Hundreds of seniors will graduate this June and move away to college; however, three of those seniors are moving in a different direction as well.

Although not attending college as a typical major, some seniors have chosen a unique path and are going to pursue their lifelong passions.

“I’ve known that I wanted to pursue [dance] since my sophomore and junior year,” Isabella Rosanova, senior, said.  “[Dance] has always been a huge part of my life, because of the time commitment, I dance for many hours throughout the week. That’s mainly why I want to pursue it in the future.”

Rosanova plans to attend the University of Illinois as a dance major, and her number one goal is to eventually dance for a company on a cruise ship.

Though Rosanova plans on staying closer to home while pursuing her career in dance, another senior is moving six hours away too.  

“I have tried out for the dance team at Ohio State University,” Kate Light, senior, said. “There is a video audition, skills and choreography evaluation, an interview, and a trial game.”  

Lauren Pittman, senior, also goes through tough evaluations. She has committed to the University of Arizona, and is still pursuing her love for dance but in another way.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to major or be on the Poms team for awhile. I decided to try out for the Poms team and major in Pre-Business.  Once I found out I made it, I was so excited,” Pittman said. 

However, Pittman believes that dance does not come without sacrifices at home and in the classroom.

“I dance 25 hours a week, so I have sacrificed a lot of my schoolwork and spending quality time with my family and friends,” Pittman said.  

Similar to Pittman, Light has also missed out on various opportunities and events due to dance.  

“Dance has always been really time consuming.  I spend many hours a week dancing,” Light said.  “I’ve missed out on Lollapalooza, the St. Patrick’s day parade every year, and just full weekends.”

All through the time consuming sport, the dancers needed friends and families support to keep motivated.

“My dance teachers, my parents, and my friends are my inspirations, because they always support me and come watch me.  I just want to do my best for them,” Light said.

Rosanova agrees that having support when choosing her major was really helpful.

“My dance teachers and my mom are definitely my main supporters.  [My mom] has been really supportive of my decision,” Rosanova said.  “I actually wanted to go to a major dance capital like New York or L.A., but ended up going to Illinois because I wanted to be closer to my mom.”