Laura Waltje is not settling into an easy senior year, relaxing and blowing off homework assignments. She, as few others do, is leaving high school after the first semester of her final year. As John Boshoven, the pun-spilling half of the friendly pair of counselors at Community High School, said, two to three students a year choose to graduate early from Community.

Waltje is taking several University of Michigan classes while preparing herself mentally for an early end to high school, a trip to the United Arab Emirates to visit her father after this semester, and then picking a college to attend. “I don’t know, I have a few ones on my list but nowhere in particular yet,” she said of the final college decision.

Traveling pre-college is a common connection between Laura Waltje and Isabel Wattles, a Skyline student who will be graduating a year early. Her wish is to journey primarily to Southern Asia. Both students plan to attend college after trips out of the country, possibly with a more informed decision about majors or destinations. “I’d at least like to catch a glimpse of the world before I determine what I want to do with my life,” said Wattles when asked about her plan.

Along with the traveling group, Wattles falls into another category of early high school graduates, one John Boshoven described as unhappy with their high school experience and eager to get out into the world. Boshoven said that most selective colleges would rather not accept early graduates, because they see that you have met only the minimum requirements. Wattles stated that one of the reasons she is leaving so early is because she does not like her school, Skyline.

Counselors played a role in both Waltje’s and Wattles’s decisions to graduate early. Wattles talked to her counselor at Skyline about the option, who informed her that she was on course for graduation at the end of junior year. “I confronted my counselor about it, who was actually very helpful,” said Wattles. Waltje talked to Boshoven, and they figured out credits necessary. Boshoven gave her the form. “It was actually really straightforward, I was surprised how simple it is to graduate early,” said Waltje.

There is a major difference between the two students’ post graduation mind sets. Wattles has admitted that leaving high school would be one of the prizes of early graduation for her, while Waltje is very different. When asked if she would miss the second half of her senior Community life Waltje said, “Yeah, I’m really going to miss it. It’s kind of interesting because I’ve been feeling all that anxiety of leaving high school that most people feel the second semester, first semester, so it’s all been happening very quickly.”