Seniors Going Places Seniors Going Places

Seniors taking unconventional paths after high school share their postgraduate plans

KATELYN WU, STAFF WRITER

KRYSTAL WU, NEWS EDITOR

NATALIE DAMER-SALAS, STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS: BANEE CHADHA, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

DESIGN: ANYA BISWAS, STAFF WRITER & ELIZABETH LEFFEW, STAFF WRITER

GGoing into his final year of high school, senior Jamin Poczontek questioned what to do after he graduates from high school. After going back and forth, he decided to take a gap year to recollect and focus on himself.

“I want to take some time to myself, and I don’t think I’m ready to go to college,” Poczontek said.

To Poczontek, school is a place he can go to meet new friends, hang out, and form bonds with teachers. His best friend, senior Tri Cao, met Poczontek in their freshman year at Northview. The two bonded over their love for video games and a similar sense of humor.

“He changed my life by being my first friend at Northview,” Cao said. “He has always been my number one and only supportive friend.”

Since freshman year, Poczontek and Cao have been inseparable. Despite not having classes together this year, the two find time to hang out. When Poczontek and Cao are not playing video games, they bond over meals that Cao cooks.

“He’s a funny guy. He’s chill and maybe sometimes a little bit silly,” Cao said. “[Our friendship is] kind of like a mutual relationship between us. [Sometimes,] I cook a meal for him, and he loves it, but I’m still waiting for him to cook for me.”

However, after graduating from high school, the two will take separate paths for their futures. Cao will head to college in the fall, but Poczontek will spend the next year of his life balancing work, swim, and self-reflection. However, his plans for the future do not stop there.

Poczontek plans to join the summer swim league he participates in every summer, but he hopes to find a year-round swim team to join as well. Swim holds a special place in his heart, from the friendships formed to the excitement of competition.

“During junior year, I got hurt in the middle of the [swim] tryout, and I didn’t expect him to care about it,” Orelia Thottam, a friend of Poczontek’s, said. “But, he actually was worried, and he texted me later and asked me if I was fine.”

Combined with his easygoing attitude, Poczontek believes his character improved as a teacher’s assistant for the special needs students at Northview through the program called Mentorship.

“The fact that it’s my last period just helps me relieve all my stress, simply by being in the class. It’s just so much fun,” Poczontek said.

As a teacher’s assistant for the Mentorship program, Poczontek goes on field trips with the class, and he believes he has changed into a more patient and understanding person that can de-stress and bond with these children.

“We went bowling, and when one of the kids got a strike, it was such a cool moment,” Poczontek said. “We also went to the Special Olympics recently where [the students] went around and participated in different activities.”

After spending time at school with special needs students, Poczontek returns home to take care of his 8-year-old autistic brother. During his gap year, he plans to continue helping students with special needs by spending time with his brother and finding new community opportunities to be involved in.

“He doesn’t let things trouble him easily, and he’s very open-minded,” Thottam said. “He has an idea of what he wants to do because of how seriously he takes his future.”