Emmanuel (Manny) Figueroa

Bradley Technology and Trade School

His plans: Attending Milwaukee Area Technical College to become a line mechanic for We Energies, and to earn his commercial driver’s license. 

Why a line mechanic: Manny, who was in MPS’s youth apprenticeship program, attended a demonstration day at We Energies and was hooked. “I had no idea what I was going to do. I went into it with an open mind to really figure out what I’m going do. Just seeing what they do, to be able to go in a bucket [truck] and climb, I think it was really cool. To be able to ask them questions about their career and ask them what they do and what makes them happy really made me so intrigued. That’s something that made me lean toward that career.”

What he likes about Bradley Tech: “Everybody is so helpful at my school. I’m so grateful to be at the school I’m at, with so much help from so many people. It’s stressful, being able to graduate,” he said. Society expects 18-year-olds just to “figure everything out, and they just want me to go into the world. But to have people like my counselors, my parents, that’s who really helped me with everything going on right now.” 

His advice: “I think the biggest advice to freshmen is, be yourself, ask questions. Hang around the right people. Because if you go around with the wrong crowd — you are who you hang around with, that’s my biggest saying. To the incoming freshmen I’d say: Be confident. Come in here, do your work. School is very, very important. Just be yourself — don’t care what people think about you.”

What his younger self would think of him today: “I think he’d be very proud to know that I didn’t let myself get super sad about everything I was going through, and just pushing past everything and reaching for a bigger, better future.”

Dar’rielle Wallace

Milwaukee Marshall High School

Her plans: Attending Marquette University to study criminal justice. She’d like to become a detective. 

Before she switched gears: Dar’rielle originally wanted to be a nurse and last year became a certified nurse aide (CNA) in preparation, through the NAF Academy in health sciences at her school.. She planned to use that certification this summer to find work at a hospital or nursing home. 

A head start: By taking part in M-Cubed College Connections — a program that provides a pathway to early college credits through the collaboration of MPS, UWM, and MATC — Dar’rielle spent her senior year taking college courses such as English, math, and government. 

Her favorite part of high school: “Everything. I had fun all four years. I did different things: My freshman year, I learned how to play     an instrument. Sophomore year, that’s when I got into cheer; I ended up being a cheer captain. College probably has to be the best, because I got experience early. I learned how it would be — learned about the overload of work, I got to learn how fast they move. I learned a lot, and I had a lot of fun.”

What her younger self would think of her now: “My younger self would probably think I’m pretty cool, actually. I’m valedictorian; I have all As, everything that I want. I have a support system. I have everything, everything that I need.”

Olivia Erkins

Casimir Pulaski High School

Her plans: To make her career as a tattoo artist. First steps: Taking classes and apprenticing.

Why tattooing: Interested in art at a young age, she decided by age 7 she wanted to do tattooing after seeing it in the shows she was watching. Olivia, who also makes digital art and has had commissions for it, loves creating art outside.

Her art and her interests: “It’s basically a free form of art — no specific shape or form. … It resembles me because I’m a very free-spirited person. … I just go where the wind takes me.” She describes her current aesthetic as “arcade-ish bohemian.” In addition to art, she loves skateboarding and is a foodie. Her preferred video games are the older ones.

Her favorite high school experience: Her friends, whom she met in class and felt a connection to. “My friends have been really supportive of me. They’ve been everywhere for me. Every time I was low, every time I was happy — they’ve been there for me 24/7, and I really appreciate them.”

Her biggest influence: Her mom. “She’s been my biggest supporter,” buying Olivia her art supplies. “She encourages me: ‘Make sure you do everything well, do your best, and make sure you actually want to do it.’ “

Her advice for freshmen: “If you have something you actually want to pursue, go for it all. Just put everything into it. But also make sure you have a backup plan when you’re doing it. … If it doesn’t really fall into place, have a backup plan, just in case. Just have two things you want to do.”

Anija Thomas

Riverside University High School

Her plans: Attending Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, double majoring in film and environmental studies.

