For four years in the making, the MCHS Class of 2017, has reached their culminating year in the education. The August of 2013 that began high school does not seem like four years ago. In the span of 1440 days students have gotten taller, lost weight, gained weight, gotten braces and developed their personalities. This is the moment that all of previous life has prepared. The late nights of vigorous homework, the after school study sessions, the infamous advance placement tests; they have all played their part in the evolution from freshman to senior year. With just one short year left, the to-do agenda is bustling with a plethora of applications, letters of recommendations, senior pictures, and securing the perfect day and spot for a graduation party. This year is definitely no year to slack. However, seniors would not be the seasoned veterans of high school that they are if not for the previous three years. Lets look back….

Freshman year was one for the books. It was a completely new experience for the former junior highers. Though, the first year of high school was not all fun and games. There were loads of responsibility to uphold. There were ECA’s to pass, routines to memorize, and more studying to do than most were used to. The transition was difficult but most prevailed.

Clay Vaughn’s freshman experience was an enjoyable one. “Freshman year I mostly enjoyed the freedom that high school presented. I enjoyed the fact that I could take the classes I wanted, not ones I had to take,” Vaughn said.

Then there was sophomore year. The class of 2017 was no longer the bottom of the food chain but rather in an awkward phase between adolescence and adulthood. It was this year that students struggled with Algebra II, Geometry, and passing the English 10 ECA was top priority. It was in this year that students realized that high school might not be as easy as originally thought. Chemistry was the class that caused that realization. However, sophomore year was not all about academics. Students started to break out of their shells and attend social events like dances and sports games and socialized with students in other grades.

“My favorite part of each year of high school is basketball season. Each class of students bond like atoms. The atmosphere is electric and it just doesn’t get any better than that,” said senior pep club leader, Christian Brown.

After summer, the junior year frenzy started. Registering for the SAT and ACT was top priority, looking for colleges became more and more stressful, and homework did not get easier. Junior year of 2015-2016 was the first year that Madison Consolidated partnered with Ivy Tech Community College of Madison to allow juniors and seniors to earn dual credit and take some on-campus college courses. Academia was not the only thing encompassing students that year. Junior year is the year that most students become varsity athletes and compete against the best in the state. Then a junior, but now senior, Emma Staicer had an amazing athletic experience that she can also share with her best friend of the same grade, Maddie Holland.

“When Annie and I won individually at tennis sectionals and were able to move on to individual sectionals in Bloomington, the track team was there the same day for regionals. And while I was playing, I heard on the speakers that Maddie set a new regional record for pole vault and I freaked out a little.”

After the hustle and bustle of junior year, senior year is here and is in full swing for the class of 2017. Senior year seems to be a combination of all years. More AP classes, more Ivy Tech college credit, more sports games, topped off with a hint of “senioritis.” With seven more months to go before graduation, this year still has its chance to be special. Class of 2017, this is a year to reflect, reminisce, work hard, and enjoy.

Senior, Lauren Medina says, “I feel like my life is about to start.”