By Delaney Whittet
Staff Writer
To gain a better understanding of life in the real world, students no longer need to have actually experienced it. They just need to be a part of Costa English teacher Diana Sieker’s English class.
Sieker has been teaching at Costa for 10 years. Since her second year of teaching, Sieker has invited former students to come to her “Guest Speaker Day.”
“I think it’s important for high school students to hear as many perspectives as possible discussing post-high school experiences,” Sieker said. “This way, they can begin to anticipate and look forward to what’s to come once they leave Costa.”
The speakers talk to all of her English classes, which include 1980s senior English seminar, AP English literature and Sophomore Academic Support. In total, 30 to 50 speakers come in different shifts and talk about their personal experiences and give advice.
“It’s inspiring to see how my former students have grown and what they have accomplished,” Sieker said. “Current students get relevant information from people with firsthand experiences.”
Costa alumn and Columbia College Chicago freshman Paxton Wright came to Guest Speaker Day on Jan. 9 and spoke to the students about the importance of putting their maximum effort into college applications and only applying to colleges that truly appeal to them.
“I personally haven’t been too thrilled with my school because it’s not a good fit for me,” Wright said. “Because of this, I advised Costa students to do extensive research on schools they’re thinking of applying to and work hard on their applications.”
Alex Hansen, a Costa alumn and New York University freshman, spoke to Sieker’s students about her NYU experiences and social differences between high school and college.
“I stressed to the students that they don’t need to have their whole life planned out before they graduate,” Hansen said. “I hope this helped them realize there is no wrong path to take after they graduate from Costa.”
Students were able to ask the speakers questions about all aspects of their life after high school, including such topics as internships, careers, majors and living away from home.
“I liked how I could ask for more information on subjects I wasn’t as familiar with as well about general skills outside of academic life to someone who has experienced it,” senior Keala Rusher said.
According to seniors Erica Wenger and Dana Sheckter, a guest speaker who is from the same hometown and high school makes the speeches and their content resonate deeper.
“Guest Speaker Day was helpful because it gave us an idea of what the future may hold as we leave high school from a lot of different people,” Sheckter said.
Sieker plans to continue having Guest Speaker Day for as long as she teaches. According to Sieker, she will make no changes because it has been so successful as is.
“There is no set path or formula to follow once you graduate high school; the possibilities are endless,” Sieker said. “My intention is to get students excited and thinking about the future.”
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