Graduating from high school marks a time when young people will, many for the first time, have to make their own decisions about their future. It’s a time filled with celebrations, optimism and anxiety about the future, and often sadness at leaving their younger selves behind. We’ll talk with high school seniors, their families and experts about this defining moment and how to navigate it in a rapidly changing world.
Guests:
Vincent Topete, graduating senior, Santa Clara High School
Elise Desai, graduating senior, Miramonte High School
Olga Chan, graduating senior, Terra Linda High School
Joseph Gorga, vice president of equity and instruction, Diablo Valley College
Oscar Garcia, founder and chief empowerment officer, Aspira Consulting
This partial transcript was computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.
Alexis Madrigal: Welcome to Forum. I’m Alexis Madrigal. When I graduated from high school in the year 2000, Bill Clinton was president, the economy was roaring, and the dot-com boom had not yet busted. The United States had won the Cold War, 9/11 hadn’t happened, and neither had the decades-long quagmires of the War on Terror. It was a time of remarkable optimism. The consumer sentiment index, for example, read over 110 — one of the highest readings ever. Earlier this year, that same index fell below 50 for the first time since the survey began in 1952, even though we’re not even technically in a recession. That is to say, it’s a different time, it’s a different educational matrix, and there are still the eternal worries about school, growing up, and friends. Producer Blanca Torres recently was a guest for a career day at Skyline High School in Oakland, and she spoke with a bunch of students who you’ll hear from throughout the show. But first, let’s start with a sample of what they had to say.
Lloyd Fuller (clip): I am thinking about what my life is going to look like for the next couple of years.
Bashir Abdulla (clip): I’m actually considering taking a year off — otherwise known as the gap year — to really explore my options.
Saray Garcia-Esconcia (clip): I am thinking of going to college and studying photography, actually.
Malia Reynolds (clip): I’m really sad because I will no longer be going to school with my really close friends, because they’re like a second family to me.
Jacob Worf (clip): I’m sad to be leaving California. Although, obviously, when I’m done with my undergrad, I’m really hoping I come back, because it’s hard to find somewhere better than this.
Aspen Johnson (clip): I’m definitely scared about being an adult and dealing with expenses and things.
Alexis Madrigal: You know, that’s the right thing to be scared about, I guess. That was Lloyd Fuller, Bashir Abdullah, Sarai Garcia-Escontia, Malia Reynolds, Jacob Wharf, and Aspen Johnson — all graduating seniors from Skyline High School in Oakland. Let’s bring in some live guests. We’ve got Vincent Topete, a graduating senior at Santa Clara High School. Welcome.
Vincent Topete: Hi. Thank you for having me.
Alexis Madrigal: Thanks for joining us. We have Elise Desai, graduating senior at Miramonte High School in Orinda. Welcome.
Elise Desai: Hi.
Alexis Madrigal: And we’ve got Olga Chan, a graduating senior at Terra Linda High School in San Rafael. Welcome.
Olga Chan: Hi. Thank you.
Alexis Madrigal: Elise, let’s start with you. It was a big week — your birthday and graduation. Good week, bad week? Was it too much?
Elise Desai: No, it was a fantastic week. Turning eighteen and then graduating just days later was super weird, to say the least. My dad woke me up on my birthday and the first thing he said was, “When do you want to call the credit card company?” I said, “Too soon.”
Alexis Madrigal: Ha — you’re thinking, how about in ten years? What was your high school experience like?
Elise Desai: Very positive. I made a lot of really strong connections with people not only from my high school, but also through club soccer, where I got to meet people from different high schools and create long-lasting friendships.
Alexis Madrigal: What was the most interesting thing you did in high school?
Elise Desai: Definitely bringing my knowledge about soccer into the classroom. I’d talk to my teachers, and there would be banter and debates about different soccer teams and clubs. I thought that was really interesting for building good student-teacher relationships, and it brought things I was passionate about outside the classroom into the academic setting.
Alexis Madrigal: Are you a Premier League fan?
Elise Desai: I am. I’m a big Man City fan.
Alexis Madrigal: Man City. Alright — I don’t actually have a team, but I know that’s an important fact for soccer fans to know about you. How are you feeling about what comes next?
Elise Desai: Overall, really excited. There’s definitely a little bit of anxiety about the uncertainty of what lies ahead, but I’m very excited about the new challenges and obstacles I’m about to take on.
Alexis Madrigal: What are you doing next year?
Elise Desai: I’m going to UC Santa Cruz to study biology.
Alexis Madrigal: That’s exciting. Olga, how about you? You haven’t graduated yet — you’ve got about eight days left?
Olga Chan: Yeah, eight or nine days.
Alexis Madrigal: Are you doing anything, or is it full senioritis — school’s out for summer?
