Interactive Map Shows Where Seniors Will Be Next Year

By Sarah Schaeffer and Becca Hess –

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

With only a few school days left seniors are counting down the days until graduation.  A mixture of emotions cloud the minds of the seniors as they spend their last days as a Penn Manor Comet. From being excited for college to being sad that they’ll have to say goodbye to friends, bittersweet covers it all. Many will go onto college or a type of trade school and others will join the military, work, or take some time off.

Based on the information from those seniors who replied with their plans for after high school, the two most popular schools for seniors next year are Millersville University where 24 have reported they will attend and Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), where 18 have reported. The military will take at least 12 of our seniors and 11 others say they will either be working, taking a year off or doing missions work.

“It (University of Pittsburgh) had the program I wanted and I liked the campus. I wanted something in the city and my mom wanted me to stay in the state,” said Russ Thorsen.

“I’m excited to be on my own and be more independent,” said Kate Harrold. “(For the juniors) I would say, take your senior year seriously, don’t slack off. Get involved.”

Jess Huber plans to fly out of PA and into Texas for boot-camp this summer. Huber is enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

“It’s a different career opportunity  and that’s why I chose it,” she said. “I’ll be doing online classes, so I’ll be getting my degree while I’m in (the Air Force).

“I looked for a good music school that was still going to be cheap,” said Jesse Griffith, who will be attending IUP.

“I’m gonna miss some of the teachers, especially Ms. Vita,” said Shayla Moore who also will attend IUP.  “I’m excited to meet new people in college and being able to focus on something I love.”

“There are a lot of things to do in college. I’m doing track and field at Delaware Valley College,” said Eli Marcelino. “I’m gonna miss some of the teachers, my friends and sports.”

Senior Logan Kramer will be traveling one of the farthest distances from home this fall when she attends Arkansas State University.

“I’m excited to meet new people and make new friends, and since I’m playing a sport (soccer), I’ll be close with my team,”said Kramer. I’ll probably get home sick in the beginning. I’m gonna miss seeing my friends everyday,” she added.

Penn State University-bound Emily Laughlin is excited to kick off her freshmen year.

“I can’t wait for the football games and for the Penn State pride,” she said.

Choosing a college is not always an easy task but for Laughlin, Penn State’s “home-like feeling” won her over.

Zane Kreider’s decision to join the military (National Guard) was based on a few factors.

“(I joined) because it’s a family tradition and the college benefits are good. In the next two years I’m looking at deployment to Kuwait,” he said.

Kreider explained how he’s excited to be deployed and he isn’t afraid because Kuwait isn’t that bad as of now.

Fellow senior Chris Gotwals, who is in the U.S. Army, is also planning on getting deployed but to a place often associated with danger and fear, but he isn’t scared. He joined the army for all of the reasons they advertise: to protect his country, his family and the college benefits.

“If NATO doesn’t pull out then I’ll be in Afghanistan in April (2013),” he said. “I’m not scared, and if i don’t go to Afghanistan I’m sure I’ll get deployed somewhere else.”

Senior Karla Mylin has plans that will take her to the other side of the world. She’s going to India, or at least she hopes to.

“I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do for college, like a major or the college, and I’ve always had a heart for missions,” she said. “I’m nervous and excited about it. It’s pretty expensive though, more than $8,000 I think.”

If Mylin is able to raise the funds necessary for the trip she plans to go on the trip of a lifetime.

Senior Julie Schultz will travel to the UK for a royal college experience. This fall Schultz will make the journey to Scotland where she will attend University of Saint Andrews.

“It’s where Prince William went and during the wedding there were advertisements and a lot of information on the college, so I looked into it,” said Schultz. “It’s the only school in the UK on the common application. I applied on a whim and I got in.”

With a graduation rate of nearly 98 percent, the Penn Manor class of 2012 is in a great position for success.  According to research information about Pennsylvania graduation rates, Pa.  hasn’t made much progress in raising graduation rates from 2002-2009. It currently stands at about 80 percent.  Penn Manor is in great shape compared to Pennsylvania as a whole and especially compared to the national graduation rate of approximately 75 percent.

Although many have predicted the world ending in 2012, this is not the case for the seniors. This year, 2012, marks the beginning of their next step. A step that has required a great deal of preparation and, at times, been intimidating, but nonetheless is highly anticipated. It brings a new self image for the seniors as they prepare for college, prepare to become more independent and prepare for adulthood.

Here is a listing of plans seniors have for their lives immediately after graduation.

This is not then entire senior class of 2012. The senior map is a link to Google maps which has a pin marking each college listed below.

