By Alex Mackall
<[email protected]>

President Barack Obama’s American Graduation Initiative, announced in July 2009, is an attempt by the Obama administration to make the United States the country with the highest proportion of college graduates. Despite that push, senior Suzy Whited has decided that college is not for her. When she graduates, Whited will be on track to achieving her future profession without filling out a single college application.

“I want to be a paramedic,” Whited said. “I’m still choosing a career path, I’m just taking a different route and going through a hospital.”

Many people like Whited say a four-year college degree isn’t always the best option. Indeed, many people in the workforce have argued that some students aren’t cut out to attend college. Counselor Stephanie Payne, who has been a high school counselor for 13 years, said she believes all people are, in one form or another, cut out to further their education.

“I don’t think that everyone is ready to (go on to college) at 18. There is a level of maturity that sometimes doesn’t kick in until people are in their twenties and maybe they have worked a couple of lousy jobs,” she said. “Now that doesn’t mean that they aren’t cut for college, it just means that maybe that’s not the best thing for them right at this very moment, when they are 18 and finish high school.”

At this school, college has always been the majority option for students. According to the 2009-2010 profile put together by the counseling center, the class of 2009 had 85 percent of its students enroll in a four-year college and 11 percent enroll in a two-year college. This means that out of the entire graduating class, only 4 percent did not enroll in any further education.

Payne said she agreed that the American Graduation Initiative wouldn’t affect this school’s numbers much. She said, “I know across the Indianapolis area, across the state and across the country, there are certainly lots of areas that are not so well educated. There is a lot of mentality out there that college isn’t a priority. So I think that probably what (Obama’s) initiative is going to do is put some efforts into those schools that are different from Carmel.”

Whited said she first made the choice to not attend college when she had a first-hand experience with some paramedics. She said, “Two years ago I saw a car accident and had to stay as a witness. I saw the medics on scene and I knew from then on that that was what I wanted to do.”

Whited said she has been preparing to become a paramedic by taking classes at the J. Everett Light (JEL) Center located behind North Central High School. According to Whited, the JEL program requires students training to be a paramedic must have eight hours in an ambulance and eight hours in the emergency room. Classes begin at 7:30 a.m. and last for three hours every day.

Whited said after graduating she plans to volunteer at the Lapel Fire Department until she feels prepared enough to further pursue her career.

When she feels she has the knowledge and experience, Whited said she will take the steps to become a paramedic. She said, “You have to find a hospital that has a good program, take a test to enter that, train for 13 months, then you are required to go on a certain amount of each type of run before you can get your certification.”

On the other hand, senior Tyler Hardcastle said he thinks a four-year college is the right choice for him and his future. He plans to major in psychology at Wabash College in the fall and admits that he sees both sides of the argument. “There’s a lot of pressure to make people go to college and not everyone is cut out for college,” Hardcastle said. “Some people should be going straight into work because for whatever reason school is not a good fit for them and they don’t enjoy it.”

According to Whited, she thinks that this path is the better option for her rather than college because she has always learned better by physically doing things herself. “I can’t sit in a desk any longer,” she said. “I have always been a hands-on person.”

However, like Hardcastle, Whited said she can also see both sides of the issue. She said when she is ready to slow down in life, she plans to go to college to learn nursing.

According to Hardcastle, no matter a person’s circumstances they should not be forced into a decision one way or another.

“Trying to convince people that they need to go to college is just going to mess people up,” he said. “They should be pursuing what they want to do and what they are able to do rather than what other people expect them to do.”