Seniors gear up for graduate school

Kaelia Neal and Dana Brumley

After finishing kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and college, most people might need a break from the education world. They need time to discover themselves, figure out who they are without their school books, and to experience life outside the classroom.

Some people do not need that experience.

Tyra Barawis, a psychology major and Spanish minor, will attend Corban University in Salem, Oregon, to get a master’s degree in counseling. With a focus on developmental psychology at Linfield, Barawis hopes to continue focusing on children and how she can help them through counseling.

Megan Beach, an accounting major, will be attending the University of Montana to get a master’s degree in accounting.

“I chose this school because it is close to my hometown and they have a really good program,” she said.

Beach said she wants to become a certified public accountant (CPA) because she likes numbers and for job security.

Kayla DeWolf, who is a part of  the athletic training program at Linfield, is an exercise science major and has officially signed her acceptance letter to Indiana University. She plans to become a physical therapist.

She also passed her athletic trainer certification test in April.

An athlete herself, DeWolf said, “I am eager to work with other athletes to help keep them stay safe while they are accomplishing their goals.”

Kevin Kawasaki, an accounting major, will be attending Western Washington University. He will be studying for a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).

“I chose this school because it has a one-year calendar program where most MBA programs are two years,” he said.

Kawasaki said he also chose Western Washington University because he has connections in Bellingham, which is where the school is located.

“I want to become a CFO or hold an executive officer position. Being on the board of directors for a company also interests me a lot,” Kawasaki said.

“I want to be in a position where I can use the knowledge I gained from my education,” he said.

Having a leadership role as an executive officer and working with numbers is intriguing, Kawasaki said. His father is a CFO and “the work he does is very interesting,” he said.

Emily Kreifels, an exercise science major, will be attending University of Western States in order to become a chiropractor.

The university is in Portland, Oregon. She will attend the school for an intensive four-year program that leads to the doctor of chiropractic degree.

“I’m ready for the challenge and I want to learn more,” Kreifels said.

As she was growing up her family would see chiropractors, and she thought it was fascinating, she said.

“I decided to do something with exercise and health my senior year of high school,” Kreifels said.

Kreifels will be taking the year off to work as a physical trainer at Anytime Fitness in McMinnville. She will start school in fall 2016.

Chance Laboda, a business management major, will be attending Seattle University School of Law.

“I chose this school because it is a very good law school,” Laboda said. “It also appealed to me because I wanted to move up to Seattle.”

“The law school has a very good writing program and is well respected, so it felt like the perfect place,” he said.

Laboda said he wants to become “some sort of lawyer” because law has always interested him.

He is also interested in working with professional sports, whether that be for “an organization or as a player representative.”

Casey Thein, a biology major, will be attending OHSU School of Dentistry to become a general dentist. He will begin school next fall.

“It just fits me really well,” Thein said. “I’ve always wanted to work in the healthcare field and dentistry is the perfect combination of a social interaction while you are still helping someone.”

Lukas Kleinman will join the San Diego State MBA program, and Connor Wicknick has been accepted to Willamette University College of Law, respectively, according to professor Sharon Wagner, who is the chair of the business department.

This year’s student commencement speaker at Linfield, Kevin Romero, will attend the University of Michigan in the fall to earn a doctorate degree in organic chemistry.

Lindsay Scott will be attending dental school, according to associate professor Anne Kruchten, who directs the pre-med program.