Dylan Conover, Senior Editor
May 12, 2021
After four years of high school classes, sports, and activities, seniors have thousands of hours of experience. From handy tips about what to focus on to insightful personal experiences, they abound with advice for underclassmen. Below are seniors’ bits of direction and guidance in answer to five questions:
1. What advice do you wish you had been given when you started high school?
2. What do you feel is the most important part of high school?
3. How can students prepare for their classes?
4. What classes do you recommend for underclassmen?
5. What connections should students make during their high school experience?
Sydney Tagel: 
I think the most important part of high school is taking advantage of every opportunity in school and out of school. There are many clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities that will make your high school experience so much more enjoyable.
I recommend taking as many dual credit and honors classes as possible. The classes will help prepare you for colleges classes and you will also receive college credit for most of them. They may be difficult, but in the end it is definitely worth the hard work.
Students should make connections with their teachers throughout high school, especially since the size of our school is smaller than most other schools. It is nice to get to know your teachers, and it can also make learning more enjoyable if you are comfortable around them. Students should also make connections with new people they meet. It is the perfect time to meet new people and make new friends!
Samuel Engel:
To take the advice my guides, teachers, and mentors to heart more thoroughly. What a lot of young people do when they hear advice is either forget about it, or think little of it. After experiencing a lot of the things my mentors advised me about, it all finally clicked, and I finally felt and thought about what they experienced and told me about.
I believe that the most important part of high school is how you attack it. It’s a time to develop routines and begin taking on more responsibilities. Beginning to take initiative of your life with what you want to do and learning to face obstacles without fear are some of the biggest things I learned.
Devoting plus or minus 2 hours a day will put you ahead of your competition and will keep you sharp for your classes. Procrastination is your enemy, so crack the whip and hit your schoolwork sooner rather than later.
For freshman going on to sophomore year, keep taking your required classes. For juniors, the challenge now is worth the pain since it makes senior year much easier and grants you more freedom. For seniors, pretty much housekeeping and whatever you may want to do.
I found a job when I was 16, and I have a manager I can use as a reference. I used him as a reference for going into the USAF. Another thing I did was I found an unpaid internship for a career choice I want to pursue. My main point is to start making connections with people you trust, and who trust you. The sooner the better so you grow your resumé.
Carson Ross:
The advice I wish I had been given is, “enjoy high school.” It’s nothing crazy, but a lot of kids let all these bad things that happen to them in high school define them. Or a lot of kids really stress about their grades, and while grades are important, you do not need to revolve your life around your grades. Live your life.
I feel the most important part of high school is the relationships you make. Sure grades are important and doing all these things and joining all these clubs will build your resume.
The best way to prepare for your classes is to not let them stress you out. Some of them are going to be difficult and if you end up with a D. Oh well. It’s not the end of the world.
I recommend taking as many shop classes as you can. Not only are Mr. Foutch and Mr. Bos some of the best teachers Platteview has to offer, the classes teach you about life.
Connections are very important to make during high school, and to keep throughout college. Be nice to everyone, be a friend to everyone, make yourself open to everyone, but truly you only need a few good friends that you enjoy spending quality time with.