In the month of May, the leaders of the school say their goodbyes and get ready for the next chapter of their lives.

This partially applies to senior Lejla Velic, too. Lejla will be graduating this year in January as she will have enough credits to graduate this semester. This ability to graduate early comes from taking extra online classes. 

After graduating from high school, she plans to pursue her life-long passion.

“As a kid, I always thought about being a cool dentist,” Lejla said. “Then when I got older, I was still into the idea. I am not sure why, though.”

One thing Lejla is sure of, however, is her plan to become the cool dentist she has always wanted to be.

“My plan for after high school is to enroll in a dental program since I want to be a dentist,” Lejla said. “If that is not possible for me, then I would like to go to college to prepare for dental school.”

To enroll in a dental program or go to college, she plans to move a little far away from home—only a few thousands of miles away.

This far away place is Germany.

“I have been to Germany a few times,” Lejla said. “It is one of my favorite countries. It is really pretty there. Last summer, I went to Germany to check out one of the international colleges in Munich. It was really interesting and super cool. A lot of people helped me around since my German was rough.”

In the United States, college education costs a couple of thousand dollars per semester on average. In Germany, the cost is much lower with an average of only a few hundred dollars per semester. 

With any move, whether it be to a new state or a new country, comes challenges. Luckily for Lejla, paying for college is not one of them.

“Tuition is mostly paid for students [by the government],” Lejla said. “However, there are some requirements [to have the tuition paid], but I am not too worried though about qualifying.”

Unlike moving to a new state, moving to a new country will force Lejla to learn a new language: German. But, she has a plan to succeed in this new environment.

“The main reason why I want and need to graduate early is to invest my time in learning and practicing the language,” Lejla said. “Dental school is not going to be easy, especially not in a language I can’t speak.”

While moving can be scary for some people, Lejla is ready. She is ready to experience a whole new life full of new people and new experiences.

“I feel like Europe, in general, has many more things to offer to students, and I believe that there is more to do there,” Lejla said. “There are not many more things here that I want to do.”

She has been asked time and time again will she be returning to the United States, and to that question, she has one answer.

“I do not plan on it,” Lejla said. “However, if I can’t adapt to Germany, and if I struggle with learning the language, I may choose to come back. It is entirely up to me though; I am fortunate enough that my family will support me with whatever I choose to do.”

Saying goodbye can be tough for everyone, especially when you are thousands of miles away from the place you call home. For Lejla, she leaves her classmates with this.

“I do not have any goodbye messages for my peers,” Lejla said, “I will miss them, but everything good comes to an end eventually.”