We thought it would be interesting to catch up with some of our recent grads to find out how the transition from high school to the “real world” is going and share some advice for our current students about life after high school.

The first installment of our  series spotlights 2014 Tyrone alumni and Penn State freshman Lucy Raftery.

Raftery is currently attending Penn State Main Campus at University Park, majoring in criminology.  She originally planned to attend law school, but now hopes to pursue a career in counseling.

Graduating in 2014, Raftery achieved much success during her high school career.

Raftery was extremely involved in high school, participating in many extracurricular activities, including soccer, basketball, and student council. She was also a member of National Honor Society.

Raftery also took full advantage of all the academic opportunities available to Tyrone students, taking five dual enrollment classes in her senior year, which allowed her to be a full semester ahead at Penn State.

She then took college classes throughout the summer which got her yet another semester ahead, allowing her to start her third semester during her first year on campus.

Her academic achievement even earned her the honor of speaking at graduation.

“Some of my most memorable moments during high school were probably going to playoffs my junior and senior year in soccer, winning the Mountain League in basketball, peer tutoring for Mrs. (Bradford) Smith for two years, and being able to speak at graduation,” commented Raftery.

According to Raftery the best thing about Tyrone are its teachers.

“They’ll help you do anything to succeed,” said Raftery.

Raftery also shared some of the most important lessons that she learned from TAHS.

“The most valuable thing that I learned at TAHS would have to be that hard work pays off. Being active in so much and having a heavy workload for classes helped me prepare for college with time management,” says Raftery.

Because of her strong academic record Raftery had many colleges to choose from when applying her senior year. Raftery chose to attend Penn State’s main campus at University Park.

“I chose Penn State for a few reasons; most importantly the enormous discount I get from my mom working there,” says Raftery, “I get a 75% off tuition, which is amazing! And also I have grown up loving Penn State, almost everyone in my family is a Penn State alum and loved their experience there, so I knew I would love it. All and all, it’s a fantastic school.”

Raftery shares some of the biggest similarities and differences between high school and college.

She explains that like high school, you still have all your classes, exams, and homework in college.

However, she also explains the dramatic change from a small-town high school to a large university.

“Some of the biggest differences between high school and college honestly depend on what size and type of college you decide to attend,” comments Raftery, “From my perspective, because I go to Penn State University Park – the class sizes are extremely different. My classes at Tyrone maybe had 20-30 kids, while some of my classes at Penn State have hundreds of kids in class with me.”

Another difference is the workload, which Raftery described as much heavier than in high school.

“This semester especially I have an immense amount of reading for homework – along with papers that are between 8-10 pages instead of 5-6,” said Raftery, “Also, in college you can schedule classes whatever time you want – if you aren’t a morning person you can schedule all afternoon classes.”

Raftery credits her high school for helping her to succeed and get her to the place that she is now.

She credits Tyrone Area High School for providing her with the opportunity to take dual enrollment classes and get her 13 credits going into college.

She also credits Tyrone for giving her the opportunity to participate in all the sports, clubs, and extracurricular activities. The activities not only looked good on her college transcript, but also taught her time management.

All in all, Raftery is one of TAHS’ most esteemed recent alumni. She is a prime example of some of the amazing students that come out of Tyrone Area High School.

From her involvement in countless clubs and sports to her pristine academic excellence, Raftery is a great role model to all high school students.

Raftery gave some very valuable advice to all current high school students.

“My advice to you guys is enjoy high school while you still can, because in a blink of an eye you’ll be walking across the stage at graduation. People do not exaggerate when they say it flies by, trust me,” said Raftery.

“I also think that you should try to get involved in as much as you can because it’s a great way to make different friends and learn something new. Always strive to do to do your best in your classes, your grades from 9th-11th grade will be sooo important when you apply for college. And for future seniors – the college courses you can take here are an amazing opportunity!” added Raftery.

Look for more in the “where are they now” series throughout the spring.  If you would like to nominate someone for this series, or if you are a recent Tyrone grad who would like to be profiled in the Eagle Eye, drop us a line.