After high school, there is a wide variety of available choices that graduates can make, whether it’s college or joining the workforce, choices can seem endless. Holland Luedtke (12) has already made her decision to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa this upcoming fall.

“I’ve just been saying that I have been wanting to go to Hawaii for college for, like, four or five years,” Luedtke said.

Luedtke explained that Hawaii and Colorado are sister states, so in-state tuition is available for those who apply to Hawaii. It was an opportunity that she did not want to let pass, especially for a chance at a tropical experience.

Luedtke explained, “I’m definitely wanting to go to Hawaii more for the environment, not really necessarily for the school, it’s kinda like I’m taking the opportunity to go to this school to be in Hawaii, not really for the programs there, but I have heard that the programs are good.” 

As Luedtke has been making these important decisions, her peers and teachers have supported her and are proud of her for all she’s achieved in these past four years.

“I’m just gonna miss her a lot. She’s an amazing lady, she has done well for herself,” special education teacher Rebecca Jardine said. 

Jardine has been Luedtke’s advisory teacher throughout her high school experience; because of this, she has helped Luedtke achieve a clearly paved path for her years after high school.

Luedtke applied to several other colleges, as many do, so that if one school didn’t work out, she could rely on a fallback school. 

“I looked at CSU as well, because my brother goes there, and, like, I’ve been to, like, some of his concerts and the games, and stuff like that, and it’s a cool environment,” Leudtke said.

Which college a student decides to attend is just the start of the long journey into the next chapter of someone’s life. Next, is what they will major in, as well as where they see themselves in later years. 

Luedtke, who is the editor-in-chief of the yearbook, thinks she may do “something with hospitality or tourism, maybe even, like, journalism.” 

She went further into explaining that while she does not know where she sees after college, she at least knew that her major, at least for the time being, is travel industry management.

“It’s just kinda like hospitality and tourism, kind of, and I am kinda just gonna try that out and see where that takes me,” Luedtke said.

Luedtke’s peers and teachers are proud of her and are excited to see what she achieves through and after college. 

Alexa Strohman (12), Luedtke’s best friend, said, “I came from Windsor Charter, after middle school, so she was one of the first faces I met and has become one of my best friends.”

The two have been on yearbook staff together for three years and also are in the same advisory class. When Strohman heard that Luedtke had gotten into University of Hawaii at Manoa, she was both thrilled for Holland as well as sad that this wonderful chapter was slowly coming to a close.

 “I was so happy for her. Happy isn’t even like, it’s an understatement — I was so proud of her. It was kind of heart breaking though, because obviously we’ve seen each other for a bunch of times over the past four years, and to know that I am probably going to school on the east coast, I’ve already done the math, it’s like four thousand miles. So, it’s hard, but I know we’re gonna find each other, and we’re always gonna have each other’s backs if we’re a foot away from each other, a couple miles, or across the country, across the world,” Strohman said.

One of the hardest things about starting something new can be that it may can something good must come to an end. Strohman and Luedtke will continue to be best friends — they’ve already made plans to visit each other — but they will also get to start this new chapter in their lives, knowing that they will always have each other to fall back on. 

The end of high school can be a scary and thrilling period in a student’s life, and Leudtke has handled it with responsibility and passion; many are excited to see where she will go, and she will be missed greatly.