For the class of 2026, school is almost over. Seniors at Freeport High School feel excited and nervous as graduation gets closer and closer since life as they know it is about to change.
Dean Hartman said he is excited but also nervous about graduating. “I am excited to graduate, but also nervous. I’m starting a new time in my life, it’s new and changing,” Hartman said. He is looking forward to what comes next and the new chances it will bring.
Hartman will miss the people here the most because the friends he made and the connections he built over the years are not easy to leave behind.
He also had some advice for younger students. “Don’t be worried to try something new, meet new people, try new things, don’t just float by your high school career,” Hartman said.
“It’s the end of one long chapter and the start of the rest of the book,” Steven Van said. He is going to college in Wisconsin, but said he will really miss the summer nights and hanging out with his friends back in Freeport.
Van also had a message for underclassmen, “You’re never gonna regret taking a chance and failing, but you will always regret not taking a chance”.
Tristan Peterson said he is just ready, “I’m ready for the next step in my life and to dip my toes in the real world.”
His advice? “Put school first and take it seriously,” Peterson said.
