By Cindy J. Roth
Students proudly display T-shirts and hats adorned with the logos of their college destinations, and those seniors with older siblings in college are already talking about which fraternities or sororities are worth joining.
More than 95 percent of Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District seniors go on to two- and four-year colleges. While the majority of them will spend the next four years deciding what they want to do with their lives, several seniors in the district are opting to take the less traditional paths of entering trade schools and the military. Even though these students are unable to indulge themselves in the rite of passage trip to Bed Bath & Beyond to get dormitory furnishings, they say they are not missing out on "the college experience." Rather, they are bypassing it since they already know what they want to be.
Calhoun senior Jason Claude wants to serve his country. While his ultimate goal is to serve in the political arena, Claude said he will get there by first serving on the front lines. He ships off to start training as a private in the United States Army Aug. 13 at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga.
"I've always had a sense of service," said the Merrick resident. "I've been looking into [the Army] for three years. I'm excited. I know what's expected of me and what to expect."
Claude will spend nine weeks in basic training and then six weeks in advanced infantry training. From there, he could be sent anywhere in the world to serve his two-year enlistment.
"It's a definite possibly that I could be shipped off to war," said Claude. "I feel proud of the fact that I would have the chance to serve our country."
Claude said his mother talks about his interest in the Army as "blatant G.I. Joe fantasies," but Claude believes he always had a sense of duty to serve other people. Even before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, for Claude serving one's county was the ultimate service one could make.
"Sept. 11 is an example of why I'm doing it, not a reason," said Claude. "I want to go and protect and serve better so something like Sept. 11 does not happen again."
To prepare for entering the Army, Claude runs five miles a day and does a variety of physical-training exercises like sit-ups and push-ups. The dedicated senior even took control of his weight problem by losing 80 pounds this year, proving that when he wants to do something, he dedicates himself to it.
After his two years of service in the Army, Claude heads to the University of Michigan, where he will be in the school's Reserved Officers' Training Corps program for two years before graduating and owing the Army four years of active and four years of reserve service.
While Claude will serve the United States for the next 10 years, Calhoun senior William Segota will do a little serving of his own. Segota plans to dish out his cooked creations as he enters a culinary career.
Segota will start the second year of the Nassau BOCES culinary arts program next fall. This past year, he has spent half his school day in the BOCES first-year program. Segota decided to take the occupational route to his education because he wanted to make sure he would have a solid job when he graduated high school. Since Segota's love of cooking dates as far back as he remembers, the idea of becoming a chef as a stable career went together like peanut butter and jelly.
"My mom used to carry me on her hip around the kitchen when she did her cooking," said Segota. "I was inspired by my mom."
Segota plans to one day become a master chef and open his own restaurant. While he is still toying with the restaurant's name, which is tentatively set as The Melting Pot, he already has the slogan - "Where the foods of the world come together."
Segota, whose favorite dish to cook is corn casserole, is never short of practice in the kitchen. Just this week, several friends made their dessert demands for a chocolate chip cake with white frosting and colored sprinkles.
"I can't promise them it will be good, but it's what they want," said Segota of the request that he is skeptical about baking. "It will look nice, but it's a weird combination."
Just like Segota and Claude, Calhoun senior Scott Bernstein is turning one of his childhood fixations into a viable occupation. Bernstein is headed to the Universal Technical Institute in North Carolina to study for two years as a NASCAR technical engineer.
"I've always had a fascination with cars," said Bernstein. "I talk and breathe cars. It's a passion."
Bernstein has been a member of the two-year BOCES Nassau Tech automotive technology program. In April, he grabbed third place at the greater New York Automotive Dealers Association's 2002 New York Finals Competition. For the contest, students mastered timed vehicle repairs and four testing workstations, including EPA emissions and wheel alignment systems testing. For placing third in the competition, Bernstein received a $10,000 scholarship. To most 18-year-olds, that is a lot of money, but not Bernstein, who buys old cars for around $2,000 and fixes them up and sells them for $35,000.
"Every weekend I'm working on cars," he said. "It's a quick way to make a profit, but most of the money I make goes right back into buying another car."
Bernstein's dream job is to work with a NASCAR race team designing and engineering the actual car. For now, Bernstein is working as an entry-level technician at North Shore Infiniti and Jaguar. There, he is working with computers, diagnosing and trouble-shooting care repairs and problems.
The Merrick senior said his friends and family support his decision to go to trade school, and they admire that he already knows what he wants to do with his future. Although his schooling will be a little bit different, Bernstein said he does not believe he will miss out on anything.
