Each year millions of high school students embark on the journey to decide where they wish to continue their education. While many of the stops along the way are the same, each journey is unique in it's own way.

In choosing a college, a student must consider, among other factors, location, size, courses of study, reputation, and, of course, cost. For the next several months LortonPatch is going to join South County Secondary School senior Katelyn Crank as she makes one of the most important decisions of her life.

For some teens the decision to actually go to college is a choice in and of itself. Not so with Katelyn. She says her dad and stepmom (Dave and DeeDee) made it clear for as long as she can remember that she would go to college.

Both Dave and DeeDee worked in public safety. Dave is a retired police officer and DeeDee is a police dispatcher.

"My parents definitely got a lot out of working for the police and they liked helping people," Katelyn said. "But they also saw how stressful it can be and they don't want me to have to deal with that."

If there was any doubt about Dave's commitment to education, he settled it by returning to school himself recently to pursue a degree.

For a while Katelyn wasn't sure what she wanted to study in college. Like many teens, she changed her mind quite a bit. But during the Christmas break of 2008 an event involving a loved one made her decision very easy.

                                                          -----------

Be sure to read our next installment where we find out the uplifting story of how Katelyn chose her course of study. We'll also find out what colleges she's considering, how she narrowed down her choices and what were the factors in doing so. Along the way, we'll also discover what resources she used and what resources she still needs.