Aurora Alumni return with advice.

A few weeks ago in the senior English classes, past graduates returned to Aurora to talk to the current seniors about college and what to expect while there.

English Teacher Toni Taylor was one of the main leaders of this arrangement and she said, “We felt our seniors would be more inclined to listen to first-hand accounts from past grads that experienced similar situations in Aurora.”

Taylor explained, “I hoped the past students would provide some insight about challenges they’ve encountered, reality of college assignments and expectations, the importance of time management and anything more they felt they wished they had known before going to college.”

Overall the message seemed to be received. Senior Amy Marchese added, “I felt it was a really nice experience. We got to ask them questions and I feel like they made the whole ‘moving to the next step’ a little less nerve racking.”

Similarly, Senior Chayanne Conley said, “It was definitely better to hear it from current college students rather than our parents or teachers who haven’t been [in college] for a while.”

For this being the first time AHS has done something like this it went pretty well, though there were some hiccups.

Taylor continued to explain, “I emailed a lot of my past students, asking who was available for that time before Thanksgiving. Many college classes were still in session though, as AHS classes were as well, so many couldn’t make it.”

The planning and trying to find times that worked for everyone was the hardest part of having the Alumni return, but if that was the only problem area it was a success.

Taylor concluded with what she would have done differently. Saying, “I would give more time for seniors to ask questions and give the speakers more specific topics I would like them to touch on. I did provide them overall topics, but I’d be more specific within those topics.”

Conley ended with, “I hope they do this again next year. I feel like all seniors benefit from this and I know a majority of us would return to speak if we are available.”