Three recently graduated alumni, now all attending different colleges near and far, came back to the school on Jan. 10 to give advice to the class of 2023 in a senior assembly.

The graduates included: Chloe Oberle (’22) who is studying at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) to become a surgeon; Nicolaus Henrich (’19) who is a student and linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers; and Efrain Jimenez (’19) who attends Simtech Flight School in New York.

The assembly gave seniors an opportunity to ask questions, learn and get an idea of what the future may hold from the perspective of current college students. They discussed life after high school, the jobs they have and college readiness and preparation.  

“The assembly was pretty insightful and refreshing” senior Caden Coltrane said.

After the alumni opened up about themselves the seniors were given a chance to ask questions. Student questions ranged from “what are college parties like?” to “how do scheduled work in college?”

“It was a very interesting adjustment,” Henrich said about his transition from high school to college. “I would say it was nice to have the personal freedom, but it can be difficult to stay motivated to do the work.” 

Oberle spoke about how the pandemic, injuries and online classes affected her college experience. She originally wanted to go into the military and join the Navy, but due to breaking her knee, she had no other option but to change her goals and plans and leave the academy. She ended up coming back home and enrolling at UNO in pre-med.

“It was hard, but sometimes you need a plan A, B and C,” she said. “Becoming a surgeon was my plan B.” 

With interest from students about online classes, Oberle discussed how online classes make it easier for her to work two part time jobs while she is still in college.  

Getting away from Omaha, but not going too far, Henric spoke about how even moving just under an hour away to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln can be a challenge. 

“Some cons are you have to figure some stuff out because you aren’t living at home anymore,” he said. “Going out ‘into the real world’ can be scary, but it is also very fun and exciting.”

Henrich also was able to discuss what it is like being a college athlete and that being on the football team made it easy to make friends and connect.

“I got to meeting a lot of super amazing people in college, especially being a student athlete and being on a team we have a lot of people from different countries and backgrounds,” Henrich said.

 He said that his athletic responsibilities take up a lot of his time and that he has to balance his time as an athlete, a full-time student and a part time employee at his job and how hard it is to do, but offered advice for students who don’t know exactly what they plan to do yet.

 “You don’t need to have your life figured out at 18,” Henrich said. “If you show up, work every day, and have a good attitude everything will work out just fine,” Henrich said. 

Jimenez was able to offer students a different perspective since he choose to attend an out-of-state college. He travels back and forth from Omaha to New York every other week to fly as as a copilot at the New York airport while still attending Simtech Flight School.

“It was cool to see somebody actually doing some I’m interested in,” senior Tamball Thang said.