As the class of 2018 gears up for their last year of high school, they have a lot of emotions and opinions about what the last four years — and the next four years after that — will bring. Solon High School seniors are on the brink of making some of the biggest decisions of their lives, and for many students, it feels as if this moment came sooner than they anticipated.

For certain seniors, the last three years of high school went by in the blink of an eye, and senior year will be no different. Seven seniors: Gabrielle Sudilovsky, Geoffery Gao, Jack Miller, Kuljit Kaur, Jeremiah West, Derek Walton, and Pranav Iyer, were asked to testify to the Solon High School Courier, regarding their thoughts on their years at SHS.

1. What would you like to accomplish before you graduate?

Gabrielle: I just want to keep trying my best through this last year and obviously to do well in all my classes as well as keep focusing on my extracurriculars. Many seniors get senioritis, but I just want to finish strong and continue with what I’ve been doing.

Jack: Out of all the activities and extracurriculars I’ve done in high school, sports have been most important and impactful for me. Before I graduate, I just want to successfully complete this sports season for myself and Solon High School.

2. What are some of your favorite memories from your past four years at SHS?

Geofferey: Although I don’t think I have any specific favorite memories at SHS, I will say that I loved being immersed to friends in the classroom and also having the opportunities presented by the various clubs throughout the school. There are so many options for extracurriculars here at SHS, you can basically get involved in anything you have an interest in.

Jeremiah: My favorite memories include going to football games to show our support for the SHS team, going to all four homecoming dances, and I know this isn’t a memory yet, but I know I’ll love going to prom.

3. What are your plans for the future?

Geoffery: In college, I would like to obtain a major in business, or history, and for my future I would like to work in law, or investment management.

Kuljit: I want to be a crime scene investigator, and I when I found out that [SHS] was offering a Forensics class, I was so happy. I jumped at the chance to take that class, and promised myself that I would do well.

4. Is there anyone over the last four years that has always been there for you?

Kujit: Someone that has been with me over the years is my guidance counselor Mrs. Trocchio, I have had so many issues over the past three years, and it’s just nice to know that I can talk to an adult that I have known throughout the four years because you can really grow a bond with your guidance counselor. She’s there to help me not only with grades and college, but also relationship troubles and emotional stress.

Jeremiah:  I would like to say Mrs. Maslo really helped me because I wasn’t the best student, and lost my focus in class. Mrs. Maslo, as well as Mrs. Locke and Mr. Jones, really helped me regain my focus. They reinspired me and kept me going  throughout these four years.

5. What is some advice for underclassmen?

Pranav: The most important thing is to understand how much you can accomplish with the time you have, and also not overdoing anything, have a healthy schedule, make sure you have time to hang out with friends, and destress.

Gabrielle: First of all, do the homework, because it will help in the long stretch. Use an agenda book, it will help you organize, use online resources, it always helped me study before a test,  also go to teachers for help if you don’t understand something, or even talk to your old teachers about it, finally relax. It will be okay.

7. What was your favorite year of high school and why?

Pranav: I had a lot of fun sophomore year because my brother was a senior then, so all his friends were my friends, and we basically did all our activities together, this year’s been pretty fun as well.

Derek: My favorite year of highschool was junior year, because I exceeded my own expectations for myself academically. I also met my best friend, I  got nominated for a dazzle award for Drama Club that year, and I got to spend time with people I never met before.

8. How has senior year been so far, with applying to colleges? Do you have any advice for juniors?

Derek: Start your college essay in the summer because if you start during the year you will definitely feel behind. I would also recommend to start thinking about the colleges  that you would like to go to relatively early, and I would also suggest a wide variety of schools. For example, two reach schools, and two safety schools.

Jack: Be prepared with all your assignments, and even though I haven’t started the process yet, you really should start very early in the year.

9. Overall thoughts on SHS?

Kuljit: It’s an awesome environment there’s so much diversity in Solon, and I think it makes us more open, as well as prepares us for what the real world will look like. I love that we can all interact with each other whether we’re rich, poor, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. The teachers are also really helpful and passionate about teaching and inspiring kids.

Gabrielle: I think that it’s a really good school, but the main problem is competition among teens, especially in the circles I’m in. A lot of people just do stuff for the resume, or take the class because everyone else is, and that’s a problem that I wish I didn’t see as much.  But we have so many different classes and teachers. Our school has so many different opportunities like singing, or acting or chess. So get involved and don’t be afraid to be different.