In author Sylvia Plath’s novel “The Bell Jar”, Plath used a fig tree as a metaphor for her dreams in life. The opening line states: “I saw my life branching out before me like a fig tree.” 

     On June 5, the seniors of West Albany are going to split off from their shared branch, choosing their own paths and vines to follow. Here are the stories of their branching paths.

Senior Charolette Nicholas

Senior Charlotte Nicholas plans to attend OSU to major in biochemistry, aiming to go down the pre-med pathway. Her eventual intent is to become a pediatrician, focusing on research studies. Nicholas’s after high school plans did not always lean toward this direction.

      “I applied to a lot of California schools, and some in different places across the East Coast,” Nicholas said. She got accepted to most of the colleges in California that she applied to, with plans to attend. However, many of the schools were notoriously expensive and did not offer good financial aid for out-of-state students. 

     “Which was really frustrating because I really wanted to go to some of the ones that I got into,” Nicholas said.

     Throughout her high school career, Nicholas had prepared herself through her academics, with a 4.0 GPA, tons of AP’s, and many extracurriculars. She has kept herself busy throughout the last four years. 

     Though taking AP science classes is going to help her with her major, the most influential classes to her chosen career path have been AP Statistics and AP Psychology. Those classes taught her more about research and statistics, which are skills that will help her go through a more research-focused path. 

     The content and studies that Nicholas learned about throughout the curriculum were studies that pertained to not only the psychology world, but also the medical world as a whole.

     Throughout the medical field, research studies lead to breakthroughs that can revolutionize medicine. 

     “Breakthroughs are huge for saving lives,” Nicholas said, “which I think is something I would love to focus on.”

Senior Cameron Washburn 

     Senior Cameron Washburn has plans to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following high school. It is a long-standing tradition and norm for church members to serve a two-year-long mission at some point in their lives. 

     The decision to go on a mission may be the norm, yet members still have the agency to choose whether or not they want to serve. 

     “It’s a very personal decision between you and God,” Washburn said.

     Though some may choose not to partake in a mission, which is a religious vocation to spread a religion, for Washburn, it has been something he has always looked forward to. 

     “I’ve had tons of people in my life who have gone on missions,” Washburn said. 

     With family stationed in Las Vegas, Brazil, and many other places throughout his childhood, going on a mission is something that Washburn had always planned to do as soon as he graduated. 

     To prepare, Washburn has attempted to surround himself with different aspects of his religion throughout high school. 

     “I’ve read the Bible. I’ve read the Book of Mormon,” Washburn said. As time has passed, Washburn has gotten closer and closer to preparing for his mission. Washburn has had to start the technical aspects of getting sent off through an online source called the missionary portal. 

     Missionary portal uses an online archive that keeps all of the members’ old paperwork organized, making a long and sometimes difficult task even easier thanks to technology. Getting Washburn out to the field to serve his long desired mission as fast as possible to fulfill his childhood dream.

Senior Bricen Frazzini

Largely influenced by his family and the environment around him, senior Bricen Frazzini plans to go into the Air Force for pressure fire protection. Growing up, Frazzini was surrounded by family who were either in the armed forces or law enforcement. 

     With a grandpa who served in the military and a father who is a part of the police force, joining one of the branches of the armed forces was an aspiration for him from very early on. As time went on, the Air Force started to look the best for him. 

     “[The] Air Force kind of stood out to me because of the academic side,” Frazzini said.

     The military was not always the only option for Frazzini. At times, he considered going straight into firefighting and the police force. Influenced by his dad, he decided to take the route his dad wished he himself could have taken. 

     “My dad is a police officer, and [it is] not necessarily [a] regret, but he wishes that he could go back and do the whole military thing,” Frazzini said.

     For Frazzini, the military route was the best of both worlds. Through the Air Force, he could work just as hard and have the opportunities given to him much faster and with more ease. 

     “I think that the military really sets you up to be able to get those jobs a lot easier,” Frazzini said, “and it also gives you a good experience.”