Winslow Township High School held its annual brunch for seniors on June 18, to offer connection on the same day as graduation and help the transition into adulthood.
Vendors provided informational materials on mental-health topics and career opportunities from organizations such as the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Keller Williams Prime Realty. Tables set up in the school gymnasium were covered with bright tablecloths and summer decorations.
Camille Williams, director of the Village of Camden County – a nonprofit that empowers youth and helps fulfill community needs – shared her thoughts on why the brunch was beneficial to graduates.
“The objective is to give them additional resources as they enter the world,” Williams explained. “We have mental-health vendors here and career vendors to expose them to different opportunities as they walk out the doors of Winslow Township High School.”
“I think it’s a great initiative for these seniors to have a final breakfast with each other before they graduate,” offered board of education member Wanda Glaud, “and for the vendors who are here to help them as they move on.
“For those who don’t want to go to college,” she added, “and for those who are still unsure about what they want to do, there are opportunities.”
Graduate Jaeda Soto has high hopes for her future after high school.
“I’m very excited about leaving high school, but I’m also pretty scared,” she acknowledged, “because I don’t know what to expect in the near future.”
Soto does know she wants to go to college and major in art to become an art teacher. She would also like to become a business owner and open a drink shop.
“I hope all of that becomes a reality,” she related, “and Winslow Township High School has helped prepare me for success.”
Jaeda Soto (left to right) Taneyah Picott, Maya Rivera, Christal Onwuegbule, Nyla Williams and Cherish Hazelton take a break during graduation practice at Winslow Township High School.