Why film and environmental science: Anija took a journalism class at Riverside, and, although she enjoyed it, “news isn’t for me,” she said. Another medium — film — called to her and her longtime interest in cameras and movies. When she took an Advanced Placement environmental studies class, “I fell in love with it,” she said. Ultimately, she wants to be a screenwriter and documentary filmmaker documenting the environment in the Arctic and possibly Australia.

Her favorite high school experience: “My favorite part of high school was meeting my friends through classes and extracurriculars we do. A lot of my friends I met through Freshman Bridge,” the two-day MPS orientation program for 9th-graders.

What she’ll miss most about high school: The strong connection with teachers — she’s expecting large lecture halls in college, and less one-on-one time.

Her advice for freshmen: “Take freshman year seriously. Don’t just try to slack off. Your transcript matters the most. Test scores don’t matter as much as your transcript, but it does set an impression. You meet all the teachers then; they get their first impression of you. You get different opportunities if you stand out from the crowd.” 

Anabia Farooq

South Division High School

Her plans: To study business with a focus on finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.

Why business: “My long-term goal is to become a CEO. I choose [finance] because it provides a strong foundation for how businesses grow and upgrade. I’m still exploring specific areas I’m especially interested in, areas like financial analysis, because I’m so focused on gaining the experience and the skills I need to achieve my goal. Math is also my favorite subject, and I’m good at it.”

Her favorite high school experience: “The support I received from my teachers and counselors. … When I moved to the U.S. [from Pakistan] during high school, everything from the education system to the language was completely new to me. At first it felt very overwhelming, but Miss Carly [Weckwerth, of MPS’s College and Career Readiness team] guided me every step of the way. Because of their support, it becomes easier for me, and I grow more confident and succeed academically and find a clear path for my future.”

Her biggest influence: “My family. I feel like they are my motivation and also my inspiration, because everything they have done for me made me realize I don’t just want to succeed for myself. I want to make them proud and honor their sacrifices. That mindset drives me every day to stay focused and keep working toward my goals.”

Just for fun: “I was always an academic person; I was always with my studies. But outside of academics, I really want to do a lot of adventure — like, for example I really want to do bungee jumping, skydiving, all of these things, I want to do at least once in my life.”

Rihanna Dudley

Washington High School of Information Technology

Her plans: Attending Milwaukee Area Technical College in the fall and ultimately earning a degree in psychology.

Why psychology: After a course in the subject, she became so interested that she thought, “I could see myself doing this,” and began reading up on the field. “I want to be a counselor for young kids. We need more people who want to help kids out — helping kids our age go through high school — because a lot of kids really need help,” Rihanna said. She is also interested in working with older adults in nursing homes. 

Her favorite high school experience: Taking part in the Girls of Color organization. “People had to talk to me first, and then I opened up. Girls of Color made me open up to more people, made me talk to more people, and I made more friends.” 

How she expanded her horizons: Rihanna joined the Washington drumline, playing cymbals, and competed in the all-city Battle of the Drumlines. “It was out of my comfort zone, I can say that for sure, but it was fun,” she said. The Washington drumline won crowd favorite, she noted, and placed fifth overall.

Her advice for freshmen: “If you see yourself getting burned out, take a one-day break. That would help me a lot. Reset your mind, get yourself together. When people get burned out, they give up completely. Don’t give up. It’s normal to feel stress.”

Mei Moore

Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning

Her plans: Attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to major in neuroscience and possibly minor in psychiatry.

Why neuroscience: “I’ve always wanted to help people. I’m just so intrigued with how people behave, why people do the things that they do.”

Her favorite high school experience: “Sophomore year was just my best year for everything,” Mei said: sports, cheer, the students, the teachers — “Everything was fun. I wanted to come to school every single day.”

Greatest impact: First, her teachers, especially her English and gym teachers. “They just always make sure to remind me who I am and where I come from and to let me know that no one is stopping me. I just love them — they get me, and they understand me.” Second, the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council (SSAC) and the work it did while she was president her senior year. “Recently, we implemented having girls’ sanitary products in the bathroom, and I’m just proud.”

Her advice for freshmen: “When you feel a certain type of way about something, make sure you use your voice. Although you may not feel your voice is important, it is very important. So learn how to speak up for yourself and others, because if you don’t do it, nobody else will.”