As the end of the semester is upon us, many students are just closing in on the halfway mark of the school year. While most of the senior class realizes that their final year is nearly half empty, some seniors are getting to graduate next week.

Grant Gottschalk, senior, is one of those students, and he had very good intentions for graduating early.

“Graduating early will break the bondage of high school and unveil opportunities of the world beyond the sheltered high school classroom,” Gottschalk said.

Gottschalk is enrolled at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) next semester, and plans to continue his education there for another year. In addition, Nick Oakley, senior, is graduating early in order to get into the work force immediately.

“I just wanted to get on with my life so I can work full time,” Oakley said.

Oakley hopes to raise enough money to go to college. He is hoping to become a famous photographer after attending college.

In order to graduate early, students must write a letter to Dr. McLean. If he gives the student permission, all they have to do is get a signature from a parent and their counselor.

Students also had to get enough credits in order to graduate.

“All I had to do was attend night/summer school in order to get credit for English 12,” Oakley said.

There are positives and negatives of graduating early. The biggest plus, according to Gottschalk, is getting out of school early. Though this may be found as a good thing for many, it could also be found as a minus.

“The only negative, in my perspective, to graduating early is not being with your friends throughout all of their year,” Gottschalk said.

Even with many pros and cons of graduating early, these students have no doubts that they’re making the right decision.

“I’m all for it,” Oakley said.

Photo by Ryan Lansdon