Jamesville-DeWitt High School has a high graduation rate that hovers around 91 percent. According to the Post-Standard, this rate is higher than other local high schools, like Chittenango’s 79 percent, East-Syracuse Minoa’s 84 percent, and Lafayette’s 86 percent. Many seniors have made their decisions for college based on sport and academic factors.

Eric DeJohn, who is going to Onondaga Community College for lacrosse, said he is not nervous about the transition. But this may be due to the fact that he is going to be living with five of his “Lax Bros.” DeJohn said he chose OCC because, “I got better looks for lacrosse from OCC and nothing else worked out with other schools.” Eric’s brother, Nick DeJohn, is going to Potsdam.

Liz Worden chose Cazenovia College because it is close to home. “It has a nice campus and has a good psychology program,” she says. Worden said she will room with one other person in a dorm.

Tyler Indivero is also heading to OCC. Indivero is going for music, specifically guitar. He said he isn’t nervous and will probably commute. “OCC is a good choice for financial reasons, but it is also good for my music,” he said. Tyler’s twin brother Dereck is also heading to OCC for music.

Shea Turney is headed to St. Leo’s University in Tampa Bay, Florida for golf. She will live in a dorm with a roomate. “It has good weather and it is far away so I like it.”

Former J-DHS Athlete of the Month Joe Shepard is going to Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. He said, “It is a good distance and I definitely like the program.” He is going for lacrosse and said Mercyhurst gave him a good offer for it, and the college and offer is appealing to him.

Leylan Akyuz plans on heading to SUNY Brockport in Rochester. She said she loves the education they provide and she loves that the campus is close to home. “I am happy with the decision I made because the school all around fits me.” She said she will miss the high school dearly, but definitely will be happy to leave for college.

Ian Gilchrest is going to Binghamton University. “I really like how it is close to home so I can stay in touch with my family. My family is real important to me.” Just like many other students, Gilchrest commented that the school fit him practically perfectly. “I really looked into the education to make sure it is good. A good education is so important so I made sure I made the right choice,” said Gilchrest.

Ed Kiesa is going to St. Lawrence University. “It was a tough decision but I feel I made the right choice. The college fits me and I like the town it is in.”

Other college commits include Joe Emmi and Mike Paul to Utica College for football, John Lenish to Cortland, Cam Stone to Hobart for lacrosse and Dima Bakrukov to C.W. Post for lacrosse.

You can also check out the college map at the four corners to see what seniors are going to what local colleges or colleges across the country.