Arrowhead Graduate Explains Her Life After High School

In June of 2021 Jade Stefan, a senior, graduated from Arrowhead High School. Stefan now attends University of Wisconsin – Madison and is majoring in marketing and minoring in graphic design. 

Stefan was a four year varsity volleyball player when she attended Arrowhead, and is continuing her love for the sport by playing club volleyball for the top team at Madison. 

Stefan says, “The biggest difference between high school and college is in college, you have a lot more freedom than in high school. You get to do basically whatever you want whenever you want without having to ask your parents. You are independent and have to take care of yourself and make your own decisions most of the time. Also, in high school, you’re in the same building for the whole school day and have the same number of classes every day. In college, you have less classes per day that are in all different buildings and could be a 20 min walk from one to another.” 

Stefan moved into her new dorm hall, Witte, last August. She is rooming with her life long best friend, Mckenna Scharnek, who also attended Arrowhead. Since then Stefan has been busy, and always filling any of her free time with social events. 

Stefan said, “With any of the free time I have, I like to spend it with friends walking around campus finding new places to eat [or] shop, watch movies in dorms, and work out at our new recreational facility. I go to the memorial union terrace often to study or enjoy the lake view. I also go to the business library on campus to study and finish homework in a quiet setting.”

Stefan’s advice that she would give to the seniors is, “Enjoy every single day of highschool and make the best memories with the friends you have now. Next year, most of your friends will go off to different colleges and you won’t be able to see them as often as you’d like. Enjoy the last year you have as being a “kid”, because it all changes before you know it. I can’t believe how quickly my senior year flew by so appreciate every day you have before it’s all gone.”

Stefan says, “I miss high school sometimes, it depends on the day. I miss the relationships I was able to form with my teachers in a smaller classroom setting vs the large lectures I have now. I miss the people I met in highschool and how I would walk through the halls and know almost everybody. But, overall I think that college is way more fun than highschool and I enjoy it a lot more.”