May 26, 2023, marks the official exit of the class of 2023 from Santa Fe High School. This marks a new beginning for these soon-to-be graduates, but what exactly are these students planning to do with that blank slate?

The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, is the plan for Antonio Urioste. He stated that he wants to complete four years and get a bachelor’s of science in nursing so he can achieve his dream job of becoming a traveling nurse with his friend Jeramiah.

Along with the B.S. in nursing, Tony is planning to join a fraternity, though he has not yet decided which one, and take a weight training extracurricular class.

¨Even though I have everything planned and laid out for me, I can’t help but worry about all the work that’s coming my way to accomplish getting a bachelor’s,¨ Antonio said while biting his nails.

Antonio expresses that even though he is sad about the possibility of never seeing some of his friends again after high school, he is excited to move on to the next chapter. He’s not worried about losing all that high school brought to him because he thinks that college is going to be “high school times 10.”

Antonio goes on to say that the majority of his friends are planning to go to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and that he is probably going to bump into them again. He deeply considered both NMSU and UNM, but he thought that NMSU was more of a party school, and he would rather focus more on his education than be out partying all the time.

Jan-Carlo Contreras, on the other hand, wants to go to NMSU to get a bachelor’s degree in science and mechanical engineering. Along with this, he plans to take business management classes to start his own mechanic shop. He plans to name his shop “Yanny´s” because of his childhood nickname, Yanny.

Jan-Carlo expressed that he’s not entirely looking forward to college, saying, “Honestly, I’m sad about going to college because my closest friends are all going to UNM, but I know that deep down, NMSU is just the perfect school for me. And I also know that I am going to be homesick and miss my family, struggling with not being able to see them.¨

High school will leave an everlasting mark on Jan-Carlo´s life. He explained that high school changed him into the person that he always wanted to be, and that all the memories he is going to make won’t be the same without the original people that he hangs out with now. No matter what, he wants to keep in touch with his friends Antonio, Anthony, and Jeramiah.

Not just seniors are affected by the seniors moving on from high school; everyone is affected by it, like family and the lowerclassmen. One of these is Cruz Graham, a sophomore at Santa Fe High. Cruz expresses deep pride in all of his friends who are going to graduate but also sadness that they will be gone during his next two years of high school. ¨All, and I mean ALL, of my friends are seniors,” Cruz said. “Other than my senior friends, I don’t have many people that I can truly call my friends.¨

Cruz expresses that things are never going to be the same again without the class of 2023. He goes on to say that there are rarely any kids like them at school, and it is going to be way different without them.

After Cruz graduates in two years, he says he is going to go straight to wherever his friends are so he can make more memories and go back to how things are now.

With the last two weeks of school, reality is setting in for everyone, sparking many different types of emotions, some good and others bad.

Jan-Carlo’s advice and last words were, “Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good and hope that you’ll end up just fine. With this year coming to an end, I have regrets about either what I did or didn’t do, but no doubt high school will be the reason I am who I am. Good luck, have fun, and party!¨