless, of course, you are friends or family.
This is why it is so important to stay caught up with alumni. Life does not end after high school, and on the contrary, many say it is better once you graduate and leave your hometown behind. So, it is time to talk to some of the members of the Montoursville Class of 2024 and see what they have been up to!
Zavien Allen
Allen was extremely well known not just in the school, but throughout the town, for being on the football team as well as his role in the marching/concert band in percussion.
So, it will come as a surprise to no one that he is continuing with his percussion career at college.
“I attend IUP and I major in Geology,” said Allen. “I participate in marching band and it’s taught me how to work as a team with people I’ve never met.”
Allen said that his favorite part of participating in The Legend Marching Band at IUP is that he has met some of his best friends and he gets to continue what he loves doing.
Doing a sport or an extra activity like band while you are in college can be very stressful. It can be a lot to manage since you already have enough on your plate as it is without the extra commitments.
Setting goals to maximize your time and to be proud of yourself when you accomplish them can be an absolute game-changer for anyone who has a lot going on.
“My goal this semester is to get out of my shell and talk to new people and so far it’s going really well,” said Allen.
Getting out of your comfort zone can also be a tough thing when it comes to basically starting over away from home. Along with that, heavy emotions like fear, sadness, and confusion often weigh down recent high school graduates.
However, luckily it was not that way for Allen.
“I wasn’t sad to graduate because there’s more to life than the four walls of MAHS,” Allen said. “However I was a little nervous because I knew my life would change in unimaginable ways.”
Ericka Shaffer
Ericka is a former cheerleader from MAHS. She currently is attending Lycoming College and is hoping to major in environmental science.
Shaffer was one of many who said she was feeling all of the feelings during her graduation this past summer. But, she had some inspirational advice too.
“Graduation is sad but you have to look at what you have in store for the future,” Shaffer said.
It seems like leaving behind all your friends and family at home might be the end of the world, but it can end up being fun to get to know new groups of people.
“My favorite part about college is meeting people from all over the world and getting to know about how they do things from where they are from,” Shaffer said.
Carlie Bryant
If someone says they go to college in Pennsylvania, most minds immediately think of Penn State, and that is exactly where Carlie Bryant, former Montoursville soccer player and star student, is currently attending.
“I am majoring in Elementary Education,” said Bryant. “I am currently involved with ski club and at the moment rushing a sorority. My ski club just took a trip to Vermont and it was a great bonding experience with my friends.”
College is not college without the parties, sports, and tailgates, and that certainly goes for Penn State.
“My favorite part of college so far will have to be the tailgates and football games, having all your friends get together with amazing food and energy is my all-time favorite thing,” Bryant said. “If you’ve never been to a Penn State football game just know that the energy is unmatched.”
Something unique that Bryant shared is that she still sees some of her close friends from home since a lot of them attend PSU together.
“Another favorite thing is all the friends that I have met, I feel like I was able to meet a solid group of friends while still having my hometown best friends with me,” Bryant said.
Even while knowing that some of her childhood friends would still be with her, Bryant could not help but feel a lot of different ways about graduating from MAHS.
“I had a mixture of both [happy and sad] when it came to graduating, I was super happy for my next journey at Penn State and all the opportunities that it was going to give me,” Bryant said. “High school wasn’t particularly my favorite time and now that I am in college, I am even happier that I was able to leave high school because it is better here.”
And of course, Bryant has continued with her outstanding academic performance, as well as setting herself goals and working to achieve them.
“Goals that I set for this year were to get good grades and maintain a good GPA which currently I am surprisingly achieving,” said Bryant. “Another goal was to just have an amazing time and to soak up every memory of freshman year which I have achieved and I am having an absolute blast here.”
Remember, goals when you are in college do not always have to revolve around your schoolwork. Fun can still exist, and Bryant made sure to set one of her own non-academic goals.
“One I still have on my list is to make it onto the screen at a football game or any sporting event,” Bryant said.
Chase Snyder
Chase Snyder, or “Snydo” as he was known in the world of Montoursville High School, is attending Marywood University in Dunmore, PA.
“[I am] majoring in Aviation Management,” said Snyder. “I am in the aviation club.”
Snyder is working hard to set up his future, and he is currently working on, getting his private pilot’s license.
While talking about his studies and experience so far at Marywood, Snyder said, “My favorite part is meeting people from different places and backgrounds.”
The good news for Snyder is that Marywood is not far away from home. So he always has the option of seeing family and just having the comfort of knowing that his childhood house is within only a two-hour drive.
However, he was not that emotional to start a new chapter anyway, when it came to leaving for college.
“I was not upset, I was excited and still am excited about the future,” said Snyder.
Featured photo (at top): The Class of 2024 awaits their graduation ceremony. They watched as their upperclassmen friends graduated the year prior, and now it was their turn. Photo from MASD Facebook.
Socials