K-12 Education

Thousands of students are set to graduate from Eastern Iowa high schools in the coming days. The Gazette spoke to students from each of 12 area high schools about their favorite memories, overcoming obstacles and their aspirations for the future.

Wilsee Kollie, who started high school ‘shy and soft-spoken,’ is graduating as a leader and advocate for equity

‘Quiet, petite’ Christina Sehna plans to go to college to study construction management, following in the footsteps of her grandfather

Bartels, a graduating senior at Marion High School, is a member of Green Bandanna, a student group that advocates for mental health awareness, named for wearing green bandannas on their backpacks.

When the fathers of Dylan Bohon and Anne Baumann died three months apart while the teens were in high school, the students found comfort in the Xavier community.

Princeton McKinney finished school at Elizabeth Tate High School in late February, two days before his father passed away. Thinking about what his father would have wanted him to do has pushed McKinney to work hard in pursuing his career as an electrician.

Having moved around her whole life, Shay Church-Roberts said she’s excited to start a new chapter of her life in a new place. The Liberty High senior will go to Fort Jackson for basic combat training as part of the U.S. Army Reserve. She will then start school next spring at Alabama State University.

Hunter Shook will continue his education at the U.S. Naval Acadamy and follow his dreams of becoming a pilot. What set the Naval Academy apart most to him was that “your responsibilities don’t stop when you’re on the ground.”

Jaxson Young never let outside expectations stop him from getting the most of his high school experience.

Kongolo Mwenemkamba plans to attend Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge after graduating from City High School. He will continue playing football and plans to major in kinesiology.

Heder plans to be a lawyer some day, inspired by her parents who are refugees from Bosnia.

Gailushas is the recipient of the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he plans to study chemistry.