With the school year coming to an end, the Class of 2024 is preparing for what’s to come after graduation.
While many Cal High seniors plan to attend a four year college or a two year community college, a small minority have other plans in mind that deviate from the norm.
Seniors Ellie Cardoza, Maria Oetinger and Anjali Ahuja are among those students.
Cardoza is enlisted in the United States Navy and always considered this as an option for her. But it wasn’t until last September that she decided to enlist.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind, but I thought I would never do it,” Cardoza said. “But this year…I went to a recruiter and finally decided to go through with it.”
After enlisting she started her process of recruitment which begins with taking a medical exam in San Jose called MEPS, or the Military Entrance Processing Station.
“I had to do hearing tests, sight tests, a couple of physical tests as well,” Cardoza said. “If you pass [the examinations] your recruiter will give you all the paperwork that you need to fill out.”
In August, Cardoza will head to Great Lakes, Ill. for boot camp for two and a half months. During boot camp she will go through training before heading to schooling for another two and a half months in San Antonio to become a Master-at-Arms.
“[A Master-at-Arms] is pretty much the military police,” Cardoza said.
Once her schooling is complete, Cardoza said she will return home for two weeks and then will be deployed. Cardoza said she does not know where she will be deployed.
Cardoza had great grandparents in the Navy who inspired her to join, but her main reason for enlisting was to have a better future for herself. She hopes to become a teacher after her time in the Navy.
Joining the Navy isn’t the only uncommon plan for seniors.
Oetinger will be heading to Madrid, Spain in August to be an au pair for a family of four. An au pair is someone who travels overseas and is in charge of taking care of the children of their host family. Unlike a nanny, who is an employee, an au pair is integrated into the family.
Other than taking care of her host’s children, Oetinger plans to continue her education online and also attend the University of Madrid.
“I’m still going to [take] classes through DVC and then I’ll also be attending the University of Madrid for my visa,” Oetinger said.
Oetinger didn’t just want to travel to Spain for the experience of being abroad but also to gain experience for her future career. She aspires to become an immigration lawyer.
But most of all, Oetinger and her family felt that it was crucial for her to take a year abroad to gain more experience and exposure to the world outside of the United States.
Oetinger, who is Mexican, said it is quite normal for students in Mexico to study in a different country. She said this factored into her decision to go abroad.
“[In Mexico] it’s very normalized to study abroad,” Oetinger said. “So [my mother] was like, ‘Maria why don’t you go on and travel?’¨
For her and her family, it felt like the perfect time to go see the world before Oetinger has to really focus on her education and future career.
Although it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become an au pair in Spain, Oetinger admitted that she is nervous about starting her job with little experience.
“The family that I am going to has an au pair now and she is 24,” Oetinger said. “So I don’t know what [the host family] expects [from me].”
Despite Oetinger’s concern, she said she is fortunate to have this unique experience and can’t wait to travel.
“I’m excited to see the world in a different way and in a different perspective,” Oetinger said.
Oetinger isn’t the only senior who plans to spend some time abroad.
Ahuja will be attending her first semester at Northeastern University in Greece.
Ahuja never really planned to go abroad right after graduating high school. But during her application process for Northeastern, she accidentally signed up for her first semester abroad.
“When I initially applied in November, I had said that I wanted to study abroad,” said Ahuja. “I didn’t really read it that well and it didn’t explicitly say it would be your first semester.”
Later, when the realization of what she possibly committed to hit her, Ahuja didn’t think much of it since Northeastern has a 6.8 percent acceptance rate and she never expected to get in to the school.
In January, Ahuja was accepted into Northeastern’s abroad program in Greece.
“I don’t have acceptance into the school unless I go abroad, so I will be going to Greece at the American College of Thessaloniki,” Ahuja said.
Although Ahuja was on the fence about going abroad for her first semester of college, she said academically it was the best choice for her. She also admitted that Northeastern was her only option other than her safety school, so the choice was essentially made for her.
While Ahuja attends school in Greece, she is fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule that allows her to travel and explore in her free time.
“I really just want to travel a bunch and just kind of see everything,” Ahuja said.
Of course the travel opportunities are a huge plus, but Ahuja also is excited to be able to meet local students who attend the college.
“I think that it will be fun to interact with Greek students and see the mix of Greek and American students,” Ahuja said.
While this is a great opportunity for Ahuja, she also acknowledges how far she will be from home and how this was not the college experience she ever expected.
“It’s just far,” Ahuja said. “It wasn’t the approach that I thought I was going to do.”
Ahuja still plans to turn this rare college opportunity into an unforgettable life experience.
News editor Asiyah Ally contributed to this story.
