Licking Heights Class of 2022: Ready to tackle the next challenges

The Licking Heights High School Class of 2022 have endured quite a lot during their high school experience.

From navigating school during the COVID-19 pandemic to dealing with their own personal challenges, these students showed what it means to be resilient.

We spoke to four Licking Heights graduates about their high school experience and the next steps in their educational journeys.

Ahmed is pushing the limits

Mohamed Ahmed will be graduating on May 28 with the rest of his Licking Heights class. But his next graduation isn't far away.

He completed nearly all of his high school requirements by his sophomore year and began taking college classes at Licking Heights through the College Credit Plus program.

Mohamed, the son of Sudanese immigrants, typically spent his summers in Sudan visiting with grandparents, aunts and uncles. But couldn't in 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and opted to spend his summer taking online classes through Columbus State Community College.

"For me, it was a way to academically excel. But it was also a way to push my limits," he said. "I could see, like, what I needed to work on what I could do to become like a better version of myself."

As a high school junior Mohamed was nearly done with his associate degree and switched to taking classes at Ohio State University where he is a health sciences major on a path to becoming a doctor. Mohamed, who is first in his Licking Heights class, is on track to graduate with his bachelor's degree in the spring of 2023.

After applying to about 30 colleges and getting into schools such as Dartmouth College and Case Western Reserve University, Mohamed chose to continue at OSU. He received the Morrill Scholarship, which is a full-tuition scholarship and rewards "academically talented students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities," according to the website.

Sleep has become a luxury for Mohamed while taking a full college course load, working, spending time with his parents and four younger siblings, and maintaining his friends with Licking Heights classmates.

"What really kept me going was the support from all my friends, teachers, mentors. My family has been amazing," he said.

Laurent up for any challenge

Precious Laurent has been taking on challenges her entire life.

As young child she moved from the United States to the Philippines. When she returned a few yeas later as a preschooler, she had to adjust to American schools and learn English while attending Licking Heights schools.

"When I came to the states, I couldn't speak to my dad," she said.

Then she spent a year of middle school studying abroad in South Korea where she attended an international school with students from all over the world. The experience, Precious said, helped her learn organizational skills.

"I think it made me have, like a more broader perspective of, like, the education system," she said, adding that she realized the Asian educational system is more intense than the America's.

This school year Precious took on new responsibilities of being a student representative to the Licking Heights Board of Education and doing the school's morning announcements, which has motivated her to studying broadcasting in college.

"In the beginning of the year I was really interested in like the arts and everything but doing the announcements, it kind of inspired me to like go into that field," she said.

She is also active in Student Council and was a leader for the school's February "Diaspora Cultural Show," which featured about 100 students of various grade levels showcasing music, dance and spoken-word performances highlighting the cultures represented within the district.

But Precious is not done taking on challenges. After graduation, she taking a few months off before heading back to South Korea where she hopes to attend Sun Moon University, which is about 55 miles south of Seoul.

McLaughlin's difficult journey

Brody McLauglin was the hero in the 2021 Battle for Broad Street.

With under a minute to go, his interception on the Watkins Memorial goal line sealed the 24-20 victory for the Hornets against their rival for the first time since 2018. Students rushed the field once time expired. It was a rush like he'd never experienced before.

"I don't want to say excited because it was so much more than that," Brody said when asked what he felt in the moment.

But it might not have happened. Brody tore his ACL his freshman year and sat out for his entire sophomore season, giving that interception even more meaning.

Brody worked diligently to come back from the injury, but in the process he came to love physical therapy. His experience inspired him to major in exercise science at Ashland University. Brody, who was a team captain will continue his football career on a scholarship at the NCAA Division II school.

In high school he played receiver, safety, punt returner and kick returner, but at Ashland he'll likely just play receiver, he said.

To end his career at Licking Heights, Brody said he was selected first team all conference, first team all district and received the John McConnell Award for the Licking County League.

Brody said he has loved the game since starting in second grade because of the camaraderie among teammates.

"My mom wouldn't let me play, but I got snuck in," he said with a sly smile.

Singh makes a course change

As a freshman, Anna Singh wasn't sure she wanted to go to medical school because of the time commitment.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic started during the spring of her sophomore year. On top of that, her father, Arvin, need a heart stint placed during the early weeks of the pandemic.

"That kind of, like, sparked my interest in cardiology because my family history of heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol, basically like everything that could deter your health," she said. "Seeing my dad get helped by the proper doctors and just have good experiences with them really, like, inspired me to like help other kids parents be able to live out life."

Anna, who was a co-captain of Heights varsity girls soccer team, heads to Ohio State University's main campus in the fall where she'll major in health sciences to prepare her for any potential medical career she would like. She is still determining which specialty to pursue between general medicine, cardiology or pediatrics.

Like Mohamed, Anna, who is second in the class, has been awarded OSU's Morrill Scholarship. Plus, she received another scholarship to cover her room and board costs.

Not only is the scholarship beneficial financially, Anna said the program was important to her because it will still allow her to engage with diverse peers who are engaged in service.

"Because Heights is such a diverse school, I felt like I wasn’t leaving behind those experiences that I got and that exposure that I got to other cultures," she said. "I could carry that with me into my college years and ... have that still shape me in, like, the interactions that I would have and how I would view my education."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Heights Class of 2022: Ready to tackle the next challenges