High school is known to be the best time of some people’s lives, however some people prefer to speed up the process for whatever reason. Some of the most common reasons is that students want to get a head start on their career or that they want to take a gap year. Whatever their reasoning is, Castle View is an excellent place to take advantage over being able to graduate early. Twelve juniors have been added to the graduating class of 2017, one of them being Genessey Cowles. Cowles made her decision to graduate early during the beginning of her junior year. “It’s kind of like a “why not” thing. I have enough credits to graduate and I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life,” said Cowles ‘18. One of the biggest fears of graduating early is missing out on their senior year, but for Cowles she was able to participate in events like senior sunrise, senior showdown, and will be able to walk with the rest of the seniors at graduation. Once she graduates from high school she plans on going straight to college and pursuing a career in teaching. Graduating early is offered to juniors, but it is also offered to seniors that want to graduate halfway through their senior year. Laney Axmacher ‘17 was able to take advantage of this opportunity and decided to graduate in December 2016. “I had the credits to graduate early and I wanted to spend the last half of the year working and saving up for college,” said Axmacher. “I’m not worried about missing out on my senior year because I am still able to go to all the events and things like prom. I just don’t have to go to class everyday.” Axmacher plans on attending college in the Fall of 2017 and wants to study pre med. She’s currently looking at University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, and some other schools in Arizona. Graduating early requires the student to be motivated and eager to complete all the credits. Most students have a reason as to why they want to graduate early other than just wanting to get out of high school. Genessey Cowles and Laney Axmacher prove that you are able to graduate ahead of time and still experience your senior year in full.