What happens after the final deadline? What happens after graduation? We talked to three of our Sage alumni to find out. Nadia Razzaq, Isabella Bernabeo and Nick Cepek, members of the 2023 graduating class speak on life after high school, college experiences and future plans.
Nadia Razzaq
Nadia Razzaq stands in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. Razzaq, former Editor-in-Chief of The Sage, is now studying political science at UC Berkeley. (Photo by Nadia Razzaq)
What have you been up to? What are you studying? Work? Projects?
“I just completed my second year at UC Berkeley. I’m studying political science as my major and journalism as my minor. It was a really great year as I was working for the student government, doing communications work primarily. I also had a lighter course load this year which allowed me to explore Berkeley and the Bay Area more with friends. I’ve also been able to keep working for a city councilmember here in Carlsbad which has kept me grounded and connected locally even while I’m away. Because I took transferable courses over high school, I will also be able to graduate in three years which is really exciting. School just ended so I’ll be doing a fellowship with a policy advocacy group and taking courses through Berkeley for the summer.”
Has your college experience aligned with what you expected in high school?“My college experience has been challenging, humbling at times, but fruitful. I think I chose the best school for me luckily as I’ve been able to grow academically and personally. It has been pretty similar to what I expected in high school. I’ve become a lot more independent and confident not only in academics but just life in general.”
Has your trajectory/future plans changed since high school?
“Originally, I was super into journalism and thought that was my future. However, I’m now more interested in local and state politics, and driving policy change that helps students and children excel. I had the opportunity to lobby in Sacramento, interact with policymakers, and met some amazing people since high school. I think I’m now way more interested in making a positive impact on others as a result.”
How do you balance school, work, life, etc?
“I balance school, work, and life by keeping everything organized. I heavily rely on resources like Google Calendar and Notion so that no events or projects slip my mind. I make time every day to enjoy a coffee and go for a nice walk. My major requires a lot of reading and writing. However, I’ve learned that you’re more focused and successful when you make room for yourself to enjoy things in between the work.”
What’s the biggest difference between college and high school?
“I think the biggest difference is the living situation. College teaches you how to coexist with others in tight spaces. It’s a great opportunity to downsize on what you own and learn how to set boundaries.”
If you could give one piece of advice to your high school self or anyone still in high school, what would it be?
“My piece of advice would be to live more. I think people put a lot of pressure on themselves in high school to participate in as much as they can and to take the hardest classes. Challenging yourself is great but make sure that what you’re doing is intentional and truly serves you. Now is the time to explore your passions and interests and enjoy time with friends and family.”
What would you say to seniors moving on to the next chapter?
“I would say that whatever is happening right now or is to come is really not that serious. Whatever you’re worried about right now, luckily, won’t matter in like a week or so. Most of my senior year I was panicked about what life would look like in a year from then. I don’t even know what there was to be so nervous about now. There is so much pressure to pick the “best” of everything, but none of that even matters in the end. I truly think things have and will only get better so don’t worry.”
Isabella Bernabeo
What have you been up to? Where are you studying? What are you studying, work projects? How’s it been going?
After graduating from Sage Creek, I am now attending New York University with a double major in global cultures and journalism, and I’ve just been working on that. On the side, I am the president of the Poetry Club at NYU, and I am also an editor of NYU’s travel magazine called Baedeker. I’ve just been trying to get as involved with college and the writing world as much as I can. This summer I’ll be interning as a web producer at the New York Post, and I’ve just been doing everything I can to forward my career and my experiences.
Do you feel that your trajectory has shifted since high school?
I mean I knew since I was in third grade that I wanted to be a journalist, and ever since then I just did everything I could to do that. So I always wrote in elementary school, middle school, and then in high school I was on the newspaper, obviously. And then I am just continuing to be on every newspaper I can be, and every writing aspect I can get involved in at NYU. So I guess my trajectory hasn’t changed. I still have the same goal of being a journalist.
Has college aligned with what you’d expected as a high school senior?
I really didn’t know what to expect because I had never visited the state or the college that I went to. So my first day of moving into the dorm was the first time I had ever set foot inside New York City. And it was definitely a bit overwhelming at first, but then over time I got more comfortable with it. With just seeing how the city ran and how everyone works there. And I really started to admire it and love college and New York City. I definitely see it as being where I want to stay in the future. Something unique is it’s not a closed campus. The campus is actually spread out throughout the city, so I feel like it’s not the typical college experience, but I think it sets me up for the real world very well.
Where do you see yourself after graduation, or in five years?
I don’t have, I guess, a set plan or anything, but I know that once I graduate, I want to continue learning. So I’m thinking about maybe getting a master’s in journalism or something. And then also, I love to travel and I love to write about travel journalism. I’d love to do some freelance journalism for a little bit, not get tied down in any place and kind of just be able to write and travel and write about my experiences and all of it.
How do you balance everything?
