As graduation approaches, many St. Charles High School seniors have made decisions about their post-secondary education. Some students plan to pursue higher education at institutions as far away as Hawaii, while others will attend schools as close as St. Charles Community College or the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 

Senior Lauren Miller will be attending Chaminade University of Honolulu. She can not wait to go live by the beach and continue her education about sociology.

 “I can not wait to gain more knowledge about sociology and the brain. I am also very excited to be around the beach and look at the scenery,” said Miller. 

Senior Joey Jackson will be caring for her academics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She wanted to go because they have an amazing nursing program and she wanted to stay close to home. 

“I wanted to become a nurse because I love to help people,” said Jackson. 

Guidance Counselor Sarah Scaturro believes that there are many advantages to both staying home and going away for school.

“The advantage to going away is new experiences. Many of our student population has spent their whole life in the St. Charles area, so it gives them an opportunity to meet new people as well,” said Scaturro about students going away.

But there are also a lot of advantages to staying home. 

“Many times students think that they want to go far away, but they then realize that they won’t know anybody and for some it’s hard to be successful without support.” 

This is true for Jackson. 

“Being far away from my family would be hard on me,” said Jackson. 

But Miller is ready to go away for college. 

“I think that I will handle being away from home very well, because every time I get sad or anxious I will just go to the beach,” said Miller.