Friday, March 13, at 12:40 pm in the auditorium, Student Services hosted the ninth annual Alumni Q&A. Eleven former students stood up and answered various questions from students about careers and what happens after high school.

This year, Wake Forest High School invited alumni James McHale, Jeremy Parrott, Jaxson Cooper, Kyndal McDuffie, Austin Medlin, Mackenzie Warren, Tess Bouyounan, Olivia Bang, Naomi Smith, Oluwole Olugbamila, and Femi Olugbamila. There were a few main concepts spoken about, such as scholarships, dorms, challenges, sports, and how well the school prepares students for college.

Several students discussed challenges and things to keep in mind about college. When you’re in college, you have way more free time. With so much free time, students have to make sure they are doing something and avoid being lazy. Deciding how to spend time in college is key.

Another thing is how to use AI in college. Some classes recommend using AI to study, and some prohibit it. Using AI to create study guides and mock tests was said to be very useful for learning the material, but alumni members raised concerns about not using AI to cheat. College students pay tuition to learn, and if they use AI, they don’t learn.

When thinking about where to live during college, Alumni members spoke about how living with one’s parents is understandable in today’s economy. Rent and cost of living is very hard to keep up with. College expenses is something important to plan ahead for. Some alumni also spoke about dorms and roommates. Most students talked about how great their roommates were and only complained about having to share restrooms with others. One alumni suggested keeping up a compromise with your roommates. It was also said that roommates can vary widely, but someone’s experience with a dorm depends on their attitude towards it.

Scholarships were another big topic brought up early on in the event. Most, if not all, alumni said that scholarships were important. It was said that people shouldn’t stop getting scholarships once they get into college. Free money for tuition is really important even in college.

Loans were a topic that came up, and one alumni recommended paying off small amounts of the loans during college, before they’re due, to make them easier to handle at graduation. Loans are a very helpful part of paying for college, although people have to stay vigilant about how much they owe.

The event answered many questions students may have been struggling with and was useful for all who attended. Students had many genuine questions that were answered in detail and shed light on other useful topics not directly stated.

“I did not expect that many people to raise their hands. I know they had sheets of paper that forced them to kind of write stuff down. 
But there were some very earnest questions.” said alumni Jeremy Parrott.

Thanks to our alumni for coming, and hopefully, next year, another group of students will ask another group of alumni questions about college.