2016 graduates Brooke Gibson and Bailey Pickering are facing the challenges of adulthood. They both currently attend West Texas A&M University and they are preparing for their future career. 

In high school, Gibson was involved in extracurricular activities such as Hosa, basketball and track. She is majoring in nursing and she works for Canyon ISD Kids as a activity leader at Arden Road Elementary for the after school program.

¨My favorite thing about Randall was how the teachers were very supportive and cared for all the students,¨ Gibson said. ¨I wouldn’t go back to high school because I like the freedom of college and the wide varieties of courses I can take.”

Gibson has been in college for three years and has been at WT for two. She said she choose WT because it was close to home and it is also ranked one of the top schools in Texas for nursing.

¨I choose to go into nursing because I love to care for people and to help others become healthy,¨ Gibson said. ¨My mom is an awesome nurse and I strive to be like her.¨

Gibson attended WT right after graduating high school. She decided to take classes at Amarillo College for a year but then transferred back to WT.

¨At first, I was very nervous that I would not be able to keep up with the pace of the courses,¨ Gibson said. ¨The courses are more in depth with the teachings and there is a lot of information you need to know. Now that I have experience, I am very confident and able to keep up with the fast pace and challenges of college.”

Working as a campus leader for Canyon ISD Kids, being a junior associate for a real estate company and going to college all at once is what takes up most of Pickering’s time. He attended Amarillo College for two years and recently transferred to WT.

¨I keep up with my schooling and working two jobs by keeping high energy and pushing my work ethic to a maximum,¨ Pickering said. ¨I know that right now is going to be tough, but it will pay off in a couple of years.¨

Pickering is double majoring in marketing and management and he is working towards his real estate license. He said he choose that because of the broad employment opportunity that comes with the degree.

¨College is not everything that I thought it would be,¨ Pickering said. ¨I did not learn a whole lot my first two years and the curriculum is purely test based which is not, in my opinion, how a student properly retains information. My favorite thing about college is future opportunity it is providing me.¨

Pickering was involved in KRAD his sophomore year, varsity choir and show choir all four years. He still continues to sing when he has extra time in his schedule.

¨My advice to high schoolers is take all the college credit classes you can while in high school,¨ Pickering said. ¨Also choose a college that is not going to put you in a landfill of debt, and have as much fun as you can while you are around your friends because most of that goes away when you graduate.¨