This year’s graduating class includes a large number of students who have been asked by colleges to play and represent their universities as student athletes. These seniors will take the field, court, track, course, and even pool for their college next year as they take the next step towards their dream and their life as an adult.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and learning new stuff,” said senior baseball player, and Indiana State commit Max Klein.

This new advent will be a big adjustment for these athletes, balancing time between classes, living away from home, and the yearlong grind that comes with college athletics. Although the sport is still the same, it can be a whole new game for these athletes. The level of competition these athletes face will be much greater than what they experience in high school.

“Everybody is good no matter where you go,” said Klein. “Everybody is at the same level.”

For many of these athletes it will be their first prolonged experience away from home, as they move to a new city to basically restart their life. They will make new friends, navigate a new city, and enter a world completely foreign to the one they now know.

“I’m both scared and excited to leave home for college,” said Madalyne Confer, senior volleyball player and Lincoln College signee.

These students will take the first step into adult hood and jump right into the real world, not only athletically, but socially and academically as well. This new adventure could break many, but many are up to the task.

“The thing I’ll miss the most about being a Viking is probably the atmosphere,” said Confer, “The atmosphere was always positive, even if we were down a lot or if we were winning.”