As graduation slowly approaches, this senior is soaking up the last of her high school years. Avien Kasem is a senior at Northeast High School and plans to graduate at semester. Kasem plans to work full time and enroll at SCC in August of 2020. She hopes to get  her associates degree in business and eventually open her own photography studio.

A lot of times high school flies by and is a blur, seniors encourage everyone to make memories and make the absolute best of this challenging time in students’ lives, and Avien is no exception. 

When asked what her favorite thing about senior year was, Avien responded, “It brought me out of my shell. I’m way more social now. I met a lot of new friends. These last 3-4 years have been challenging but also eye opening.” High school can be intimidating and that’s okay. Freshmen may feel scared or shy but eventually it gets easier. We encourage everyone to truly find themselves throughout these 4 years. Whether it’s through friends, teachers, activities or even studies, students should figure out who they are and who they want to be in the future. 

“Don’t start off slacking right away, work hard. Everything counts,” Avien tells incoming freshmen. It’s easy to get side tracked and slack off, DO NOT DO IT!! Crush the curriculum right off the bat. Get ahead of everyone else who thinks it’s cool to be a lazy student. But most importantly, make high school count. Live in the moment, create unforgettable memories and meet irreplaceable friends. Avien was asked if she would go back and change anything if she could, and her response was pretty accurate. “Yes I would change a lot. I would change my attitude, live more, get more involved and make new and better friends.” High school will go by in a blink of an eye: make it count.