For AHS seniors, high school is coming to a close, but some seniors have already begun their journey into the next chapter of their life. For the few adventurous students who graduated early this year, life is completely different; no school, no homework, and a sense of freedom many high school students long for. Now that they all choose to graduate early, they are all working hard to pursue their dreams through work, travel, and service work.

For a few of the recents graduates such as Kiana Perau and Drew Altman, their second semester will be spent traveling through some of the most interesting places in the world. Altman chose to spend the first three months of second semester traveling around Southeast Asia with a service group before heading off to Tulane. So far she has visited Vietnam, and Cambodia and is on the road to Laos, Thailand, and Burma. The culture shock of these completely different counties has led her to make new discoveries.

“I hope to come out of this experience with a new sense of who I really am,” Altman said. “I was in Aspen for so long and it was an unchanging environment and so I couldn’t really find other parts of myself. And I know this sounds cheesy but I’m only just short of three weeks in and I’m already learning new things about myself. I think if I can find myself and be happy with myself then it will help me with the choices I make in the future. College is so soon and I have no clue what I want to study, and so I’m hoping this will help me find what my real passions are.”

While Altman has been experiencing small remote cities throughout Asia, Perau has been living in the sophisticated city of Paris, France. She is spending her time working for french stylist Marie Amélie Sauvé, and experiencing all the culture Paris has to offer. Her goal is to pursue a career in the fashion industry and graduating early has given her the opportunity to get ahead. She will be spending three months there before attending college at Parsons at The New School.

“I have a crazy amount of responsibility for a 17 year old and am working even when I leave the studio,” Perau said. “However, I love every second of my work and I am learning that this career path that I dreamt about is becoming a reality. The contacts that I am meeting and corresponding with in the fashion world put me in a place that I imagined I would reach at the age of 20. I think the most valuable thing I have learned is that if you set your mind on something and follow through you can achieve almost anything.”

For the rest of the students who graduated early, work has replaced most of the eight hour school day. Many of these students have picked up full time jobs around town including Clark’s Market, Moncler, Paradise, and Cozy Point in order to make money for college. Some of these hardworking students are even taking college courses in their spare time. While this seems a lot like school, student Kendall Anderson are enjoying it.

“I think graduating early was the right choice for me,” Anderson said. “I had my dose of high school and I was definitely ready for a change in my life. Working has opened up a new world of opportunities and I am so glad I choose to do this. Also college is expensive, so being able to work now and save for it will help me in the future.”

Through this experience these students are gaining life skills that are very rarely taught in class, and a sense of pride that comes with hard work. For early graduate Courtney Cox, deciding to graduate early was in no way a vacation but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is time management,” Cox said. “With school and work I had to manage my time to get homework done and be able to go to work, get home, get to bed, and wake up the next morning ready to do it again. It’s basically the same thing now. I’m juggling between college and a full time job.

The sacrifices that come along with graduating early would make some students turn away but these select few have put all that aside to pursue their dreams ahead of schedule. Experiences like finishing IB classes, sports, being able to see friends or teachers you connected with, and those classic senior moment were sacrificed all to make way for new experiences that are not guaranteed in a typical senior year. While this may not have been the right decision for everyone, these students believe they made the right choice.

“At the beginning of my senior year something just clicked and I realized that I was ready to start my life,” Perau said. “I have had such an amazing education because I went to AHS but for me it was time to put everything I learned in school to use. I want to be successful in whatever I chose to do in my life and being able to start when I am 17 allows me to reach my goals earlier.”