Freshman year is a year full of beginnings. The upcoming football games, pep rallies, new friends, and classes can be an exciting rush of change to kick off the year for incoming students. It starts with one of the biggest choices that many will make when coming into Seminole High School: the program (The International Baccalaureate Program, Health Academy, Traditional) they decide to join. Whichever program freshmen chose, it opens up a whole new world of connections and opportunities throughout the school.

One of the biggest things that freshmen look forward to are the football games. The sound of students cheering for their team and their school brings exhilaration to the crowd. The halftime show is what especially draws in many people, famed for the Pride of the Tribe’s performance.

Health Academy freshman Chloe Reneau said, “Over the next four years, I look forward to my health classes and sports, especially the football games.”

A variety of classes are offered to freshmen that some middle schools do not have available. Classes such as auto body shop, culinary, and tennis are just a few of the electives offered at SHS that are brand new to incoming freshmen.

Each program itself offers classes that normally are not provided by most high schools. The International Baccalaureate Program (IB) is a particularly rigorous path, designed for hardworking students. These students experience a tough course load and spend hours at a time doing homework and studying for tests. Health Academy, another program that is offered, is open to students looking for a career in the medical field. Similar to IB, Health Academy students have to be willing to put effort into their work. Finding a balance between academics and extracurriculars is vital for IB and Health Academy students.

“This year I’ll be using my planner to plan out the time that I’ll study for classes and make sure it doesn’t interfere with my soccer schedule,” said IB freshman Matthew Ruiz.

The freshman mindset is different from those in higher grades. Some freshmen think you get more freedom in high school than in middle school, but this comes with more responsibilities for students as well. At first, the campus may seem very intimidating in size as it houses almost 4,000 students. Some freshmen believe they will not have the time to get from class to class, but six minutes is more than enough time for most students.

Sports provide a high school experience that is significant to some students, making their four years feel more fulfilled. In contrast, middle schools around the state do not offer the variety of sports available at SHS, such as football and swimming.

“So far, high school has given me and my friends a lot more freedom than we got in middle school, and the campus is massive not only compared to middle schools, but other high schools as well,” said freshman Marleigh Ginas.

Overall, freshman year is the start of new goals and friends, and begins a journey which hopefully ends at the start of a new one, college.