About The Class of 2024

High school is a diverse experience for everyone. For the class of 2024 at Hayfork High School, it’s their first full year of in person learning. It’s been a tougher year for these students but it’s a new learning experience as their school lives get more sophisticated. As we dive deeper into the school year of 2021-2022, the sophomores express how they feel about their high school experience and their goals.

The first official year of fully attending high school in person, has been a hassle for these students. The class of 2024 unanimously feels like their high school experience has been pretty neutral yet difficult to get through; hence it being their second year of high school. Plenty of these students, like Yuna Lee, feel great about their high school experience as they get to “meet new people” and learn new things.

Although Hayfork High School is small, these students feel very comfortable with the school population because it makes it easier for them to communicate with their peers. They also feel like it gives them a special experience since everyone knows more than half of the students. One component that these students value about school is the “friends who attend,” says Sean Lee. The majority of these sophomores had also grown up together from the start of kindergarten so they cherish their close friendships. Two valuable programs these students appreciate are the agricultural program and art class. Many of these sophomores take AG classes or programs, such as; AG mechanics, welding, construction, AG science, and FFA.

Despite the fact that these students are only sophomores, they already have the motivation to end the school year with good intentions. Many of these sophomores want to achieve good grades; and “the ability to go to next year knowing what they’re doing,” says Taylor Guilfoile. A lot of students such as Franklin Brown wish to “not have summer school” by the end of this school year. Plenty of these students also hope to get a job by the end of this year. Troy Hair says that he hopes to “get a job and start working towards college” by the end of this school year. A handful of these sophomore students aren’t exactly sure what they want to achieve by the end of this year but they still have many days and months ahead of them to figure out what they want to accomplish by the end of 2022.

As for their future plans regarding life beyond high school, almost all of these students already have a career or pathway in mind such as Johnathan Chavis, who wants to become a heavy equipment operator. Eric Horne also has his future quite planned out and will work towards becoming a police officer. Several of these students want to attend college and already have a certain major they want to study. Out of the entire sophomore class attending Hayfork, there are 6 out of 19 students who already have a major in mind. Some students don't know exactly what major to study after high school but they still want to pursue a life that involves college. More than half of the sophomores don’t know what they want to accomplish after high school but they still have enough time on their hands to figure out what they want to do with their lives.

As much as these students love the small community in Hayfork, they also feel like there could be a couple changes involved for Hayfork High School. Many students feel like there should be more equipment or resources for students and staff. Some students, such as Daniel Kasper and Destiny Stanley, recognize we have a small school and wish there should be more staff for more opportunities such as clubs, sports, and more. Students, like Natalie Lo, wish that there wasn’t so much homework. There’s also a great amount of students who don’t necessarily know what to fix in the school system but either way they all highly value some sort of connection or relationship at this high school.

As the end of this school year is coming closer, some students from the class of 2024 have advice for future sophomores. Gaochia Yang states that the upcoming sophomores should “focus more on work, don’t get into drama, and don’t go to google to finish work!” Other students such as Alissa Canavesio and Jacey Pickett also gave advice to the upcoming sophomores by advising that they should “study hard” and “do your work.” Lila Bonfoey also commented that students should “pay attention in geometry” since many students have difficulties with this class. This school year has been quite a struggle for these students and it’s “not as easy as it seems” says Ely Medellin. Ricky Garrett recommends that students should “get a study hall” for themselves so they have extra time for assignments. Even though this school year has strained quite a few of these students, many of them, such as Lisa Vang, acknowledge that keeping up with work and assignments will benefit them throughout the year. Most importantly, a message that everyone can agree on stated by Ariel Xiong is “don’t fail!”

Lastly, the media arts class wants to thank the sophomore class at Hayfork High School for giving their time to provide information about their recent high school experience. We’re all looking forward to seeing these sophomores become amazing juniors and appreciate the entire sophomore class for their participation!