MPCHS Seniors reflect on their high school experiences

Maui Whaley

Maui Whaley, a soon-to-be graduate of Mt. Pleasant Community High School, remembers the first time she walked through the school building.

'There were these school nights so we could find our classes before the first day. I remember going with my parents and walking around with my schedule, pretending it was the day time and finding all my classes,” she said.

If Whaley had to characterize the beginning of her high school career, she said it was mostly filled with 'excitement and nervousness.”

'It wasn't so bad though, I noticed others were just as nervous as I was,” she said.

And like many of her peers, the first big hurdle Whaley faced was the cafeteria and finding a place to sit.

'The most nervous part of freshman year is lunch time - having a place to hang out and making sure you have lunch with friends,” she said.

Now as she prepares to major in computer science at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, the worries she had about finding seats in the cafeteria or dealing with drama among classmates seems pretty trivial.

'I would say to my [freshman] self don't stress. Focus on what's more important and just relax because it all goes by really fast. Enjoy the moment. There's a lot of drama in high school but focus on self health and prospering,” Whaley explained.

For the incoming MPCSH freshman class, the senior had similar advice. She encouraged new students to 'try everything.”

'Volunteer and join a whole bunch of clubs - it'll benefit you at the end. And join the yearbook!” she added.

In addition to some of the life lessons she's taking away from MPCHS, Whaley said going to school there also helped shape her future. Whaley attributes her decision to study computer science to some of the courses she was able to take advantage of as a highschooler.

'At the beginning of sophomore year, I was unsure of what I wanted to do and was leaning toward culinary arts. But our school let us pick online classes working with computers. It allowed me to try it out and get a feel for things,” she said.

Taking the classes introduced Whaley to the world of programming and is how she became interested in computer science. Unsurprisingly, the senior said the class she most enjoyed at MPCHS was web programming, where she learned to create websites with HTML and CSS as well as utilizing programs like Photoshop and Illumination.

'The class was taught by Mr. [Ronnie] Waggoner,” Whaley said, who also happens to be one of her favorite teachers.

'He was really cool. He gave us a lot of advice on what to do for college essays and creating portfolios you need for college - it was a lot of prep,” she added.

Though the year hasn't ended quite the way she wanted it to, Whaley still is enthusiastic about the future and what's to come with college.

'It was a little anticlimactic because we missed the last months of school and I'll miss my friends. Some of them are going far away for school so I'll miss seeing them and hanging out, but I'm really excited to start college,” she said.

Khang Truong

Mt. Pleasant Community High School senior, Khang Truong will never forget his first day of high school.

Like many of his peers, Truong was concerned about fitting in and making a good first impression, an attempt he now looks back on with some embarrassment.

'My little ‘squad' and I all planned on wearing matching outfits the first day of freshman year to show out. They weren't crazy outfits either - I don't know what we were thinking. It was literally just a T-shirt, jeans, and matching Jordan 1's,” he explained.

Though the little hiccup isn't necessarily a pleasant memory for him, he also acknowledges that it 'was a steppingstone to becoming who [he is] today.”

'I wouldn't change that horrible image in my head for anything,” he added.

Truong added his experiences early on in high school helped him learn to be who he is and not concern himself too much with the opinions of others.

'My biggest piece of advice would be to stop worrying about what others think about you and do what you wanna do. I learned this early in my high school career and I would confidently say I made the most of my time at MPCHS because rather than spending my time worrying about other people's opinions I focused my time on things that really mattered,” he said.

As he prepares to study at the University of Iowa to become a physical therapist, Truong feels he's come full-circle in some ways. Embarking on this new journey reminds him of what he felt as he was about to start high school, except 'magnified a whole lot more.”

'I'm new to this next level of schooling, I'm worried I might get lost getting from class to class, I'm entering in with some of my closest friends and I couldn't be more excited for all the experiences that are to come,” he noted.

And though he's excited to continue his journey with many of his friends, Truong also said he'll look back fondly on the special memories they made at MPCHS.

'High school is such a unique part of our lives for our development, not only in our education but in who we are. I've learned so much about myself throughout high school. It is kind of sad, knowing that I'm done here, at the place that I have been so accustomed to over these last four years, but at the same time I am more than eager at what is next to come in my life,” he said.

Ultimately, for Truong, attending MPCHS wasn't only about academics - it was about finding who he is and growing as a person.

'The things I've learned inside these walls that didn't come from a lesson plan are what I feel are the most important part of who I am today. I genuinely believe that if I had gone to a different school, I would be a much different person than who I am today. It's the people I've come to know and the relationships I've built - I wouldn't trade for the world,” he said.