Yet another batch of seniors is soon to be released into the real world as the Grant High School Class of 2013 graduates. There’s one quartet of adults that couldn’t be more proud of their seniors. Grant’s Counseling Team – comprised of counselors Liz Mahlum, Catherine Smith, Tearale Triplett and Megan Schlicker – is excited to see what the future holds for their students. After years of observation – and a heavy dose of life experience – the counselors have some final pieces of advice.

Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith remembers entering college with the assumption that it would be a cakewalk. A serious soccer player, Smith’s teammates recommended that she take geology, a class jokingly referred to as “rocks for jocks.” She was disappointed but not surprised when she ended up getting a C.

“It was not an easy science class at all. I went to all the lectures. I took notes. But I didn’t really study on a regular basis,” she says. “I didn’t really understand that you have to put time in consistently.”

Smith learned her lesson, and by the end of college at Lewis & Clark, she spent hours every day studying diligently. Aside from making sure to spend sufficient time studying, Smith highly recommends branching out and keeping your mind wide open. The key to success, she believes, is not being afraid to explore new things.

“It’s a unique time in your life when you’re in an incredible setting around all these other young people,” she says. “It’s a great chance to try to absorb as much as you can. Another huge part of college is learning how to be independent.”

An effective way of doing this, she says, is being open to real-world immersion. She lists things such as internships, volunteering or anything that offers practical job experience.

Smith remembers reaching the end of graduate school and not being very prepared for what the working world was like. She refers to high school and college life as a little bubble that won’t always be there. “The reality is you have to get that practical experience too,” she says, noting that employers are more likely to accept those who can prove they know what they’re doing.

While she believes students should remain well rounded in all aspects, Smith doesn’t want Grant students to start off college like she did.

“When I first got to college, I was like, ‘Wow this is great. I have all this freedom.’ But to be successful, you have to learn to manage your time,” Smith says.

Lastly, Smith shares her simple yet vital philosophy that students often fail to acknowledge. While job opportunities are often limited for students and young people, studying hard always pays off financially in the end.

Tearale Triplett

Tearale Triplett recalls a time in college when he allowed stress to carry him to a dark place. It was November of his freshman year at University of Oregon and the initial excitement of being away from home had worn off. With a heavy workload, Triplett’s health took a turn for the worst.

In a matter of a few days, he developed severe uveitis – an inflammation of the iris and surrounding areas, which is brought on by stress.

“It impacted my vision, I was legally blind,” he remembers.

He was forced to return home to his parents in Portland and he didn’t go back to college until early January of the next year. “I was the kid who studied more than I probably had to,” he recalls. “It might’ve been something that was already in my body, but the stress brought it out. Stress brings on lots of issues.”

Looking back, Triplett sees how his illness could have been avoided. He feels that if students stay organized, there won’t be much of a problem. “You have to have some balance. You don’t need to study eight hours every day for the schools that Grant students typically go to,” he says. ”You want to go in not neurotic, but not lackadaisical either. You want to go in middle ground.”

Triplett has dealt with the consequences of being on the stressful side of the spectrum, but he knows of the issues on the slacking side as well.

“You’re going to have plenty of other opportunities to go to parties and see girls that you may be interested in,” he says, “But you’re only going to have one time to take that test.”

Unlike Grant, “there’s no make-up in college. Teachers here will be flexible regarding tests, but that’s not happening in college. It’s a one-time shot and you need to put forth your best effort.”

Triplett feels strongly about kids staying focused because he says everyone should know how families have to sacrifice to send someone to college. He recommends being fervent in the search for scholarships and in making smart financial choices.

“It’s going to take some hard decisions, like maybe sucking up that fact that you aren’t going to go to your dream school, at least for undergraduate,” he explains. “That’s not always a bad thing. If anything, it drives you.”

Grades should always be a priority, especially if you’re going to think about graduate school. “That’s who’s going to scrutinize those grades,” he says, speaking from personal experience. “I got hit with reality, and the reality was that I wasn’t going to make a whole lot of money with just my bachelor’s degree.”

But overall, Triplett believes that having a plan in place is the most important thing. “As long as you have a goal in place, I think that that’s going to speak volumes to what your future’s going to look like,” he says. “It’s not always how you start, it’s always about how you finish.”

Liz Mahlum

While most students spend their college careers in a whirl of tests and parties, on any given night during Liz Mahlum’s college years you could find her either studying or on the basketball court.

“My college experience was different from the average person’s,” says Mahlum, who played Division I basketball for St. Mary’s University for four years. “I didn’t have any free time.”

During the basketball season, Mahlum remembers every day being thoroughly structured, and that athletes were required to attend mandatory study tables. In addition, she also missed a lot of class for her games. “Almost every other week, I’d miss my Friday,” she recalls.

Looking back, Mahlum believes time management is the key for all students, especially if they plan to play sports competitively. Students need to be “very intentional about their study time, not always in this cycle of sleep deprivation,” she says.

She says self-discipline is absolutely essential to success in college, but on the other hand, she also strongly believes in having fun, making mistakes and learning from them. Those that she made in college strengthened her character. “I think that’s why it’s important to make those mistakes and take those risks because that’s when the biggest amounts of learning happen,” Mahlum says.

But learning also happens in the classroom, which is one of the reasons why Mahlum feels that cutting class is the last thing students should do in college. “If you don’t attend class, that’s just money that you’ve lost on yourself. College is a self investment,” she says. “When you’re choosing to sleep in or to cut class, that’s your own money you paid. That’s just money that you wasted. You’re paying for this.”

Megan Schlicker

It was 1998 when Megan Schlicker was hit with the reality that had been awaiting her for years. She had finally graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a degree in counseling psychology and was eager to begin her career, but her choices from years before made this a bittersweet experience.

Schlicker was in the same boat as many of her classmates, wondering how to pay off student loans. “I didn’t realize what $500 a month really meant,” Schlicker says. “That was more than a car payment.”

In hindsight, she realizes this debt could have been curtailed significantly by making different choices regarding her education and loans.

“I probably could’ve gone to a public school and gotten a fine education,” she says, recommending that students try to be prudent when assessing college offers. Higher tuition, she feels, doesn’t always make a school better.

She borrowed from banks both for tuition and for living expenses, something she says was a big mistake. “I think I wish I hadn’t taken out so much for personal living expenses,” she says.

After graduating college, Schlicker decided to disperse the dark student loan cloud hanging over her by refinancing her house. She realizes this didn’t make the debt disappear. It just moved it elsewhere.

If you’re going to spend a lot on your education, she recommends you make it worthwhile. While in college, she says Grant students should take advantage of programs that send students abroad. Another way to enhance your college experience is by branching out and taking advantage of your new and diverse environment. She remembers being a high school student at Grant and thinking she went to a diverse high school. But she was blown away by all the new people she met during her college years.

She also says it’s important to make connections not only with fellow students, but also the professors, who usually have a lot to offer.

Lastly, Schlicker believes students need to make sure to enjoy their youth because it’s a unique and special part of their lives. Looking back, she feels like her rush to reach her dream job was slightly unnecessary, and she wishes she had slowed down and left more time for travel and exploration.