‘It’s a career-focused mindset’; McHenry County high schoolers taking different approach to post-graduation plans

What traditionally has been a push toward four-year universities is shifting to include several different options and career paths

Hailey Baker, the college and career advisor at Crystal Lake South High School, helps senior Meg Norten fill out a scholarship application Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the school in Crystal Lake. This year's senior class is made up of students who began their high school careers dealing with COVID-19.

Woodstock High School senior Dennise Lopez is still deciding what she wants to do after high school.

Going into high school a few years back, she wanted to become a pharmacist, she said. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost some of her love for it. Now, she’s considering a career in manufacturing.

“I loved learning, but I kind of lost that during the pandemic because of everything being online. It didn’t really feel like school,” she said. “I want to go for a quicker route.”

As the class of 2023 enters its final semester of high school, students across McHenry County are sorting out their plans for life after they graduate.

A few years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for students, families and even schools to push kids toward a four-year university. But cultural changes, which have been assisted by the COVID-19 pandemic, see kids explore more options and be open to other post-high school paths that traditionally haven’t been as heavily considered.

“I think [students] are looking at the best fit for them first, which is what we want students to do,” said Laura Martens, college and career counselor for Huntley High School.

That is the mindset many schools are carrying with them, as there has been a shift from pushing a certain path to finding the path best suited for the end goal, Crystal Lake South High School Student Services Coordinator Carson Sterchi said.

“It’s a career-focused mindset,” Sterchi said. “It’s not, ‘What college do I want to go to?’ It’s, ‘What path do I need to take to meet my career goal?’ ”

Hailey Baker, the college and career advisor at Crystal Lake South High School, helps senior Meg Norten fill out a scholarship application Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the school in Crystal Lake. This year's senior class is made up of students who began their high school careers dealing with COVID-19.

One factor helping prop up that approach is the cost of college. Students and families are more concerned about tuition prices coming out of the pandemic and into an economy where the price of goods is being driven up. Many kids are considering community college as a first step due to the lower cost and available certificates, Woodstock High School Director of School Counseling Shannon Landwehr said.

As a result, Landwehr said, she’s talking to more students about the trades, such as manufacturing.

“I think families and students are still wanting to make sure they’re getting the most out of the dollars they spend,” Landwehr said.

One such student, Woodstock High School senior Carlos Guzman, said he went into high school wanting to be an accountant. After taking classes remotely, however, he decided against it. He’s still finalizing his plans for post-high school, but is considering a welding certificate as his top idea.

“[Online classes] left a bad taste in my mouth and made me rethink it,” Guzman said. “There’s a shortage of blue collar workers.”

Many students getting set to graduate also had older siblings that got stuck with remote learning while in college but still were having to pay higher tuition rates, Martens said. That also is prompting families to weigh their options more carefully.

At McHenry County College, the desire to have in-person learning and student involvement in extracurricular activities at the school both have increased for incoming students, Director of Enrollment Services Amy Carzoli said.

While also being less expensive than a typical four-year university, MCC also offers several services to help students who might have been affected by the pandemic. Those include additional tutoring and mental health resources in the form of free therapy, as well as transportation and food.

“It goes beyond the academic and into some of the social and emotional [needs],” Carzoli said.

Hailey Baker, the college and career advisor at Crystal Lake South High School, helps senior Meg Norten fill out a scholarship application Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the school in Crystal Lake. This year's senior class is made up of students who began their high school careers dealing with COVID-19.

The stigma of not going to a four-year college also is starting to go away, McHenry High School college and career counselor Curtis Menke said. In the past, students have been pushed into college to feel more validated or successful. Now, that definition of success is more broad.

“Find a path that meets your interests and skills, and helps you lead the lifestyle you want,” Menke said, “and doesn’t get you more debt than is necessary.”

Overall, school officials across the area said that despite potential dips in grade point average, or loss of opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities, most students’ college and post-high school resumes have not declined in quality.

At McHenry High School, kids returning from remote learning were eager to plug back in and get involved on campus, Menke said. The case is the same for Crystal Lake South High School, which has the most extracurricular participation it’s seen, Sterchi said.

Crystal Lake South senior Meg Norten said she wants to pursue a degree in political science and economics, with the goal of eventually becoming a legislative assistant and possibly running for office. She said she saw her grades increase during remote learning, and then joined the speech club as a sophomore.

For those students who did see their grades dip, schools across the area have invested in programs to help students get caught back up too, Landwehr said.

At Huntley, things have leveled out compared to previous years, Martens said. Last year saw a massive social adjustment being back in school, but most of the fallout from that has since gone away. The case is the same as well at Crystal Lake South High School, Sterchi said.

“We’re pretty much back to normal,” Martens said. “This year we’ve got it figured out.”

Hailey Baker, the college and career advisor at Crystal Lake South High School, helps senior Meg Norten (left) fill out a scholarship application Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the school in Crystal Lake. This year's senior class is made up of students who began their high school careers dealing with COVID-19.

Crystal Lake South High School’s students’ resumes have been more robust than in previous years, Sterchi said, which can be attributed to programs recently pushed by Community High School District 155. Thanks to community support also, students have more opportunities through internships outside of school.

One shift schools are seeing is more students working jobs outside of school. Landwehr said that has come with pros and cons. On one hand, it helps families, gives students experience and provides students with money. On the other, some students are working so many hours that it hurts their grades.

That trend of kids working is similar at McHenry, Menke said. He said he believes work opportunities opened up faster than things did at schools, driving students to work more.

Lopez is one of those students who has been working outside of school. Being stuck at home and having time to spare, she began working as soon as businesses started opening up again.

“I thought I could get out of the house, and get some money out of it,” she said.

Those trends speak to students not just becoming college ready, but workforce ready as well, Menke said. Those work opportunities also are creating another possible path after high school, with career or internship opportunities, and in some ways, changing what students want out of their careers.

“We had a society-wide trauma that we all experienced,” Menke said. “I cannot imagine what it would have been like to experience that as a 14- or 15-year-old, how that might have changed me.”