It’s a lot of work. I feel like I’m just busy all the time. I don’t have a lot of downtime, but I also really like that because I like what I’m doing. I like writing. So it doesn’t feel like much of a job, I guess. And I think because I’m passionate about it, it makes it to where I’m not too stressed out about it, I guess. So I’m working and I’m writing and I’m busy doing school and all this sort of stuff all the time. But at least it’s something I enjoy. It’s a passion and a hobby and my work all in one.
What’s your favorite thing about college so far?
So far, I really enjoy being a part of NYU’s travel magazine. As I mentioned before, it’s just so much fun. The community is just full of great people. It feels like more of a family. And some of my closest friends have been found in that club. Everyone’s super passionate about it, about telling other people’s stories and experiences and why it’s important to learn and travel, because that’s where we gain the best experiences and learn new perspectives that we may have not heard of before. So I’d say being a part of a club that you really enjoy and with people who are also passionate about it is something that’s really just helps build your own college experience and your own community.
Have you been able to travel a lot since?
Yeah, actually, this past semester, I was able to go on a school funded trip to Barbados over spring break because I was a part of a class called Caribbean Cultures. And so we studied the culture of the Caribbean. And over spring break, we were actually able to go and experience that firsthand in Barbados. So that was my first time outside of the country. And it was just amazing to experience because I was able to travel practically for free and get an education.
If you could give one piece of advice to your high school self or anyone who’s still in high school, what would it be?
I’d say don’t let people, no matter who it is, whether it’s a peer, whether it’s a friend, whether it’s a teacher, no matter who it is, don’t let them diminish your dreams. In high school, I feel like I had a lot of people who challenged me in both a positive and not such both in a positive way, but the people who challenged me in a negative way were trying to stop me from succeeding because they didn’t think I could do it. And I just want to prove them wrong. So don’t let other people’s negative thoughts or suggestions about you get in the way. If you want to do something and you’re really passionate about it, whether people think it’s not a successful career anymore, or whatever, still go after that dream because, you know, I was able to accomplish it when a lot of people said I couldn’t. And I think a lot of other people can if they just put in the hard work and they don’t let other people’s opinions get to them.
Nick Cepek
Is college what you envisioned in high school?
I guess so. I think Sage does a great job of preparing people to really go anywhere. I mean it is one of the highest rated schools in the county and probably in the whole of Southern California. So yeah, I think that Sage was a great foundational part of my education and definitely prepared me for college adequately.
What’s your favorite thing about college so far?
I really enjoyed being able to explore different fields of study that are not related to my major.
Business can be kind of dry, so it’s been really cool to have the opportunity to take Greek history classes or classes on comparative religion. Things that you’re definitely not exposed to in high school or really any part of your public education prior to college. So it’s been nice to kind of explore unrelated fields, but obviously still contribute to credit hours and still contribute to my degree.
Where do you see yourself after college or in two years, five years?
I think realistically a lot of people from the University of Missouri end up in Chicago, and there’s a lot of great opportunities there. So I think, I mean, immediately after college I could definitely see myself in Chicago, but in the long run, probably back in San Diego. It’s good to live in San Diego.
What do you find is the biggest difference between being at college versus being in high school?
I think it has to relate to personal discipline. I was actually talking to my sister about this the other day, obviously in high school there’s your parents and there’s your teachers and there’s a lot of people that are encouraging you to succeed, to do well. In college, no one’s telling you in the morning you have to go to class. You’re getting up at 8 a.m. and walking over in the cold and the rain, whatever. So I think that you’re firmly in control of your academic future in college. And so I think that there’s a great degree of freedom, that’s the biggest thing, freedom. And you kind of have to decide what you want to do with that.
I mean, I know there’s people that really don’t take their college seriously and people that are at the exact opposite end of the spectrum and are going to every class and working towards 4.0s and things like that. So it’s really you’re in the driver’s seat of your academic future at that point.
What do you do outside of college, something you do for fun?
I still write. Missouri is kind of primarily known for its journalism school and they have two different student papers, so I write for both of those just as a hobby. I think it’s really important to get involved in things that are outside of your major. Like for me that’s writing occasionally, for my school newspapers, for other people that’s, I don’t know, a fraternity or sorority or clubs that they’re getting involved in. There’s, I mean, basically wherever you go to school, especially if you’re at a UC or a CSU, there’s dozens and dozens of extracurricular opportunities to meet people, to get involved.
What’s it like being in a new place? What advice would you give to seniors going off to college next year?
I think it’s massively important for, I mean, really every single person going to college to try to get as involved as possible. You know, you look at a picture of Sage Creek and it’s beautiful, the campus and it looks like a community college and, and that’s just where we went to high school. And so I think one thing to remember, especially being from Carlsbad going to Sage, is 90% of people that you meet are not going to have had the same experience growing up as you. That’s something that really stood out to me at Missouri, but even at different UCs or CSUs, you’re going to meet a lot of just different people.
