After months of college applications and waiting, seniors are finally receiving their college acceptances. They’re excited and want to show their accomplishment, so once committed, they head straight to North Atlanta’s futures page. On Instagram, @nahsfutures2024 is seniors’ go-to place for posting the beginning of their next stage of life–college. The college application process can be overwhelming and getting into a first-choice college is a fantastic feeling. Would someone want to share that with their peers? That’s where NAHS Futures come in. Through the Instagram page, each student fills out a link with their information and messages senior Alexis Lubow, who creates each post, giving each senior their moment of celebration.
Although the finished products seem easy, making a futures post takes a bit of time. First, the senior who wants a futures post submits a Google Form with their name, email, proof of college acceptance, proof of enrollment at North Atlanta, and what they aim to study. Next, Lubow makes templates through Canva, choosing the designs and colors that her peers like the most. While she uses the same templates for colleges already posted, it takes her about ten minutes to make each new one, now having 90 templates in total. If able to, Lubow posts the senior’s announcement the same day that they submit it. “Some people forget that I am also a Year 2 IB student,” said Lubow. “So I do the best that I can.”
Lubow has always liked graphic design and wanted to make her class’s page prettier and more colorful by cleaning it up. Doing this project allows her to cheer on her peers while they enjoy their last year of high school. The Class of 2024 has had multiple notable accomplishments this year, and this Instagram page is one way for the class to celebrate together. However, for the mind behind the operation, running the page can have its downsides. There is an added stress of demand and self-focus that comes with taking orders from multiple people on top of regular senior-level classes. “It’s people’s futures,” Lubow said. “I have to take it seriously.”
NAHS Futures 2024 was created to give an outlet to show how far the Class of 2024 has come. After all of the school work, tests, finals, and the college application process, seniors are able to show what they’ve worked for and the future that they aim to have. Lubow eagerly took on the role of creating that opportunity for her class, and despite all of the challenges, the page has had incredible success and continues to post new seniors each week. While she does not know who will take over her role for next year’s class of seniors, Lubow has proved that a firm commitment and appreciation of design are needed to make the page an amazing success.
