Seniors Rep Their Next Step
The Class of 2023 wore their “Next Step” gear during senior week in June. Excited for life after graduation, seniors flooded the school with sweatshirts and tshirts dedicated to colleges, military academies, and other post-high school graduation plans.
Senior Patrice Pascual ’23 sees the day as a celebration and a glimpse into the future. “We all made it at this point,” the future Montclair State University student said, “It’s fun to look into the next chapter in my life.” Matthew Mulato ’23, bound for Rutgers University, observed, “It’s important to show pride and represent where you’re going to spend the next four years of your life.” For Noah Marcovich ’23, the opportunity to wear his next step was important because “It’s nice to show some representation. I’m proud of my choice to go to Binghamton University…. [Wearing this shirt] also opens [BU] as a an option for future seniors.”
For other seniors, representing your future school provides a well-deserved sense of accomplishment. Nick Dragolovich ’23, bound for NYU, says it was important for him to wear his next step “to inspire others and show them what they can achieve through hard work in high school. I also wanted to show pride in my own achievements.” Gracie Lenosky-Straub ’23 sees this as an opportunity to reflect as well as celebrate, “I had a difficult high school experience, and in spite of that, I still made it into college. And I’m excited to see where everyone is going.”
Seniors Yechan Lee ’23 and Ethan Coskay ’23 had a plan, but the execution didn’t quite work out. “I wore Princeton socks that Yechan gave me,” Ethan said, “but he forgot to wear the Cornell socks I got him.”
The faculty was also excited to see where all of the students were heading next year.
English teacher Miss Thorpe describes “Wear Your Next Step” Day as “a fun tradition for seniors. It allows them to celebrate their future plans with their peers and teachers and prepare to enter the real world.”
“We have kids going in every direction this year,” says school counselor Ms. Wilson, “[the] military, 2 year schools, 4 year schools, trade school, [the] work force, [and] gap years.”
For history teacher Ms. Kelty, this day is important because it allows students to “recogniz[e] how all their hard work has paid off.”
Math teacher Mr. Vanderteems pointed out that your next step “doesn’t have to be just a college shirt… It is possible to have success without going to college.” Students should take pride in all of the hard work they have put in regardless of where they end up next year.”
“This day marks the beginning of the end,” says Ms. Millar, “Seniors are counting down their last days of being a Leonia student. Next year, everything will be brand new and I hope they are ready to embrace the drastic change.”
The last fourteen years of school are behind the senior class. The school community wishes them well as they take their first steps into adulthood. Congratulations to the class of 2023!
The Class of 2023 is bound for…
- American University
- Amherst College
- Bergen Community College
- Binghamton University
- Boston College
- Brown University
- Chapman University
- Coastal Carolina University
- Columbia University
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- University of Connecticut
- Cornell University
- University of Delaware
- Dominican University
- Emory & Henry College
- Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Felician University
- Fordham University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Louisiana State University
- University of Louisville
- Loyola Marymount University
- Marist College
- University of Massachusetts
- University of Miami
- Montclair State University
- Moravian College
- Muhlenberg College
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- The College of New Jersey
- New York Institute of Technology
- New York University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Pratt Institute
- Princeton University
- Quinnipiac University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rochester University
- Rutgers University
- Sacred Heart University
- St. Vincent College
- School of Visual Arts
- Seton Hall University
- University of Texas
- Tufts University
- United States Naval Academy
- University of Vermont
- William Paterson University
