Silverton High School offered an extended application event in the school's gym. During it, graduating seniors told other students about their plans.

When the seniors at Silverton, Ore., High School presented their post-graduation plans to underclassmen last month, it was obvious that their career paths are all over the map.

Editor’s Note

High school graduation is here, and students around the nation are trying to answer this all-important question: What’s next?

The options are limitless: a job, trade school, community college, four-year university.

Capital Press talked to counselors and students at the Silverton, Ore., High School in the Willamette Valley. On these pages are their answers and information that students can use to come up with their own answers.

Some students will go from high school to work while others will pursue a trade. In many cases, students decide that their goals will require attending a two- or four-year college.

“There are no clear advantages or disadvantages for any of the post-high school options,” said Kristie Hays, school counselor for the Class of 2023. “Traditionally, it was assumed that people with a college education had more opportunities for career growth and income.”

However, she said, the trend right now would indicate that there are ample opportunities for students who enter work right away, especially in the trades.

“Career technical industries have a huge need for skilled workers and often pay very well, have opportunities for promotion and sometimes even pay for continuing education,” Hays said. “Each path offers something different based on the skills and abilities of each individual student.”

An increasing number of students plan to start their high education at a community college with the option of transferring to a four-year university, she said.

Some community colleges have excellent programs in certain fields, and in Oregon the new Oregon Promise state grant helps cover tuition costs at any in-state community college and offers free tuition to anyone with a 3.5-plus grade-point average regardless of financial need.

There are some things students can start as soon as they enter high school.

“It’s important to keep grades up from Day 1, but admissions and employers also look at things like leadership experience, community service and extracurricular participation,” Hays said.

As the Class of 2025 counselor, Kevin Ortega helps get students thinking about after-graduation paths early on.

“As a general rule, some sort of education or training beyond high school is a wise investment,” Ortega said. “Whether that is a trade like cosmetology, culinary arts, plumbing, or a professional field requiring a degree, more education means more financial stability.”

He said his promise to each student in the class is that “I will follow their lead when it comes to post-high school education, training and careers, and assist them in finding the best for each individual.

“At the same time I give students things to think about that may challenge their current thoughts about life after high school,” Ortega said.

To that end, he created websites for the students, one with college-related info and another for careers requiring less than two years of education or training.

“Whether it is a trade school, community college or a university, the process is complicated,” Ortega said. “That is why we guide students through their extended application project, hold events such as FAFSA Night and Scholarship Night and develop online websites to assist in the process.”

That, he said, “is why student and parent inboxes are flooded with information junior and senior year.”

Scholarships offer opportunities for all students, he said.

“Students often assume that scholarship money is only for those with top-tier GPAs, but that is just not the case,” Ortega said.

“For example, our local barber shop offers a scholarship for Silverton students interested in a vocational program, and SHS Alumni offer numerous scholarships to a wide variety of students,” he said.