By: Chloe Heller –
Emily Cole: “Memories”
Although Emily Cole is going to be staying in Lincoln at UNL for college, she still has lots to do this summer. “I am going to Arizona to compete in an educators rising competition. It’s fairly new to Nebraska, but basically it’s a place for future teachers. We go and have breakout sessions [and] I am going to compete in impromptu teaching so I [will] make up a lesson and present it,” she says. “I’m pretty excited for college. The only thing I’m nervous about is just all the money that’s going to come up and how I’m going to handle all that. Other than that I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Seth Calafiore: “One I will never forget”
Seth Calafiore is excited to be attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee next fall and knows that this move will be a major turning point in his life as he packs up and moves away from everything he has known. “I’ll be moving far away from home and it’s just a big change in environment and the people I will be around.” But the optimistic senior is ready to take on any challenge moving out of the state happens to bring. “I feel good about it. To some people I’ve talked to, they just think college is [going to be] scary, even going to UNL here in town, but it’s exciting to me. Especially since I get to go far away, too. It creates that sense of independence.”
Mia Draus: “Exciting and productive”
Mia Draus is also planning to attend UNL and faces the unknown with equal parts enthusiasm and unease. “I’m excited, [but] I’m not sure exactly what to expect. I know some stuff since I am staying in Lincoln, but it will be a new experience.” Since Draus is still unsure about exactly what to study, she says she has a lot to do, “[Over the summer I will] Research careers and get an idea of what I want to do, and get ready to move into the dorms.” Over the summer she will also be going to a church camp with the sixth graders she leads, hanging out with friends a lot, and traveling for her little brother’s baseball games.
Armon Azimi: “Encouragement”
Future Nebraska Wesleyan attendee Armon Azimi is aware of the difficulties he might face when he moves out of his house to live independent of his parents and knows that it will be a challenging transition “[I’m] trying to get used to [the idea that], ‘You’re going to move out and you’re going to be on your own forever.’ It cannot be that much fun. It can’t be as fun as all the other summers have been because you’ve just been doing whatever you want. This is a little different because you’re trying to get ready for college and you’re trying to prepare [yourself] with what you need and all of the stuff with your tuition. It’s a struggle but you’ll eventually get through it.” Azimi wants all the encouragement he can get, especially when leaving his friends. “I [feel] pretty excited for the most part, the only part I’m really not looking forward to is missing my friends because a lot of them are planning on going across the country and to different schools; it will just be really sad to say goodbye.”
