Graduates from 2010 to 2013 are preparing for zoo keeping job interviews, college sports events, and essays due for classes at some of the top universities in the world.

“Hagerty prepared me really well for the workload and the quality of the work expected. The high expectations at Hagerty translated well into going into a big university with standards just as high, if not higher,” Shivan Vyas, class of 2012 and current student at UCF, said.

Vyas, like many other high school graduates, has adjusted to college life and looks back on high school memories often, wishing sometimes that high school had never ended. And while Vyas is currently studying for a major in biomedical engineering and medicine at the University of Central Florida, he says that he learned the most important lessons in high school.

“I had the best four years in high school I could ask for, and if I could do it all over again, I would without question,” Vyas said. And while graduating may seem daunting to students, Cassie Schuchart, class of 2010, says only her closest friends never left her side. The fact is, the majority of high school friends and acquaintances students acquire over their four years of high school tend to loose contact with each other, and drift apart.

“I drifted from people I wouldn’t think I would drift from. It was a shock. And it’s sad to think about, but I’ve made a bunch of

But what exactly helped graduates push through their high school career and make it to where they are now? Emma Ballantyne says it’s simple.

“Get involved, go to sports games, volunteer. If you support the school, the school will support you,” Ballantyne said.

“If I could take something from Hagerty and bring it to college with me I would bring Jeff Driskel and the great school spirit,” Vyas said. “Or Mr. Adams and Mr. Pooler because they’re the best. But seriously the school spirit and actual interpersonal relations are what I miss a lot.”

Eric Anchuetz, a freshman at Harvard University who was salutatorian of the 2013 class, plans to major in physics. Anchuetz says that the most important thing about high school is, “to enjoy the moment and take a breath.”

“Make lots of friends, don’t take classes too seriously, and don’t stress,” Anchuetz said. “You’ll do what you are meant to do and it’ll all work out. If you get a B, it is what it is, there are people who have gotten C’s at Harvard and just look at where they are now. It’s all good.”