Graduation time is nearing closer every day. Seniors who will be leaving high school look towards their lives and futures progressing and are finalizing plans for what they will do once graduated.  For a few seniors, these plans include involvement in college athletics.

Seniors Ryan Sprouse and Cash Miller have accepted offers to play collegiate baseball next year.

Sprouse will be attending Iowa Wesleyan University to play as a relief pitcher and possibly a role in the outfield while receiving academic scholarships from the university. Sprouse is excited to play with different people and experience new places in college. Ryan’s best high school sports memory is going to state during his freshman year. Sprouse is aware of the big difference between college and high school sports.

“College sports will be more intense than high school. There will be more on the line,” Sprouse said.

Miller will start college off at North Central Missouri as the pitcher for their baseball team. Although his favorite memory is all the times he has had with his teammates, Cash is excited to see how he develops as a player while being able to workout and practice every day, year round. Miller will be receiving a scholarship for $500 a semester. He is preparing himself for the transition to college sports.

“I think that the difference between high school and college sports will be everyone that is playing in college is playing because they really love the game and set it as a priority,” Miller said.

Sports may be one route to follow after high school, but a few seniors also plan to go into the military following graduation. Seniors Dallas Larsen, Nate Fauquier, and Kylee Creach are already in the process of joining the military.

Kylee Creach will be joining the Air Force and hopes to be stationed at Whiteman Air Force base but could end up as far as Cadena, which is a base in Japan, under the role of Military Intelligence. Kylee is very excited about the people she’ll encounter, all the places she’ll get to see, and all the experiences ahead.

“The Air Force takes good care of their airmen and I’m excited that I won’t have to worry about my finances as much as the average person,” Creach said.

Nate Fauquier will be joining the Marines, where he will have to travel to MCRD in San Diego for boot camp. Nate is wanting to be a part of the military band but if that doesn’t work out, then he will look into something in the aviation department. When asked what he is most excited about, Fauquier answered, “The experience and the pay.”

Dallas Larsen is in the Army – National Guard. While being stationed in Fort Leonard Wood for training during the summer, Dallas will train to be a Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Specialist.

“If someone decided to attack the United States with chemical or nuclear weapons, I’ll be there to contain the situation,” Larsen said. Although he is most nervous about not knowing what tomorrow will bring, Dallas is the most excited for learning invaluable knowledge and serving the greatest country in the world.

Regardless of what seniors have planned thus far, graduation is only days away and the real world is one step closer to becoming a part of everyday life.