The Next Four: Class of 2023 Finalizes Plans on College Decision Day
May 3, 2023
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
Students and staff wore their college attire to school, signifying the school they will be attending or the one they have attended.
May 1 is nationally recognized as College Decision Day, marking the last day for seniors to officially accept offers of admission to their school of choice. For most, it is a day of celebration, as it represents the end result of the culmination of hard work and stress that goes into the college admissions process.
On this day, the La Salle community invited seniors and staff alike to wear gear representing either the college they will be attending or the college they previously attended to commemorate this annual tradition.
Come fall, the graduating class of 2023 will be spreading out across the country to a multitude of different schools.
“This was a group that had a really diverse geographic area for their applications,” Counseling Assistant Jen Brigham said. “From liberal arts to big universities…you can see that students are going to schools of all different types.”
Some students, like senior Sophia Hauer, will be staying close to home. Following in the footsteps of both her parents, Hauer will be attending the University of Portland in the fall. “It was kind of an easy choice for me,” Hauer said. “The second I visited, it just honestly felt like home.”
Hauer is signed up to study nursing, but that decision may be subject to change.
Meanwhile, senior Maia Gutmann will be attending Scripps College, an all women’s college located in southern California. Gutmann was particularly drawn to Scripps due to it being part of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergraduate colleges composed of Scripps, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona.
“I really liked the idea of an all women’s college,” Gutmann said. “That, along with having the other four schools that are co-ed, allows me to have a tight knit community with a bunch of women while also being able to have a social life with the opposite gender.”
For Gutmann, the combination of the smaller community within Scripps and the broader community between the five schools is a very appealing quality. “The social life is pretty intertwined between the five schools,” she said. “Each school has its own identity.”
Gutmann plans to pursue a field related to social justice and will be able to attend classes at all five schools in the fall, one of the benefits of the five-school consortium.
Also going to California is senior Ella Wedin, who will be playing Division I basketball and majoring in marketing at Loyola Marymount University.
Nestled between the vast city of L.A. and Venice Beach, Loyola Marymount’s setting is giving Wedin numerous reasons to look forward to living in California. “I really liked the campus and the location…I’m excited about being in sunny weather,” she said.
Whether it’s the promise of sunny weather 24/7, being able to follow in their parents’ footsteps, or joining a five-school consortium, all three seniors are undoubtedly excited for their next chapter, although this last month of high school will be bittersweet.
Like many seniors, Wedin, Hauer, and Gutmann are going to miss many aspects of the community here at La Salle after graduating, especially the Journey retreat, sunny spring days in the courtyard, and the student sections during basketball games.
Though there are mixed emotions as the final month of high school comes to a close, college counselor Ms. Madeleine Hanley encouraged the class of 2023 to acknowledge all the hard work they’ve put into the process.
“The application process is challenging,” she said. “It’s very time consuming, and it can be stressful — this group handled it with a lot of grace. They put a lot of effort in, and you can see the results.”