Senior Map

Arkansas State University

Logan Kramer

Art Institute

Kaitlyn Ibach

Belmont University

Kelly Lenahan

Bloomsburg University 

Alex Flurry

Becca Hess

Hannah Robb

Bryn Mawr College

Kayla Bixler

Cabrini College

Kierstin McDonald

Career and Technology Center

Amy Shoop

Central Penn College

Steven Morris

Consolidated School of Business

Jarkysha Jones

Davidson College

Harrison Manning

Delaware Valley College

Eli Marcelino

DeSales University

Corina Connelly

Drexel University

Alec Keck

Joey Jackson

Alex Kirk

Eastern University

Lindsey Ostrum

Ryan Martzall

Katrina Torres

Eastern Mennonite University

Alicia Ygarza

Elisa Ott

Kate Harrold

Elizabethtown College

Abigail Buckwalter

Brent Lefever

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Alex Cauler

Florida Institute of Technology

Alex Cummins

Franklin and Marshall College

Sarah Schaeffer

Geneva College

Chris Ressler

Goucher College

Maria Detweiler

HACC

Austin Hess

Jen Rote

Chloe Traup

Karli Heiserman

Dylan Kneisley

Elena Frank

Tonya Fox

Jade Hess

Dylan Keagly

Dani Sprankle

Iris Santana

Abby Schaefer

Maddie Shertzer

Demi Greenwalt

Tyler Maysilles

Kevin Holton

Braden Kruger

Brandon Schmertz

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Shayla Moore

Logan White

Eric Schlotzhauer

Jake Harvey

Jesse Griffith

Brandon Schuman

Austin Richwine

Johns Hopkins University

Jake Schick

Lancaster Bible College 

Frankie Herr

Lancaster General College of Nursing

Alex Evans

Kym Kipphorn

Nicole Harnish

Amanda Nolt

Miranda Hahn

Becca Frankford

Lancaster School of Cosmetology

Katie Melrath

Kutztown University

Grace Gundel

Brianna Mackison

Lebanon Valley College 

Cody Stryker

Liberty University 

Austin Howett

Lock Haven University

Kendall Arment

Messiah College

Trevor Jones

Maegan Keperling

Eddie Bley

Michigan State University

Andrew Herr

Millersville University

Nick Zell

Amber Brenner

Clayton Secrest

Drew Purzycki

Bri Rice

Faith Zimmerman

Kelly Herr

Ryan Dettrey

Mike Nitroy

Devin Sanchez

Matt Kersic

Emily Sisson

Angela Oppido

Truman Mylin

Kevin Brubaker

Beck Shue

Zainab Gilani

Maranda Kurtz

Cameron Hughes

Colby Sangrey

Matt Weidinger

Ashley Bollinger

Dakota Jordan

DaYonte Dixon

Ohio University

Vicky Nase

Sal Dumas

Penn State University (Altoona)

Kristina Simon

Cheyenne Weber

Penn State University (Berks)

Patrick Simpson

Penn State University (York)

Kegan Minney

Penn State University (Main Campus)

Dylan Weber

Megan Haines

Emily Laughlin

Brian Sloss

David Mohimani

Janelle Musser

Cody Straub

Ian Toomey

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design

Cody Livingston

Point Park University

Mitch Wise

Courtney Jacobs

Rollins College

Emily Eddowes

Savannah College of Art and Design

Jenna Hess

Shippensburg University

Kelsey Rebman

Errol Hammond

Alex Lombardo

Simon Zimmerman

Jay Jackson

Austin Rowley

Stevenson University

Jessie Cappanelli

Andrea Tracy

Temple University

Billy Green

Tosh Chambers

Brendan Kincade

Bob Warfel

Michael Andrusisin

Weston Chambers

Sid Kreitzer

David Burch

Tyler Smith

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Chris Fleming

Kyle Black

Ryan DiCamillo

Alex Sorce

Tommy Hotchkiss

Ryan Newswanger
Thiel College

Courtney Fatta
Universal Technical Institute

Dylan Tremellen
University of California (Los Angeles)

Landon Alecxih
University of Kansas

 Alli Long
University of Maryland

 Sam Valentin

Abby Barley
University of Pennsylvania

Ellen Blazer
University of Pittsburgh (Greensburg)

Michelle Dempsey
University of Pittsburgh

Selena Hasircoglu

Russell Thorsen

Jake Shiner

Megan Schlegelmilch

Brian Le

Ian Bricker

University of Saint Andrews

Julie Schultz

Virginia Tech

Lauren Pironis

Washington College

Jenn Hanner

Josh Morgan

Waynesburg University

Kayla Laukhuff

West Chester University

Sara Bennis

James Servansky

Natalie Dell’Estate

Alexa Stewart

Tim Deubler

York College

Taylor Gamber

Kara Overmyer

York Technical Institute

Phelan Good

Military – Zane Kreider (National Guard), Skyler Major (Marine Corps), Kyle Musselman (Marine Corps), Aaron Sellers (Marines), Chris Gotwals (Army), Nathan Harsh (Marines), Troy Hoke (Navy), Jared Hall (Marines), Liam Kline (Air Force), Jess Huber (Air Force), Andy Morales (Air Force), Cody Kemps, Julie Ault (Air Force)

Working – Alex LaFrance, Zac Jenks, Michael Schneider, Aaron Alleman

Taking a year off and working- Lauren Gerlach, Jake Mercado, Breiana Herr, Matt Shroyer, Adam Morris, Kami Mylin, Michael Schneider

Missions work – Karla Mylin, Emily Peris