Paige Stephenson, a 2012 graduate of Jacksonville High School, remembers her high school experience as just “something she did.” Despite her neutral attitude about her four years at JHS, she said the high point was definitely graduation day. She said after graduating she felt free and accomplished and excited that she didn’t have to go back to JHS unwillingly. I asked her the weirdest part about graduating and she responded, “All of my friends just grew up and moved away from Jacksonville. Also, college is a lot different from high school.”
She recently finished her first year at Lincoln Land Community College and started her second this fall. When she’s not at class or hanging out with her hedgehog, Penelope, she is working at Applebee’s part-time. Within the next month, she’ll start work at Pathway Services in residential aid at a group home. She’ll help take care of people with mental and some physical disabilities. Within the next year, she plans on moving to Edwardsville to attend SIUe for her bachelors degree and maybe her master’s degree in behavioral therapy specializing in children with autism.
When asked where she hopes to be in five years, she responded, “Well, I’ll be 25, so I’ll have my bachelors and hopefully a career than involves autistic kids. Oh, and I’ll have my own place. Who knows, maybe I’ll be living in Wyoming in five years.”