Freshly printed graduation announcements rest near their preaddressed envelopes, the kitchen table cluttered with college admissions letters and scholarship notices.

May marks the beginning of the end for Sandy High seniors, and as
graduation grows closer, students are eagerly awaiting the day when they can
finally begin the future that they have always dreamed of.

SHS senior Moriah Shay plans to attend Oregon State University in the fall
and major in market management and business administration. Although
excited for the many opportunities it provides for her future career, OSU
surprisingly was not her first choice.

“I first applied to OSU and got accepted in November, and then I visited the
University of Portland, and decided that it was my dream school. I applied,
and I was put on the waiting list. That was really hard, but life doesn’t stop
because you do,” Shay said. “I decided to go to OSU, and I’m totally happy
with that now. I think that it was meant to be.”

A lifelong Mountain resident, Shay is eager to make the transition from small
town to college life. However, OSU’s overwhelmingly large campus and
student body is admittedly one of the things that she is most nervous about.

“I’ve lived in Welches my entire life. Transitioning to middle school to high
school was even hard at first because everyone up there I knew since I was 4
years old. To go from an eighth grade graduation with 50 kids to a high school
with 1,300 kids, you definitely get put into the mix,” Shay said. “I’m kind of
nervous with the whole college thing. There are 20,000 undergraduates at
OSU, and I am one.”

Shay’s determination to succeed has motivated her throughout her high
school career. As the first person to go to college in her family, her work ethic
has ultimately earned her two scholarships that cover her full cost of tuition –
an accomplishment that has made her high school experience worthwhile.

“As a freshman and sophomore and even as a junior, I thought about when I
was ever going to benefit from all of my hard work. To finally get money and
be recognized, it feels so nice. I’ve worked so hard all four years and now I
finally get to go to college and do what I enjoy doing.” Shay said.

Other students have to rely on their own funding to afford college tuition. A
much cheaper option than attending a four-year university is community
college, a plan that for Sandy resident Grant Hoffman just made sense.

“I’m going to Mt. Hood Community College, and I’m probably going to live at
home for two years, and then get an apartment,” Hoffman said. “I’m trying to
save as much money as possible, just because student debt can be pretty
hard to get rid of.”

Hoffman plans to study computer science through a program offered through
Portland State, earning him a degree for a fraction of the price.

“A lot of people don’t like being home with their parents, but I’m fine with it,”
he said. “As much as I wish I could move away, I don’t have the money for it,
so I’m fine where I’m at.”

Hoffman has been working at Sparky’s Pizza in Sandy for the past two years,
with the goal in mind to save for college. Like most seniors, he admits that he
is nervous about how much depends on what is accomplished through college.

“College worries me, but it worries everyone, just because basically it lays out
your life for you. It builds the bridge to get to your life, and it’s kind of scary
to think about that.”

Just as Hoffman has a clear goal in mind for the future, senior Sam Kalar has
always dreamed of being a pilot, and found that enlisting in the Air Force
would be his best option.

“I’ve always wanted to be a pilot, and I’ve just always wanted to go into the
military, so the Air Force seemed like my best option because of the job I
wanted to have,” Kalar said.
As a newly enlisted recruit, Kalar attends weekend training once a month in
preparation for basic training.

“When I graduate high school, about a month later I go to basic training, and
then I go to my schooling so that I can learn how to do my job,” Kalar said. “I
get done with everything around January, take the rest of the year off for
school and start college in the fall of 2015.”

As a lifelong resident of the surrounding Mountain communities, Kalar knows
that leaving the people he’s known all his life will be difficult, but also
necessary.

“I’ve been in this area for quite some time. It will definitely be different,
leaving this place. I’ll be alone, but I’ll still have strict rules, so I won’t really
be on my own,” he said.