Off the beaten path
As many in the class of 2006 are heading into the world to become nurses, lawyers and business people, others are preparing for careers a little more unusual.
Tawnya Marburger, a graduating senior at Slippery Rock High School, for instance, has set her sights on equine massage therapy.
Although she will first attend Pittsburgh Technical Institute for two years to study surgical technology, she will eventually make her way to a weeklong school in Montana that teaches the art of horse massage.
The practice is generally associated with racing horses, but Marburger said there is a growing need for the service.
"There are surprisingly a lot of people who do it for horses that are just out of shape,"she said.
Marburger first became interested in the practice after seeing it demonstrated at a 4-H horse show, and she believes that there are enough smaller race tracks in the region that she may be able to pursue the career locally.
Marburger doesn't own a horse, but a number of the people in her life, including her aunt and her boyfriend's sister, have horses she spends time with.
"They've just been around me my whole life,"she said.
Not to be outdone, Camille O'Connor, a graduating senior from Knoch High School, is pursuing a career in opera singing.
O'Connor has taken voice lessons since the third grade and will enter Duquesne University as a vocal performance major in the fall. From there, she will depend on networking and hard work to forge her career.
"There's really no set path because it's in the performing arts,"O'Connor said.
Opera singing requires a mature voice, she said, so she has not yet sung in a stage performance, but even at the age of 14 she knew that a career in opera was for her.
"I don't know how Igot into the opera singing. I kind of just fell into it. I really like that kind of singing,"she said. "Ithink it's the emotion. It's a really basic aspect of humanity that it hits on. Everything about opera is larger than life."
Although the pursuit is risky, O'Connor said she has gotten a lot of support from her parents.
"They have faith that I'm doing something I'm interested in,"she said. That faith will push her toward success.
Convincing her friends that the pursuit is worthwhile, however, is another thing.
"There are a lot of people who have misconceptions about opera. They expect someone to wear horns," she said.
In addition to her regular college classes, O'Connor will study under a private voice teacher at the university.
Bryan Ross, who is graduating from Mars High School, hopes to put his future on ice by pursuing a professional hockey career.His first step will be playing for the New York Junior Bobcats, a Junior A class team that Barrett hopes will be a stepping stone to college play and then the National Hockey League. The Bobcats informed Ross last Thursday <B> </B>that they would sign him for the coming season.Ross has played hockey for 11 years, 10 as a goalie. His love for the sport keeps him going."I've gotten to a pretty good skill level and am able to play on the next level,"Ross said. "When you've done it so much, you either learn to hate it or love it."He has played on his high school team and also on the Junior B Pittsburgh Penguins, which travels to games all over the northeast.Although a career in professional hockey is unique among his classmates, Ross said he didn't view it as that different until friends started talking about what they were doing after high school."At first, everybody was talking about college. I didn't have a lot to say,"he said.College, however, is not completely out of the plan. Ross will take a few community college classes while playing for the Bobcats. He'll also work part time."Most people think it's pretty sweet,"Ross said.
Ian Barrett, a graduating senior at Grove City High School, is skipping the traditional four-year college experience to attend a school that instructs students on how to make guitars."I'm sick of playing junky guitars. I want to make my own," said Barrett, who owns five guitars. He has played for five years."I just want to make better stuff, be experimental. I want to give guitars different looks,"he said.Barrett is considering two schools, Bryan Galloup's school in Big Rapids, Mich., and Roberto-Venn in Phoenix. At a cost between $10,000 and $12,000, the schools last between five and six months, and in that time, students build a number of their own guitars.Although he has not made his final decision, Barrett has visited Bryan Galloup's school and liked what he saw."It's basically like being in a shop class for nine hours," he said. "Alot of them look like garbage because it's just out of some guy's basement."Students at Roberto-Venn are required to have a high school diploma."The one in Michigan, you basically have to have a brain," Barrett said.In the long run, Barrett dreams of starting his own guitar company. His short-term goal, though, would be to work for the Moser Custom Guitar Shop in California.
