By TYLER MUSE and AMAYA ROTHROCK

Graduates Anna Yates and Logan Cole take on the college life. Anna graduated from Bellefonte Area High School last year. This year she is attending Lancaster Bible College located in Lancaster, PA. She is double majoring in Biblical Studies and Musical Theatre.

So far, Anna’s experience at college has been great. She loves the atmosphere of the school and the smaller size of the campus. She also enjoys everyone that attends the school because they all want to be there and let out a positive vibe. College is a challenge that she is willing to take on.

“I feel I adapted very well because I’m a fairly independent person, so I really enjoy the change, and I like change, so this new environment is good for me. I’m taking 20 credits right now and I don’t have time for anything.”

Anna very much misses having her close friends around her and people that know her here at BAHS. She misses how there was less stress in high school than there is in college. Anna described high school life as a “carefree lifestyle” that does not exist in college. She does have some advice she would like to share to future students who will be attending college.

“Make sure you are pursuing something you really enjoy, otherwise you won’t have the motivation to put in as much work as everyone else. Also be prepared to take responsibility to learn on your own. It’s up to you whether you succeed and learn a lot or not.”

If you don’t know Anna, or you know the name but can’t put a face to it, you may know her from multiple productions the school has put on in the past few years. The most recent being last year’s spring musical Anything Goes, where she played the lead role Reno Sweeney. Drama Club helped her find her passion for musical theatre, which helped her decide that is what she wanted to major in.

“The shows gave me the drive to want to pursue theatre which I’m very thankful for, which is the reason I chose what I chose It’s extremely different because I’m learning it now. I’m learning the basics and what I’m actually to do instead of just going on stage and I’m learning the specifics before I apply it to an actual show.

Anna would like to thank Mr. Eric Brinser on influencing her decision into choosing to major in musical theatre. He taught her how to truly love the art of theatre by watching him direct and lead everyone with a great amount of passion. Mr. Brinser has very high hopes for Anna in the theatre industry.

“Anna could definitely make Broadway, but there are also so many opportunities in regional theatres and I can see her anywhere, a papermill in Jersey or in a DC theatre. I hope she finds happiness and success in her passion since the business is always a no. She wasn’t the big fish in high school, knowing she will get everything. She started backstage and ended with the lead and she realizes the importance of that and if she puts in the work its will pay off”

Anna won an Isaac award for ‘Best Female Actress” with her role of Natalie/Ed in the school’s production of All Shook Up in 2017. Anna won another Isaac this past school year with her role of Reno in Anything Goes, which she was the runner up for best female actress. Anna was Mr. Brinser’s first student to win two Isaac awards.

“Everything is so well deserved for her. Anna is a performer who as a lead is always prepared, and she led by example and there was never a diva bone in her body. She wanted the best for everyone and to succeed. She was always performance level during rehearsals every single time and seeing someone awarded that way is richly deserving”

Logan also graduated from Bellefonte Area High School last year and he is currently attending Penn State University in State College, PA. He is studying history and possibly going to Law School afterwards.

Going from high school to college can be an exciting change for many. There are a lot of new experiences that come along with college. However, there are some things people may miss about high school after graduating.

“One thing that I do miss is that I didn’t have to walk 20 minutes between classes in high school. But college has been great so far,” Logan said.

College is much different compared to high school. Students have the opportunity to do what they want in college and make their own decisions.

“I really like the freedom and independence college has brought,” he said.

Although he has more freedom, he still has many assignments that he does not enjoy doing. Similar to assignments he received in high school.

“I hate all the stuff I have to do outside of class. Reading for classes makes me want to die,” Logan said, “the biggest difference between college and high school is probably the tuition bill I have to pay every summer.”

College is a much different experience from high school and Logan and Anna are taking it on one step at a time.