Olga Chan: Well, right now I have finals and study week, since seniors unfortunately still have finals. So I’m studying and locking in for that.
Alexis Madrigal: As I understand it, you didn’t have a completely conventional high school experience. You’ve been through some intense things.
Olga Chan: Yeah. My father passed away my freshman year of high school due to cancer. It was a struggle at the beginning, not knowing how to cope with grief at such a young age. Fortunately, I had great resources at my school — my counselor connected me to therapists both in school and outside of school, and I joined programs that help first-generation students connect with schools and mental health services. That was a great help for me.
Alexis Madrigal: What did you end up doing with the rest of high school?
Olga Chan: I made a lot of friends and connections. I joined ASB leadership, where I met so many people and made connections with teachers and with students from neighboring schools like San Rafael High School, Novato High School, and San Marin High School. It was great being able to make friends at such a hard moment in my life and knowing other people had my back.
Alexis Madrigal: And you got pretty interested in politics too?
Olga Chan: Yeah. I’m in the debate club at school, and I also attend political brunches with some politicians in Marin. It’s great making those connections.
Alexis Madrigal: And you led a protest too, right?
Olga Chan: Yes. With everything going on in politics right now, I thought it was a great time to show up for my community — especially for the students at my school, where about half are first-generation and come from Mexico, Guatemala, or other Hispanic cultures. Some of them are scared to even come to school, and I just want them to know they’re not alone and that we’re all here for them.
Alexis Madrigal: What are you doing next year?
Olga Chan: I’m going to Cal State Fullerton to study political science.
Alexis Madrigal: And what do you hope to do with that — or is it one step at a time?
Olga Chan: I want to go to law school after my political science degree and eventually become an immigration lawyer.
Alexis Madrigal: Vincent, let’s come to you. How are you feeling as you wrap up high school in Santa Clara?
Vincent Topete: I’m feeling pretty good — hopeful, optimistic. I’m ready to begin this next chapter of my life. Four years of high school is a long time, and I’m ready to get things going.
Alexis Madrigal: I was kind of like that — I wanted to be an adult early too. What are you doing next year?
Vincent Topete: Unlike everyone else so far, I’m going to community college. I’m going to De Anza, where I want to get an associate’s degree for transfer in communication studies, and I’m hoping to transfer to Cal State Northridge.
Alexis Madrigal: How did you land on those schools?
Vincent Topete: From the research I’ve done, that’s the best option for communication studies while staying in California and keeping it relatively affordable. It’s also really aligned with what I want to do with my career and my life.
Alexis Madrigal: I figured you were just trying to get to Southern California. You said high school felt four years too long — what shaped your approach to education? Did you feel like it wasn’t meeting your needs?
Vincent Topete: Yeah. I really started to feel like education is in a weird place right now. I spent my freshman and sophomore years at a private school, which was a big shock — I’d never been to private school. But what surprised me more was going back to public school junior and senior year and finding it was almost identical to the private school that cost twenty thousand a year. I was on scholarship, so we weren’t paying that — but it really made me think about what the actual difference is between private and public education.
Alexis Madrigal: What do you mean when you say education is in a weird place?
Vincent Topete: I feel like the student-teacher relationship isn’t great right now. There’s a lot of stress on both teachers and students. My biggest frustration is with the school board here in Santa Clara — they’re doing a massive round of layoffs, cutting a lot of teachers. I took a class this year called Peer Helpers, which is a mental health support class that teaches you how to be a resource for your community. That class is being completely cut because there’s no money to keep it going. They’re also raising the student-teacher ratio. And meanwhile, they spent half a million dollars on phone pouches — and here I am talking to you on my phone at school right now. I don’t know what’s going on.
Alexis Madrigal: That’s Vincent Topete, graduating senior at Santa Clara High School. We’re also joined by Elise Desai, graduating senior at Miramonte in Orinda, and Olga Chan from Terra Linda High School in San Rafael. We’ve also got some written comments from students. Dhruv Gupta of Pinewood School in Los Altos writes:
“It’s a bittersweet feeling. I’ll definitely remember the small moments — like running across campus to make it to class on time, driving across the street to grab lunch, and having weirdly niche conversations during free period. I’m looking forward to diving deeply into an area I’m passionate about in college, but beyond that, nothing much is set in stone. I think that in not confining myself to a certain path, but keeping an open mind, I’m opening myself up to grow in many ways. And to me, this is what the next phase of my life is perfectly poised for.”
We are of course talking about the class of 2026 — the world they’re facing, the world they’re in. We want to hear from you. Maybe you’re a graduating high school senior sitting at home with your parents now that you’re done. Call us at 866-733-6786. Maybe you’re one of those parents. You can email us at forum@kqed.org. I’m Alexis Madrigal. Stay tuned.